Editing Bitch's Dogs (section)

===Training Methods===
Rachel has bench mark standards for training her dogs that the animals must meet as they incrementally advance.<ref>“Good girl!”  Bitch laughed, “Come on!”<br><br>Lucy responded by huffing out a noise that might have been a bark.  Her footfalls splashed out of sync with Bentley’s, and they were soon joined by others.  Ink, Magic, Roxy, Buddy, Bruno and Socks.  None of the others were as large as Lucy and Bentley.  This would be their first run.  A taste of her power.  She would give them a little more each time, keep an eye out for the ones who listened, give more training to the ones who needed to be kept in line by the bigger and more obedient dogs.<br>[...]<br>She had a routine with her dogs.  The first priority was making sure they were healthy.  That meant grooming and possibly shaving them, getting their records and shots updated if they hadn’t come from the shelter, cleaning their ears, and ensuring they were kept away from the other dogs so she could check the color and consistency of their shit and track any changes.  Shit revealed a lot about the dog it came from, from the obvious of diet to general health to mood.  An unhappy dog had unhealthy shit.<br><br>The second step was training, and every dog got some dedicated attention.  ‘Sit’ was the first command they learned, followed closely by ‘stay’, ‘off’, ‘fetch’ and ‘come’.  Depending on the dog, it could take a couple of days before they had it down solid.  These commands were absolutes.  If a dog didn’t listen to each of those, it wasn’t allowed to go out, and it didn’t get any use of her power.<br><br>Once a dog had those commands down, it opened the door to other orders.  A dog that would stay put while she demonstrated with another would be that much more inclined to follow suit.<br><br>If only humans were as reliable, as easy to train.<br><br>“Dogs, attack.”  The word was quiet, but every dog present was waiting for it.  Bentley and Sirius stayed at their positions, but the rest of the dogs surged into the building, the larger ones leaping through the boarded up windows, the smaller ones surging in the front door.  Growls and barks that were twisted by the unnatural shapes of their throats overlapped into a single noise.<br><br>She waited outside the building, one hand on Bentley’s neck.  He wanted to go, she knew it from the tension, but he was obedient.  Good.  This was a test for him.<br>[...]<br>Just as her dogs came to trust her as she cared for them, fed them, and nurtured them, she grew closer to them as they shared experiences with her, as they learned and accepted their training. - [https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2012/06/16 Excerpt] from [[Interlude 11a]]</ref> They must be able to respond to commands and not attack unless they were explicitly commanded to.

The subjects of her power need to go through an adjustment period before they are used to its application.<ref name="7.2 e2">Sirius started to grow.  Muscles rippled underneath his black coat, and he yelped, pulling away.<br><br>“Couldn’t we maybe get him tranquilized, first?” I asked, watching the lab try to get away, despite the chains binding him.<br><br>Bitch held the length of chain in her hands, keeping him in place.  “No.  My power would burn away the drugs.”<br><br>“He doesn’t like it.”<br><br>“It takes getting used to. But this is better than what he’d go through if a vet took care of it.  Safer.”  - [https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2012/01/21/buzz-7-2/ Excerpt] from [[Buzz 7.2]]</ref> thus she usually gives it out in measured doses. Rachel regularly exposes new dogs that come into her care to her power, in small doses, to ensure their health and well being.<ref name="7.2 e3">She turned her attention to Sirius, who was lying prone, his chest heaving.  “Heartworms have a bacteria inside them.  When they die, the bacteria gets released into the dog.  Having a vet treat it is a long process that involves injecting arsenic into muscles and lots of antibiotics.  Like this, his body won’t just kill them, but it can kill the disease.  He’ll be fine by tomorrow.”<br><br>Sirius let out a long, mournful noise, somewhere between a whine and a howl, loud enough that I had to turn my face away and cover my ears.<br><br>When I was sure he wasn’t about to do it again, I dropped my hands.  I asked Bitch, “Have you done this before?”<br><br>She shook her head.  “I’ve used my power on most of them, but only a little, to keep them healthy.  Sirius is the only one I’ve made this big since Angelica, Brutus, Judas and Rollo.” - [https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2012/01/21/buzz-7-2/ Excerpt] from [[Buzz 7.2]]</ref>

The dogs are exposed to their master's power enough and in conflict prone situations that they automatically associate her use of it with a threat.<ref name="I21.y e34545">“Tell me what?” Bitch asked.  She glanced around.  “Where’s Skitter?”<br><br>Nobody volunteered an answer.<br><br>“Is she hurt?” Bitch asked.  She didn’t even sound concerned.  When nobody spoke up, she expanded her question.  “Is she ''dead''?”<br><br>“Fuck it,” Regent said, “I’ll say it.  Skitter’s at the PRT headquarters.”<br><br>“So?  We break her out.”<br><br>“She went there on purpose,” Regent said, almost offhandedly.  ''Carelessly''.<br><br>Parian couldn’t help but notice the way Bitch clenched her hands, one gripping the metal chain until her knuckles went white.<br><br>“Regent,” Grue said.<br><br>“What?  You don’t want to deliver the news, you don’t get a say in how it’s presented,” Regent retorted<br><br>Bentley and the wolf cub both planted their feet further apart, while the pitbull was looking around, all of a sudden.<br><br>''There''.  Bentley’s shoulders were bulging slightly.  Bitch was using her powers.<br><br>“''So''?” Bitch asked. - [https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2013/04/30/interlude-21/ Excerpt] from [[Interlude 21.y]]</ref>  

<!--look into bitchs interlude for more stuff
also maybe divide up the commentary of what happans to the dogs into here?
Bitch was using her power on her dogs.  It was really my first opportunity seeing it happen from the beginning.  It was like seeing a sausage split its casing, only the casing was fur and skin.  Where the rifts appeared, it wasn’t just muscle spilling out, but spears and ridges of bone.  Some of the exposed muscle shriveled into scaly growths.  Yet they kept growing to the point the back of the van was feeling crowded.  Where did that mass come from?  Was it pulled out of thin air, or was she drawing in some kind of energy and converting it into matter?

<ref name="10.1">Bitch and her dogs were all lying together on and around the couch, Bitch’s hand on Angelica’s head, where the dog lay just below her.  Only Angelica’s eye was open – Bitch and the other three dogs had their eyes closed.  Angelica’s excess flesh had been shed and deposited on the floor as she shrunk down to her natural size.  It looked like Bitch had kicked most of it one corner of the living room; blood and other fluids streaked the carpet between the base of the couch and the corner. - [https://parahumans.wordpress.com/2012/04/24/parasite-10-1/ Excerpt] from [[Parasite 10.1]]</ref>-->