Training dogs in D&D
Gary Grant
I have a druid pc who purchased a young dog, a mastiff with.no previous
training, but trainable. My question is this--How long would it take to
train the dog to follow various commands (especially given that the
druid can use a speak with animals)?
In addition to the basic commands, like "heel," the player envisions
training the dog to
* guard a place
* carry messages to other pc's in the group while in town.
etc.
I have basically assumed that the dog would require weeks and not days
to train, and that even with the speak with animals, it is too playful
and uninterested in following orders to do so without a longer amount of
time providing positive and negative reinforcement.
How have others handled these cases?
-Gary
g-g...@uchicago.edu
Greg Holbrook
I would treat the dog as a small child. Assume that the dog is roughly
about the same learning curve as a 4year old child. He should learn
quickly since he can understand what the teacher wants him to do-exactly
what he wants him to do.
Greg Holbrook
JB
Gary Grant <g-g...@uchicago.edu> wrote:
>I have a druid pc who purchased a young dog, a mastiff with.no previous
>training, but trainable. My question is this--How long would it take to
>train the dog to follow various commands (especially given that the
>druid can use a speak with animals)?
Speaking with animals is not the spell that's relevant here. The spell
is "Animal friendship". A mere 1st level.
>In addition to the basic commands, like "heel," the player envisions
>training the dog to
>* guard a place
>* carry messages to other pc's in the group while in town.
>etc.
Well each etc. will take 1 week of training. 3 tricks or general tasks
can be taught for each Int point the dog has. A dog has 2-4 points of
Int. If the dog has 4 Int, 12 tasks or tricks. This must all be done
within a 3 month period.
>I have basically assumed that the dog would require weeks and not days
>to train, and that even with the speak with animals, it is too playful
>and uninterested in following orders to do so without a longer amount of
>time providing positive and negative reinforcement.
>How have others handled these cases?
Just described it. Besides... speaking with animals won't do anything.
A dog remains true to its nature. It takes training. Normal training
takes a lot longer.
JB
J. McGuire
Gary Grant wrote:
>
> I have a druid pc who purchased a young dog, a mastiff with.no previous
> training, but trainable. My question is this--How long would it take to
> train the dog to follow various commands (especially given that the
> druid can use a speak with animals)?
>
> training the dog to
> * guard a place
> * carry messages to other pc's in the group while in town.
> etc.
>
> to train, and that even with the speak with animals, it is too playful
> and uninterested in following orders to do so without a longer amount of
> time providing positive and negative reinforcement.
>
> How have others handled these cases?
>
This can be a problem, because there's no "real world" parallel. We
can't tell our critters what we want.
Background: while I haven't trained dogs, I have trained my cat. He can
do a fair number of simple tricks, like standing on his hind legs,
jumping through hoops or over bars, leaping onto and off of designated
places, going to specific rooms on command, that sort of thing.
The hard part about all of this is getting across the idea of what I
want him to do. Once we communicate on that, and we've negotiated the
payment (i.e., he's seen that I really do have the bag of kitty treats)
the rest is pretty straightforward.
With your druid, and the Speak With Animals spell, the communication
part is easy. "Stay here until I come back, and bark if anyone but me
comes in here" is well within the range of spell-assisted communication.
That would cut out an enormous part of the training process. However,
there's still the fact that you're dealing with a dog's intelligence and
memory -- or, more to the point, a puppy's. You can tell him what you
want, but will he remember ten minutes later? Or will he be chasing that
rat that just ran across the room?
I've had player-characters with Speak With Animals, and one who had a
dog that had Speak With Humans (magical collar) -- I settled on treating
them a lot like small children. They can have the best of intentions,
but it takes TIME for them to get sufficiently into the habit of doing
something that they will remember, right away, what to do, and won't be
instantly distracted when something else catches their attention. (Then
again, isn't that true to some extent of all of us?)
-- Jean
Wintertree Software
http://www.io.com/~wtsoft
"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing" -- Edmund Burke
silvandoth
Gary Grant <g-g...@uchicago.edu> wrote in article
<327E52...@uchicago.edu>...
> I have a druid pc who purchased a young dog, a mastiff with.no previous
> training, but trainable. My question is this--How long would it take to
> train the dog to follow various commands (especially given that the
> druid can use a speak with animals)?
>
> In addition to the basic commands, like "heel," the player envisions
> training the dog to
> * guard a place
> * carry messages to other pc's in the group while in town.
> etc.
>
> I have basically assumed that the dog would require weeks and not days
> to train, and that even with the speak with animals, it is too playful
> and uninterested in following orders to do so without a longer amount of
> time providing positive and negative reinforcement.
>
> How have others handled these cases?
>
> -Gary
> g-g...@uchicago.edu
>
In Animal Training proficiency, it is stated that in order to train for a
general task, requires three months of uninterrupted work...To train for a
specific task, it requires 2d6 weeks. An animal can be trained in 2d4
general tasks or specific tasks, or any combination of the two.
I wouldn't allow the druid to train anything without having that
proficiency. As for the unwillingness to be trained, that wouldn't require
more time, just a penalty to the proficiency check, at least in my book
PS This one of my first posts to this group, but I have lurked for awhile
now...Hi everyone.
--
Immortality is not a gift,
Immortality is an achievemnet:
And olny those who strive mightly
Shall possess it.
- Edgar Lee Masters
Silvandoth
The dark-elf from Krynn
Tim Breen
> something that they will remember, right away, what to do, and won't be
> instantly distracted when something else catches their attention. (Then
> again, isn't that true to some extent of all of us?)
I'm sorry. Did you say something? <g>
-- Tim
http://personalweb.lightside.com/Pfiles/breen1.html
" The Red Queen shook her head. "You may call it 'nonsense'
if you like," she said, "but _I've_ heard nonsense, compared
with which that would be as sensible as a dictionary!" "
- Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking-Glass
Larry D. Hols
Hallo,
I can tell you've never had a small child or trained a dog. Neither one
of the two would understand exactly what the instructor wants them to
do, although the child will pick up on things a bit more quickly. The
child does speak the same language, to a limited extent, but the poor
dog doesn't.
Larry
Father of Tristram
Suddenly dealing with an old farm dog...
Tom Mueller
In article <327F24...@ix.netcom.com>, wts...@ix.netcom.com says...
>With your druid, and the Speak With Animals spell, the communication
>part is easy. "Stay here until I come back, and bark if anyone but me
>comes in here" is well within the range of spell-assisted
communication.
** I am put in mind of the scene in "The Holy Grail," where the lord
of Swamp Castle tries to give his guards similar instructions...
>-- Jean
>Wintertree Software
>http://www.io.com/~wtsoft
The Lord of Taladas
Gary Grant
silvandoth wrote:
>
> Gary Grant <g-g...@uchicago.edu> wrote in article
> <327E52...@uchicago.edu>...
> > I have a druid pc who purchased a young dog, a mastiff with.no previous
> > training, but trainable. My question is this--How long would it take to
> > train the dog to follow various commands (especially given that the
> > druid can use a speak with animals)?
>
> In Animal Training proficiency, it is stated that in order to train for a
> general task, requires three months of uninterrupted work...To train for a
> specific task, it requires 2d6 weeks. An animal can be trained in 2d4
> general tasks or specific tasks, or any combination of the two.
>
> I wouldn't allow the druid to train anything without having that
> proficiency. As for the unwillingness to be trained, that wouldn't require
> more time, just a penalty to the proficiency check, at least in my book
>
> PS This one of my first posts to this group, but I have lurked for awhile
> now...Hi everyone.
> --
Welcome!
After reading a lot of good advise on this subject, here's how I've
decided to play it. I am not requiring animal training proficiency,
because I think intuitively, anyone can train a dog, especially a druid,
though it would be much improved to have the proficiency.
What I think was particularly helpful was the idea that there are two
facets of this, communicating the desired act to the dog AND getting the
dog to want to do it (e.g. to please its master, etc.).
So when the druid attempts to train the dog, he will have a percentage
roll for success. In the beginning it will be difficult, but each
success makes it more likely the dog will obey the next time.
Eventually, with enough training, the druid will be fairly certain of
success.
What will be difficult will be training the dog to obey complex and
unsupervised commands. Thus, teaching the dog to sit will be relatively
easy and should take a few days to establish this ability. Teaching it
to carry a message to another player, however, will be more difficult.
The hardest part will be replicating the situations in which this is
done. So, for example, training the dog to carry the message in town
will not necessarily guarantee that it will do so in an adventuring
scenario, where it might get distracted by things that were not present
when it was being trained.
Thus, the dog's training will involve not only time spent in town
working with it, but also experience in different settings over game
time. In essence, the dog's abilities will improve like levels and only
after a number of failed attempts at the desired tricks which will, I am
sure, be a source of frustration for its owner, equal to the rewards
once it works.
Thanks again for a lot of good thoughts on the subject.
-Gary
laffn...@aol.com
Just my 2 cp worth...
I have never trained a dog, but I have had a lot of experience with
assistnce dogs and some exposure to attack dogs (wardogs in game terms).
Some breeds can be extremely easy to train, others aren't. Training an
assistance dog using Speak with Animals would probably still take over a
year, since you want the dog to have thebehaviors down and be able to
apply them in different situations. Police dogs (like the Akita in Japan)
have similer training times. You want them to know when to attack and
(more important) when not to. The level system mentioned seems to be a
good system. maybe you could use a modified spell progression chart to
show how many behaviors the dog is proficient with, and how complex they
are. Urban Street Navigation, or Bomb Sniffing, would probably be 2nd
level behaviors, while Crowd Control would be 3rd, and require profeciency
with Principles of Sheepherding, a 1st level behavior....
Just some random madness....
Bryan
Eagles may soar free and proud, but you never hear of a weasle getting sucked into a jet engine.
Ricy of the Redwood
Why not let the Druid use the Animal Friendship spell. Training takes 1
week for each trick and will remain with beast until the dog is left away
from the master for more than a week. However, training must be within
the first 3 months of attaining the dog. In the meantime tell him to use
a proficiency slot for animal training and then he can teach tricks that
won't expire after a week of seperation.
--
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| Ricky Martz | "There comes a time of sadness with |
| Ricy of the Redwood | the setting of the sun, not for |
| red...@fred.net | sins committed but for things I |
| | have not done." <-- Unknown |
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