Dog Training (sage study)

Dog training is a sage study in the field of Animal Training, encompassing a wide array of abilities essential for working with canines both as loyal companions and as functional partners in specialized tasks. This study requires expertise in numerous areas, including the domestication of wild dogs and wolves, training for hunting techniques, and conditioning for protection and guarding roles. Trainers develop a deep understanding of canine behaviour and psychology, allowing them to foster strong, cooperative relationships with the animals under their care.

Dog training involves teaching canines to perform a variety of tasks, such as assisting in prey capture, developing tracking skills, and honing sheep-herding proficiency. Additionally, it covers training dogs to respond obediently to verbal commands and signals, enabling them to attack on command or defend their handlers. Dogs may also be trained for scouting duties, search and rescue operations, and scent detection, with specific emphasis on identifying substances such as narcotics, explosives, or missing persons. These skills make trained dogs invaluable in diverse settings, from domestic households to law enforcement, military operations, and wilderness expeditions.

In addition to practical skills, dog training includes efforts to improve the physical capabilities and intelligence of dogs through selective breeding and tailored training programs. Trainers work to develop canines with enhanced endurance, agility, and sensory perception, ensuring their suitability for demanding roles. For example, some breeds are specifically conditioned for guarding, tracking, or scent detection, while others are trained for therapy or assistance roles, aiding individuals with disabilities.

Successful dog training requires patience, consistency, and a thorough understanding of canine instincts and communication. Trainers employ positive reinforcement techniques to encourage desired behaviours and discourage negative ones, building trust and respect between dog and handler. Advanced trainers may also specialize in working with particular breeds or addressing behavioural challenges, such as aggression, anxiety, or disobedience.

This comprehensive skill set allows individuals engaged in dog training to effectively nurture and utilize canines across a wide range of environments and tasks, highlighting the versatility and intelligence of these remarkable animals.

Sage Abilities

The sage abilities below are those acquired by a character through the study, according to status.

Amateur Status

• Canine Handling I: provides foundational knowledge on the training, management and utilisation of dogs across three primary roles: companionship, working and warfare. Characters gain insights into the behavioural characteristics of different breeds and species, allowing for more effective training and handling. The ability includes notes on the specific advantages and potential enhancements available when working with dogs tailored to these roles. For example, companionship dogs are trained for loyalty and obedience, working dogs are conditioned for specialised tasks like herding or search and rescue, and war dogs are prepared for combat scenarios, including attacking on command and guarding critical locations.

• Dog Feeding & Diet: equips the character with comprehensive knowledge of canine nutrition, focusing on what dogs eat, how much they require and how to adapt their diets to meet specific needs. It includes understanding the dietary requirements for different life stages, from puppies to senior dogs, as well as adjustments for varying levels of activity, health conditions and working roles. Additionally, this ability enables the character to identify signs of malnutrition or overfeeding and to prepare or select appropriate foods that promote optimal physical performance and longevity, ensuring the health and effectiveness of the dogs under their care.

• Domesticate Dogs: This ability imparts expertise in raising puppies to full maturity and transforming feral or wild dogs into reliable, tame animals. It includes knowledge of techniques to build trust, establish dominance and condition behaviour in a way that aligns with the needs of the handler. For puppies, this ability covers nurturing practices, early training routines and socialization skills to produce well-adjusted adult dogs. For feral and wild dogs, it involves strategies for overcoming fear, aggression or independence, gradually acclimating them to human interaction and obedience.

Authority Status

• Canine Handling II: builds upon the foundational skills of Canine Handling I, granting the character refined control over a dog's behaviour in combat scenarios. It provides expertise in directing a dog's specific form of attack, such as targeting vital areas or engaging multiple enemies. Additionally, it enhances the handler's ability to manage the dog's behaviour under the stress and chaos of battle conditions, ensuring that the animal remains focused, disciplined and effective throughout the engagement.

• Dog Physiology: provides comprehensive knowledge of a dog's physical and biological systems, enabling the character to maintain and restore canine health. It includes understanding common ailments, injuries and diseases that affect dogs, as well as their symptoms and treatments. The character is equipped with the skills to perform basic medical procedures, such as cleaning wounds, setting bones and treating infections. Additionally, it includes preventative care techniques, such as maintaining proper grooming, managing exercise routines.

• Truffle Dog: allows the character to train a dog — or alternatively, a swine — to hunt and root out valuable truffles. Training involves conditioning the animal to recognize the scent of truffles and to dig carefully without damaging the prize. The character must also possess the mushroom hunt ability, as this knowledge is necessary for identifying truffle habitats and ensuring a productive search.

• War Dog Training: imparts the knowledge and techniques necessary to transform ordinary dogs into disciplined and effective war dogs. It includes foundational training in combat readiness, such as conditioning the dog to withstand loud noises, chaos and physical stress. The character learns to train dogs to attack on command, defend specific targets and hold their ground in the face of danger. This ability also covers basic protective equipment for war dogs, such as padded armour, to increase their survivability in battle. War Dog Training ensures that even a non-combatant dog can be equipped with the skills and temperament necessary to serve effectively on the battlefield.

Expert Status

• Canine Grip: provides the expertise necessary to control and direct two or more dogs simultaneously during combat. The character learns to manage the coordination of multiple dogs, issuing precise commands to ensure they act in unison or independently as needed. This skill is particularly valuable in tactical situations where multiple dogs are used to overwhelm or outmaneuver opponents. Canine Grip also enhances the handler's ability to maintain control in chaotic battle conditions, ensuring that all dogs remain focused and effective.

• Dire Handling: grants the character the knowledge and skill required to train and manage dire wolves as loyal companions. Dire wolves, being larger and more aggressive than ordinary dogs, require specialized techniques to establish trust, obedience and discipline. Dire Handling allows the character to harness the immense power and predatory instincts of these formidable creatures while maintaining control.

• Dog Breeding: enables the character to selectively breed dogs with superior physical attributes, temperament, health, size and intelligence to produce high-quality bloodlines. By understanding canine genetics, the character can refine traits that enhance the dogs' performance in specific roles, such as herding, hunting, guarding or companionship. Dog Breeding also includes knowledge of maintaining the health of breeding stock, preventing hereditary diseases and managing the care of puppies to ensure their development into exceptional animals.

• Dog Whispering: facilitates silent, near-invisible communication with dogs through subtle cues, gestures and body language. By mastering this skill, the character can foster a deep partnership with their canine companion, enabling the dog to respond as though guided by instinct or telepathy. Dog Whispering is invaluable in situations requiring stealth or subtlety, as it eliminates the need for audible commands that might alert enemies.

Sage Status

• Enhanced Canine: grants the knowledge and techniques to train dogs in developing heightened agility and reflexes, pushing their physical capabilities to extraordinary levels. Dogs trained under this ability can perform feats that border on the supernatural, such as leaping great distances, twisting mid-air to avoid attacks or navigating treacherous terrain with unmatched grace. The skill includes conditioning the animal to respond with precision to commands requiring complex manoeuvres, such as dodging incoming projectiles, scaling walls or maintaining balance on narrow or unstable surfaces.

• Ride Canine: permits the character to train and ride dire wolves or worgs as mounts, provided the character's size falls within the creature's physical capacity. If the character is too large for typical specimens, the ability includes knowledge of how to breed larger dire wolves or worgs capable of bearing the rider's weight. Ride Canine also encompasses the skills needed to safely mount, dismount and control these creatures during travel or combat, ensuring the rider and mount act as a cohesive unit.

• Unearthly Nose: empowers a dog to detect traces left by unnatural or supernatural creatures, uncovering threats beyond the ordinary. Trained dogs can identify the faintest signs of such beings, including undead, extraplanar entities or magical constructs. The skill also provides the dog with a limited capacity to sense invisible creatures by detecting disturbances in the environment, such as faint scents, vibrations or displaced air.

• Worg Handling: allows the character to train and manage worgs as loyal companions. Worgs, known for their cunning and ferocity, require specialized techniques to build trust and discipline. Worg Handling ensures the character can harness these creatures' natural strength and intelligence while minimizing the risk of disobedience or aggression.

See also,
Assassin Sage Abilities
Fighter Sage Abilities
Paladin Sage Abilities
Ranger Sage Abilities