Bradshaw's K9 Blog

July 4th & Police Dogs

2009-07-02T00:00:00-04:00

Usually about this time, every newspaper and magazine runs the typical "July 4th and Your Pet" column about fireworks freaking out pet dogs. If you have a pet dog, take heed, but for most of the readers of this blog, your working dog is not immune.

If you have a police dog, don't forget to protect him from the July 4th celebration too. Many police dogs are gunfire aggressive, rather than neutral, and as such the constant boom of fireworks can agitate him to the point where he rips apart the chain link of the kennel run, and decides to run TO the action giving your neighbors a big surprise when "Draco" comes haulig ass around the gas grill looking for the perpetrator. Or if you decided to keep him inside, he finally learns how to to bust out of a vari-kennel while you aren't home, and the result wil be the ever loving destruction of the new couch your wife just bought for the downstairs rumpus room.

Suggestions:

1. Do Keep your dog inside....make sure you crate him in the quietest area of the house, where it is nice and cool. Downstairs in the laundry room, or basement.

2. Turn on the TV or Radio to something he will like (all dogs hate Slipknot, so somethig a bit more soothing) and loud enough to block out the noise from neighborhood celebrations.

3. Give him a cow femur to chew on, so if he does get a bit agitated he will have something on which to take his frustration out.

4. Enjoy your 4th of July. but if you are like most of my friends, your partner will be right behind you barking in your ear, because you are not getting July 4th off from work!

On a serious note:

Here is some Text from the Declaration of Independence that we would do well to recall this weekend. Many of our ancestors died for the principle that government serves the people, and that government is only a referee ensuring individual rights to live our lives as we so choose, without interference from the same. That it is not the role of government to "fix" all social ills, as if they ever have or ever could "fix" anything. It is the drive, inginuity, and intelligence of the American people acting in their self-interest who have driven all the innovation and wealth creation of this country. Beware of the charlatans promising you something for nothing. Whether it is an internet scam promising you something for nothing, or your government promising you "free" this and "free" that, it is all a scam nonetheless.......believe it at the peril of your wallet, and worse yet at the peril of your personal and individual rights & liberty ....

As Thomas Jefferson wrote:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed...."

When your government tells you, they will "allow" you to do this or that, the government is overreaching its authority, and be not afraid to say it is so.....Happy Independence Day!

Special Dogs for Sale

2009-07-01T00:00:00-04:00

Normally we don't post our dogs for sale on the blog, but we have a few special cases I want to make prople aware of to see if there is any interest.

(1) Malinois, Patrol Dog. This dog is all about the bitework. He is 3.5 years old very sharp, about 60 pounds, pedigreed (AKC) very strong biting, has a release but no call off yet. Lots of basic obedience includinng heeling, motion exercises, recall etc. He needs a strong handler, not a green handler, but someone with experience to deal with him when he gets frustated he will sometimes come up and grab the leash. Dog goes in the front shoulder, and can take lots of pressure. Great environmentals. VERY GOOD PRICE to the right handler. Email me for Price and more info.

(2) German Shepherd, 4.5 year old dual purpose dog. Another dominant dog, very powerful in the bitework, completely trained for Patrol, tracking and narcotics. His dominance and age are what make him less expesive, but he is a great street dog. Again, this dog needs a strong handler who knows how to do more than try to dominate through force. He has punked a few people. We got him back because the handler left K9 and the agency had no one else willig to handle him that had experience. Call for price and more info.

(3) Malinois, 3.5 year old, 55 pounds, pedigreed Schutzhund Trained up to SchH 1 in OB and Protection, with some tracking imprinting completed. He has a very handler soft temperament, until he gets stimulated, and then he can come up the leash some. He isn't coming out of malice, but frustration. Trained on e-collar, is reactive to pinch, but has a lot of great behavior developed. I have been playing with him for a personal dog but I just don't have time to show in Schutzhund. Over the top retrieve drive, good hunting, beautiful obedience, fast and clean. Out is super clean. I have had him on the suit in the front. Extremely fast in the long attack!

Please, serious inquiries only, I can provide pics and video, but not to the just curious.

Jerry Bradshaw

K9 Scent Lineups

2009-06-30T00:00:00-04:00

A recent article on PoliceOne.com highlights some lawsuits brought in TX to challenge using K9s to make suspect identifications. The article is here:

http://www.policeone.com/K-9/articles/1851697-Lawsuits-target-Texas-K-9-scent-lineups/

Of course the arttorney's for the plaintiffs make the assertion that there is :junk science" behind the idea of scent identification. This is absolutely not the case, but who expects a lawyer to worry about the truth. Now, it is possible that the scent identification procedures set up in the case in TX may have been flawed in some way, or that the dogs and handlers have not had the appropriate training, but to argue that the concept is faulty is not the case.

I had the pleasure to attend a semiar given by the Dutch Professor Dr. Adee Schoon, of the University of Leiden, Netherlands, present her research, and its application in Dutch Law enforcement. Here is a sample of her writing on the subject. There is no shortage of research and empirical studies to show that dogs can in fact make proper scent identifications, but the procedures used are critical to getting success, and not every K9 and handler are cut out for this kind of work. A lot of training has to go into this and I would venture to say, there are few if any K9s in the US who have had proper scent identification traiing, or that the procedures used to conduct the same are scientifically valid. To read more about it, check out Adee Schoon's research, contained in the book K9 Suspect Discrimination :

http://www.amazon.com/K9-Suspect-Discrimination-Adee-Schoon/dp/1550592335

Here is a link to an FBI newsletter article about the subject of scent in criminal investigations, it contains an extensive bibliography:

http://www.fbi.gov/hq/lab/fsc/backissu/july2004/research/2004_03_research03.htm

While there are limitations, this is an area of K9 use that will grow in the future, and handlers interested in this subject must get the proper training and use proper best practice procedures, and not rely on old wives tales.

Police Dogs & Your Kids

2009-06-30T00:00:00-04:00

In the old days, police dogs were kenneled in a central location and rarely were taken home by K9 officers. That has changed to the point where it is unusual to find a K9 that does not come home with his handler every day.

This means that the dog is going to interact with the family. Often times when I get asked to provide a dog for a department, they want a dog that is perfectly safe with kids and with the wife. There is no such thing as perfectly safe no matter how great the dog appears to be socialized. Never forget he has a mouth full of teeth. Here are some ways to help ensure a good outcome with a new police dog in the home.

(1) The dog shold not live loose in the house. Period. You cannot supervise him adequately if he is running loose in the house. He can get himself into trouble. The police K9 should have an outdoor kennel with a good igloo dog house, and a roof over the kennel to both prevent the weather from getting to him as well as to prevent him from getting out by bailing over the fence. In the house, the dog should have a vari-kennel for times when he needs to have some quiet time. The dog needs alone time, just like you do.

(2) Kids need to be educated. It is not the dog's responsibility to know how to deal with your children, no matter how many Lassie episodes you have watched. Dogs view kids as co-equals and sometimes subordinates. Even when the dog is well socialized into the family, disagreements among equals are solved with growling and snapping and sometimes inhibited biting (mouth on skin but not with a lot of pressure). Unfortunately, children's skin is not as tough as a dogs furry coat, and what is not intended to do damage actually does. Kids need to learn to leave the dog alone when eating, sleeping, and to give him a break from being annoyed. If you ever find these words coming out of your mouth, you are asking for trouble: "The dog SHOULD be great with kids." There are no SHOULDS in dog training. You must anticipate what will go wrong and set up to avoid what can go wrong,. That is the essence of being a dog handler and trainer. Don;t put the burden on your dog, he has the intelligence of a 3 year old.

(3) Police dogs are posessive and relatively more dominant than the average dog, Unlike a normal fido, these dogs are selected to have a high degree of posessiveness. This can sometimes bleed over to posessiveness of food, toys, and resting places. Allowing others in the household to try to take away these things can often lead to aggression. Most of the cases where a family member gets bit by a police dog occur over a posessiveness issue which could have been prevented with some foresight. No sleeping in the bed for god sakes! No taking toys away from him. If you do not train him, you don't get to discipline him - that includes your wife and kids.

(4) Police dogs are usually very territorial. In the car or in the outside kennel, or even in the fenced yard, barrier aggression and territoriality of the property is a real issue. Handlers must not delegate feeding the police dog to kids who have to reach into kennels, or enter kennels. Allowing people to approach kennels and then let the dog out to meet people can lead to disaster. Letting people come into an area in which the dog is running loose (like a yard) can lead to the dog seeing that as a violation of territory (especially if his pack is inside the fence).

We tell our K9 officers that your dog is a piece of law enforcement equipment. You wouldn't be cavalier with how you allow your gun, pepper spray or taser to be handled by kids and family members, so the same should be true of your K9. Dont treat him like a pet. Once the dog learns that he can get his way by aggressively dealing with family members, it will continue. As the K9 vendor, these dogs are usually sent back because their temperament is "faulty," when in fact the officer/handler is faulty in their expectations and how they allow the dog to interact with the family.

Each of these things I have mentioned have been situations we have had to deal with, most of the time taking the dogs back because the dog is blamed for the aggression.

New PSA Board Up and Running!

2009-06-27T00:00:00-04:00

The new PSA message board is up and running......come and visit the chat site for the American K9 Sport!

http://www.psak9forum.com/

There are sections on upcoming events, training and behavior, videos, pictures, health and nutrition, etc....come and check it out!

Hobbs New Mexico PD K9s

2009-06-22T00:00:00-04:00

NTPDA Certified and Tarheel Canine trained K9s from Hobbs New Mexico get vests........

http://www.newswest9.com/Global/story.asp?S=10565957&nav=menu505_2

Congratulations to Stanley Jordan and Bach for getting profiled in the article! Stan is an extremely dedicated handler and 50% of a very productive team for Hobbs PD!

NTPDA Discusion Board re-Opened

2009-06-22T00:00:00-04:00

Click on this link to go to the NTPDA discussion forum: http://members.boardhost.com/tacticalcanine/

Or, look to the right column of this blog ad you can see a direct link there.....click and discuss.....

Upcoming Seminar Events

2009-06-22T00:00:00-04:00

Check out the upcoming semiar events by clicking here: http://www.tarheelcanine.com/seminars-consulting-events.cfm

If you or your agency are iterested in hosting a seminar, please read over the procedures for hosting (could be completely cost free for the host) and contact Jerry at malinois_jb@mindspring.com

Liability Question

2009-06-20T00:00:00-04:00

I had an interesting question come up in a conversation the other day. A police department has a dual purpose dog (narcotics/patrol) and the handler left the department. It is a small agency so the only one willing to take the dog was a narcotics officer, who doesn;t have the need or the time available to maintain the patrol functions in the dog. He is only interested in the narcotics detection and the tracking functions.

His question was: "If I just recertify with him in the drugs and tracking, does that present any liability issues to the agency?"

My answer was, yes it does. Case law argues that a K9 must be trained, certified and reliable. Allowing any training to lapse presents a problem, but especially the apprehension training should not lapse. Because the dog was trained to apprehend and bite in a controlled fashion, allowing the training to lapse, as well as the certification, opens the handler to liability for not making sure the dog responds to all of his verbal commands properly. If the dog makes an accidental bite it could be argued that the impetus was the lack of control due to lapsed training, making a bad situation (accidental bite) worse by turning it into negligence. Further, if the supervisor allows this situation to occur, there is the possibility of a negligent supervision claim. Therefore, my answer was for the handler either to retire the dog, find another handler for him and get himself another dog for narcotics only, or continue all of the training with the dog and certify in all areas with him.

K9 Alert problem

2009-06-19T00:00:00-04:00

Question: "I am having a little problem with my mal. We have been really focusing on his alert to start the action and that has been going fine (this is something we've focused on from the start), but as soon as I alert him he pulls very hard into the leash, gets low the ground and snarls/barks aggressively (classical aggression). The intensity is awesome, but he is pulling so hard he can't hardly breathe. He is just inches of the ground pulling forward. I have him on a harness (because he can't breath to bark on the collar), but this seems to cause an issue for him as well. He is so focused on pulling that he can't seem to bark much."

There are a couple things you can try with the dog. The forst thing to realize is that the dog is clearly getting into the right mood (aggressive) with the alert, however, he is not expressing it as you would prefer. All his energy is being thrown into the pulling forward behavior, and not enough into the barking behavior. The key is to set up the alert, and only reward the behavior you want (barking) successively approximating to the end result (a whole string of barks proior to the grip).

It is my assumption, that you probably have rewarded him by allowing the bite in the past without holding him to the standard of barking you really want, and so the dog thinks the route to the grip is through pulling rather than vocalizing. This has to change - only bite after some barking. Both you and the helper must be on the same page here to not allow a reward for pulling.

Here are some tips:

1. Try to work on slick floors for a while to establish the idea that barking brings the grip.

2. Use an XL Pinch collar, double hooked to both the inside and outside rings, to restrain the dog in the alert. You can use two lines, one for the alert and another on the harness for making tension during the grip work after the grip is obtained. You have to be careful not to depress the barking because of the discomfort of the prong collar, which is why we use an XL. But if you need more diffusion of the collar, place the pinch over a bandana to further cushion the effect. This approach will self-limit the pulling (becomes uncomfortable) and allow the dog to channel his energy into vocalizing. Be sure to reward this behavior as soon as it occurs. If you do this right, you can manage both lines so that the dog upon alerting pulls but not enough to depress his vocalizing,

3. Use a barrier to limit the dog's pulling (fence gate, car door like in the PSA carjacking) and focus on vocalizing.

My best results have come from using methods 1 and 2. be sure to reward the vocalizing, and if the dog refuses to bark, he goes back in the car, with no grip, and bring him out many times (withold the reward) to try again, so the dog can have the opportunity to figure out the change in regime - barking only after the alert gets a grip, and pulling gets nothing.

Conditioned Responses

2009-06-19T00:00:00-04:00

Here is a question I received via email from a reader of this blog:

When a dog turns in a near perfect performance in one of the dog sports (KNPV, Belgian Ring, PSA, etc.) and the handler is unable to provide a correction in the ring/stadium or whatever, what can that near perfection be attributed to, since the dog is not wearing an e-collar, prong, etc.?

This is a fairly complex quesiton, however, the simple answer is the dog's behavior has been well conditioned to replicate in all manner of contexts. The way that we get there is to set up a standard of performance, and no matter what, hold that dog to that standard of performance at all times. This is the critical piece of the puzzle. It is also why the vast majority of handlers do not achieve the near perfection you are alluding to, because they are inconsistent in their expectations, or vary their standard of performance to which they hold the dog from training session to training session.

A dog is a creature of habit, and if you vary the standard of performance, there is no chance to create a habit to which the dog will revert. Thus you get a wide variety of behaviors, and you hear a lot of this: "My dog never did that before!" The other variable is time. Many handlers do not allow enbough time in training to have a dog establish a completely conditioned response. In fact, many handlers, once they see a response to a command cue a few times will claim their dog has "learned" the behavior, when in fact the dog is only in the fluency phase of training and the dog needs a lot more conditioning to get through the generalization phase (phases of training are discussed in Controlled Aggression: acquisition, fluency and generalization). This can be why the dog fails on a new trial field or with a slight change in a scenario context - the behaviors have only just started to take root, and slight changes in the environment or the scenario throw the dog off track. The response is not generalized yet.

As to equipment, it doesn't matter if you use a leash and pinch collar, a choke collar or an e-collar, or completely motivational food reward if you can get the results you need to establish the conditioned response. (As long as the dog moves through the acquisition, fluency, and generalization phases completely). The training approach needed will be dictated by each individual dog's temperament. However most trainers take the religious approach rather than match method to the temperament. It is my opinion that purely motivational approaches or purely compulsive approaches are incomplete approaches and do not allow the trainer to completely condition the responses to their highest potential, and an eclectic approach that rewards the standard of behavior, and also corrects deviations from the standard of behavior, will achieve the best, and most enduring conditioned response in the majority of dogs, and especially with high drive working dogs.

However, I will say this, using an e-collar makes distance control easier, and it makes the timing of corrections during the training process much easier and more precise, and this is why you find most high level competitors using the e-collar. The collar is not a fix, it has to become a part of the dog's everyday life both in training and deployments in my opinion (this is why NTPDA www.tacticalcanine.com allows K9 teams to deploy in certification with the e-collar receiver on, though the judge holds the transmitter) and the handler must hold the dog to the same standard of performance day in and day out.

Conditioning takes a good plan, good implementation of the plan, and the right tools for the dog in question.

Do Dogs Expect Fair Play?

2009-06-13T00:00:00-04:00

From NatGeo News......

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/news/latest-news/austria-dogs-apvin.html

Do Dogs Expect Fair Play?

2009-06-13T00:00:00-04:00

National Geographic Video........

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/news/latest-news/austria-dogs-apvin.html

Law Enforcement Grants for K9

2009-06-13T00:00:00-04:00

Chief Supply Grants Page:

http://www.chiefsupply.com/grants/opengrants.asp#le

American Working Dog Council:

http://www.awdck9.com/grants.htm

Here are some possible funding sources and ideas (from post by Terry Fleck on the public forum : http://forums.officer.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59811):

1. U.S. DOJ (Department of Justice) LLEBG (Local Law Enforcement Block Grant):

http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/grant/llebg_app.html

2. U.S. Department of Homeland Security grants:

http://www.dhs.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/states.htm

3. DAD DAC (Dogs against Drugs / Dogs Against Crime (A canine association that donates dogs to agencies):

www.daddac.com

4. Community donations:

Most communities will donate to a canine program. The key to success is “ownership” of the dog. The community MUST believe that they are donating for “their” dog. They must be part of the ownership of the dog. Therefore, community dog demos, community canine newsletters, etc., will assist the community in funding and having ownership in your canine program.

Also approach your businesses, both large and small, in your community. Many a canine unit has been given large amounts of funding from businesses in local communities.

5. More suggestions from the Federal government:

Subject: RE: K-9 Operations Funding

Specialists at the National Criminal Justice Reference Service saw your
request for information about funding for K-9 Operations. Because NCJRS has some
information on this, we are providing a response at the direction of the NCJRS
COTR and IALEP member Bill Ballweber at USDOJ. Resources related to funding for
K-9 Operations are provided below:
The U.S. Customs & Border Protection (CBP) Canine Enforcement Program
develops, executes, and oversees the allocation, training, and support of canine
resources. You can view information about this program on the following Web site:
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/border_se...nes/canine.xml.
If you would like to contact the Canine Enforcement Program to inquire about
funding or training resources, please use the following means:
Phone: 202-344-1931
E-mail: canine@dhs.gov

The National Institute of Justice solicitation, Public Safety Interventions,
provides funding for Drug Crackdowns. More information is provided at:
http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/sl000738.pdf.
For additional funding information, please visit the Grants & Funding section
of the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) Web site at
http://www.ncjrs.gov/fedgrant.html. This Web site contains links to funding
opportunities from the Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs (OJP).
Specifically, we recommend the following funding resources:

Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program (JAG)
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/BJA/grant/jag.html

Funding is currently being provided to State and local entities.
Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS)
http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/

Following is another Web site that may be of use to you:
Dogs Against Drugs, Dogs Against Crime
http://daddac.com/

You may also want to contact the State Grant Administering Agency (SAA) for
your state to see if there are any funds available that can be used
specifically for drug dogs. Many OJP formula grants are awarded directly to state
governments, which then set priorities and allocate funds within the state. You can
view a listing of SAAs on the following Web site:
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/state.htm.

Additionally, through the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP)
Technology Transfer Program (TTP), equipment is made available free of charge to
state and local law enforcement agencies. While TTP does not supply funding,
the equipment that is available may be of use to your agency. The following
Internet link will connect you to the TTP Web site: http://www.epgctac.com. If you
have any questions about this program, please contact TTP directly at
877-EPG-CTAC or ttp@epgctac.com.

Please take a look at the resources and let us know if you have any questions
or need further assistance. Also, do not hesitate to contact us in the future
if you have other justice-related needs - we're here to help! You can contact
us at http://www.ncjrs.gov/App/ContactUs.aspx.

Sincerely,
Jennifer Drake
Content Specialist
NCJRS
www.ncjrs.gov
For comment/feedback on the information provided, please contact Bill
Ballweber at DOJ via e-mail: william.ballweber@usdoj.gov or by phone: 202-305-2975.
When sending e-mails, please CC the NCJRS Quality Manager at:
ritaylor@ncjrs.org.

Terry Fleck
Canine Legal Update and Opinions
www.k9fleck.org

_____________________________________________________________________________

Del Monte Milk Bone Grants:

http://www.policegrantshelp.com/grants/1790574-Del-Monte-Milk-Bone-Canine-Heroes-Police-Dog-Donation-Program/

Roethlisbergger Foundation K9 Grants

http://www.bigben7.com/foundation.aspx

Natural Tick Repellents

2009-06-12T00:00:00-04:00

Looking for a natural tick repellent? Oil of Rose Geranium is sworn to be effective by a number of people....

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/tick-repellant.html

In reaearching the topic, I also found Garlic (eat some Italian food...Mange!) and Tea Tree Oil to be natural bug and tock repellents.....

Tea Tree Oil is a natural bacteriacide and fungicide, and if you have a tick on you they recommend putting a few drops of the oil on the tick, and it will in short order fall off, keep putting a couple drops of the oil on the bite for about 5 days to speed healing of the would as well....

http://www.theherbsplace.com/Tea_Tree_Oil_Uses_sp_153.html

Good luck with these nasty bastards!

K9 Cancer Drug wins FDA Approval

2009-06-12T00:00:00-04:00

The first canine cancer treatment is now available after winning FDA approval.....

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/features/mutts/blog/2009/06/drug_to_treat_skin_cancer_in_d.html

Dog Quotes

2009-06-11T00:00:00-04:00

"The small percentage of dogs that bite people is monumental proof that the dog is the most benign, forgiving creature on earth." - - William R. Koehler, The Koehler Method of Dog Training

"But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee" - - Job 12:7

"Your dog will look at you when you are worth looking at." -- Sam Malatesta

"Humans have externalized their wisdom — stored it in museums, libraries, the expertise of the learned. Dog wisdom is inside the blood and bones." - - Donald McCaig

Humans are aware of very little, the artificial brainy side of life, the worries and bills and the mechanisms of jobs, the doltish psychologies we've placed over our lives like a stencil. A dog keeps his life simple and unadorned. He is who he is, and his only task is to assert this. --Brad Watson, The Last Days of the Dog-Men

You enter into a certain amount of madness when you marry a person with pets. - - Nora Ephron

Ben Rothlisberger Foundation Accepting Grant Requests

2009-06-11T00:00:00-04:00

Here is an email I received from the Ben Rothlisberger foundation .....

Hello Jerry,

I work on Ben Roethlisberger’s Foundation, where he gives grants to Police/Fire Departments around the country to purchase K9’s. Ben gives grants away in each of the away cities that the Steelers will play this season as well as in the city of Pittsburgh.

We are currently accepting applications for the following cities:
Chicago

Cincinnati

Detroit

Denver

Kansas City

Baltimore

Cleveland

Miami

Please visit www.bigben7.com for more information.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks,

Kerry

___________________________________

Kerry Dreyer

(Telephone: 516-510-8303 7Fax: 714-377-4960

*Email: kerrydreyer@hotmail.com

Another Article: Dominance Theory Questioned

2009-06-11T00:00:00-04:00

Read this link before reading on: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090521112711.htm

There are a few things I concluded from reading this article in Science Daily:

1. It excluded from the research sample, dogs that are more likely to be highly dominant, such as high level working dogs. While working dogs do end up in shelter environments, the vast majority do not.

2. If you conclude from reading this article that dominance - related aggression doesn't exist you will be doing a disservice. They are correct to point out that the blanket attribution of dominance, in Cesar Milan fashion, to all situations is in fact ridiculous, as most professional trainers and behaviorists have known for years since he showed up on the scene. However, there are situations where dogs attempt to manipulate control through showing aggression (because they learn it works) and the dog is in fact not scared or fearful. The researchers attribution of fear and anxiety in blanket fashion is just as ridiculous as Cezar Milan's all encompassing dominance. This is the same victimology that is attributed to everything canine to justify force-free training in all situations. If the dogs are simply trembling victims of abusive training methodologies, and if they are ALL just frightened and anxious, we cannot use anything but love and a clicker on these poor canine victims of society.....it is the same reason why we now have a society full of kids who no longer respect authority, because there are no consequences for anti-social behavior, for after all they are just victims of economic "abuse." That is another show.

3. The article does verify something I have been saying for years, that even if you have a dominant dog (call it what you like, but a master manipulator - they are after all predators - that uses aggression to satisfy his drives, hunger, or other innate needs) the Alpha-Omega model that uses physical dominance techniques like alpha rolling is a poor method to use because when people use it they are inconsistent and weak minded, unlike another dog would be using the alpha roll, and usually it does in fact lead to the owner or someone else getting bit.

Trainers beware of the all or nothing. There is usually some ideology lurking in the weeds.

The "Guilty" Dog Phenomenon.....

2009-06-11T00:00:00-04:00

You leave your dog alone for a little while, and you come home to discover something distroyed, or a steaming present waiting for you in the middle of the kitchen floor, and you shoot a glance at the dog......GUILTY! He has that look of defeat, because as a dog he just can't hide it, right? Wrong!

Alexandra Horowitz, an assistant professor at Barnard College in NY set up an experiment where she lied to pet owners about their dog doing something wrong. Here is what she did:

"During the study, owners were asked to leave the room after ordering their dogs not to eat a tasty treat. While the owner was away, Horowitz gave some of the dogs this forbidden treat before asking the owners back into the room. In some trials the owners were told that their dog had eaten the forbidden treat; in others, they were told their dog had behaved properly and left the treat alone. What the owners were told, however, often did not correlate with reality."

What the research uncovered was this: The dogs who appeared most "guilty" looking were the ones who were admonished by their owners for eating the treat. Interestingly, the ones who were described as most "guilty" looking were the dogs who were in fact obedient and did not eat the treat, but whose owners were misinformed by the researcher and told (falsely) that their dog ate the treat! The research concluded that the dog's guilty look is in fact a response to the owner's behavior (body language, facial expressions, verbal admonishments) and not necessarily related to any canine self-awareness of bad behavior.

Trainers are always careful to be aware of anthropomorphism, the tendency to attribute human attributes of reasoning or emotion to dogs. The dog owning population is full of people who make these attributions, and we as trainers should be clear to not accept them when they are brought up in conversation. Even K9 handlers, who handle highly trained dogs in very important situations will still throw out the occasional anthropomorphisms.

Hand this article to all your fellow K9 handlers, so they can understand and appreciate the effect of the handler's behavior and frame of mind on the dog's behavior. Ths relationship, commonly referred to as the handler's feelings "going down the leash" has a lot to do with the handler's expectations and assumptions. If the handler thinks the dog is screwing up, say the handler assumes there is a drug hide in an area that was set up as a blank area, all it may take to make the dog false respond (throw out a sit or scratch) is body language and facial expressions, and voice patterns that indicate the handler is upset with the dog's behavior. Even though in such a situation, the dog would be right and the handler wrong.

Here is the article reference: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090611065839.htm

NTPDA Message Board is back up for good....

2009-06-10T00:00:00-04:00

The message board of the National Tactical Police Dog Association has been repaired, with a new URL. Tomorrow there will be a direct link from the NTPDA home page. The NEW URL for the message board is:

http://members.boardhost.com/tacticalcanine/index.html

Stop by and start a discussion thread,, ask a question, or tell us about your work with police dogs....

Stress and Training......

2009-06-10T00:00:00-04:00

Have you noticed in your training, that when a dog is in a high state of stress, he doesn't process information clearly, like obedience commands that are well conditioned?

In the canine brain there are two key centers of activity that we must be concerned with; (1) The Limbic System and (2) The Cerebral Cortex. The Limbic System is concerned with emotion and the cerebral cortex with cognition, or thinking. Interestingly, activation of the limbic system inhibits activity in the cerebral cortex. Thus when the dog is in a high state of emotional aroural (i.e., stress), the thinking center will progressively shut down. He just phycically cannot think clearly.

This stress effect can come from outside the dog-trainer relationship, such as a threat trigger of the dog's defensive instincts, or from within the relationship, as the trainer puts pressure on the dog in obedience. In the latter manifestation, the dog resorts to emotional behavior (avoidance, safety-seeking) in response to the limbic system taking over. If the trainer doesn't recognize this, and presses the apparent "disobedience" with further pressure, it will create a vicious cycle, perhaps resulting in the dog resorting to aggression to halt the stress. The dog can no longer think and now simply reacts to reduce the stress.

An experienced trainer will recognize when stress is affecting the training session, and make an effort to change the training environment to remove the stress, and return the dog to a mood where he can think and process information.

One must be sure to slowly introduce stressors into the dog's training. This will teach the dog how to simultaneously cope with stress and learn at the same time. By taking this process slowly, you will be able to create a trained response that can be reproduced under all manner of stress.

References: http://webspace.ship.edu/cgboer/limbicsystem.html

http://www.ttlntl.co.uk/index.htm

K9 Body Language Quiz

2009-06-10T00:00:00-04:00

Try this basic Canine body language quiz.....see what your percentage is......

http://www.ttlntl.co.uk/3/bodylangquiz.htm

K9 Instructor School

2009-06-09T00:00:00-04:00

Tarheel Canine's Professional Dog Trainer School is a cut above the rest, not just for the progressive instruction, or the skilled instructors, but also because it is one of the only places where you can get hands on time with lots of dogs. Be they pet dogs in training for those working to be an obedience and behavior coach or instructor, or if you are going all the way into Police K9 Instruction, you get dogs and lots of them, at all levels of training, so you can master the adjustments needed to make every dog successful.

While theory is critical to provide a reference point for a training progression, hands on with dogs of all types and temperaments is critical. In our Police K9 instructor course, you will see Labs, malinois (both dual purpose and single purpose detection), and GSDs (Also, both dual purpose and single purpose). You will handle, you will decoy, you will run trailing tracks, and learn, above all, how to problem solve.

We will be happy to provide you with references, from civilians and police departments who have taken our courses.

For more information on our Trainer's school: http://www.tarheelcanine.com/school.cfm

For an application, woth pricing: http://www.tarheelcanine.com/Documents/NorthStateApp.pdf

For more information, email Jerry Bradshaw: malinois_jb@mindspring.com

PSA Trial Weekend - Baltimore Sun Article

2009-06-08T00:00:00-04:00

Here is the link to the PSA Trial story in the Baltimore Sun on Sunday! Congratulations to all the competitors for a great weekend!

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/annearundel/bal-md.dogs07jun07,0,1458211.story

Tarheel Canine Trained K9 Serves Up Justice!

2009-06-08T00:00:00-04:00

Link to the McDowell County News, where K9 Maros, trained at Tarheel Canine Training, Inc. and Agent Jason Crisp made a big apprehension in a Murder Case......

http://www2.mcdowellnews.com/content/2009/jun/03/fugitive-apprehended-six-others-charged-murder-app/news-local/

PSA trial in Baltimore MD

2009-06-03T15:21:13-04:00

PSA Trial (www.psak9.org) in Linthicum Heigts MD this weekend, June 6 & 7, 2009.

Trial Location:

St. Philip Neri School, 6401 South Orchard Road, Linthicum Heights, MD 21090

Webpage
http://www.metropolitank9.com/2009BaltTrialInfo.htm

There will be live updates of each competitor on the PSA twitter page and facebook page:

http://twitter.com/PSAK9

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/Protection-Sports-Association/103474990624?ref=ts

Come and see PSA...there will be level 3 dogs competing, and vendors, as well as excellent catered food both days!

Show up and meet the directors, judges and competitors!

Excellent Article - Selection Testing a Detector dog

2009-06-03T00:00:00-04:00

http://www.policeone.com/K-9/articles/1837304-Selection-testing-a-detector-dog/

Law Dog Conference comes to East Coast

2009-06-02T00:00:00-04:00

The Law Dog Conference is coming to the East Coast on September 8-10, 2009 in Orlando FL.

Topics include: Officer Safety, urban Tracking, Legal Updates, High Risk EDD, Interdiction, Handler Aggressive & Dominant Dogs, Obedience, Tactical Tracking......get the details by going to the Invictus Tactical website at......

http://www.invictustactical.com/

They are running a special for registration on June 8 & 9th if you register by midnight on the 9th the 3 day conference fee is only $200!

Alameda County CA - K9 Officer Not to Face Charges in K9 Death

2009-06-02T00:00:00-04:00

Link to the San Jose Mercury News Story....

http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_12496018?nclick_check=1