I know that there are a lot of Police Officers and those associated with the Police on “The Nation”; so I thought I’d pose these questions to you guys!
Yesterday, I was on a flight with a Police Dog! Needless to say, he was the topic of conversation on the flight! (Well behaved; listened to his handler, etc.) But a few questions came up:
My understanding is that from a legal standpoint, they are actually considered Officers? (eg if you hurt one, you have assaulted an Officer?)
In keeping with #1, are they actually retired? What happens to them afterward?
These guys are pretty aggressive on demand. Are the males neutered (for better control), or not? (It would seem to me that this would really effect they aggressiveness).
If NOT neutered, are they allowed to mate/breed?
Are females ever used? (All I’ve seen are males).
Anyway; he was pretty neat to watch! I thought that he would lose it in the craziness of both an airport and airplane; but he was better behaved than most of the people I met!
I’m not an LEO but I am highly interested in policing and I have 2 friends who are both K9 officers.
I can only answer Questions 1 and 2.
To the best of my knowledge, the dogs ARE considered a police officer. If you assault one, it’s battery on a police officer. They do retire after a certain number of years in service and, from what I’ve seen, many handlers “adopt” the dogs as personal pets.
Both of my friends have been bit by their dogs by accident. They both joke that when working with dogs, it’s just a matter of time till you get bit.
Hopefully some LEO’s will chime in with the some answers.
I’m not a police officer, but I can answer a few of these for you.
[quote]Mufasa wrote:
2) In keeping with #1, are they actually retired? What happens to them afterward?
[/quote]
Many police dogs actually go home and live with the handler when they are off duty. When they retire, they typically stay and live with the handler.
When this is not the case, it can vary. Rescue or drug and explosive dogs can usually be adopted. Dogs that have been taught to attack are sometimes put down, due to the potential of ending up in the hands of the wrong handler.
I’ve seen it both ways. I don’t think aggressiveness is the issue. I think it is more a matter of wanting to use the dogs as breeding stock when they retire.
Males, yes.
Yes, but in every case I have heard of they are spayed due to the obvious difficulties of working with a dog in heat. The biggest reason females are uncommon is because when you have one that is good enough to excel as a police dog, it is typically a better idea to use it for breeding than for actual police work.
[quote]Mufasa wrote:
I know that there are a lot of Police Officers and those associated with the Police on “The Nation”; so I thought I’d pose these questions to you guys!
Yesterday, I was on a flight with a Police Dog! Needless to say, he was the topic of conversation on the flight! (Well behaved; listened to his handler, etc.) But a few questions came up:
My understanding is that from a legal standpoint, they are actually considered Officers? (eg if you hurt one, you have assaulted an Officer?)
Yes. The dogs have their own badge and #.
In keeping with #1, are they actually retired? What happens to them afterward?
The dog will stay with its handler once retired. On the same token if the officer retires the dog goes with him. The dog is not trained with any other officer.
These guys are pretty aggressive on demand. Are the males neutered (for better control), or not? (It would seem to me that this would really effect they aggressiveness).
Sometimes.
If NOT neutered, are they allowed to mate/breed?
Yes and retired officers have been know to make good money breeding their dogs.
Are females ever used? (All I’ve seen are males).
Yes
Anyway; he was pretty neat to watch! I thought that he would lose it in the craziness of both an airport and airplane; but he was better behaved than most of the people I met!
Thanks, guys!
Mufasa
[/quote]
I’ll throw this in for your edification too: A patrol dog can be a drug dog too. A bomb dog is only a bomb dog, no drugs no patrol. Patrol dogs are taught to bark and look menacing and drug dogs are taught to bark and scratch where they find drugs. A bomb dog is taught to remain quiet and point when it finds a bomb. The logic is you don’t want the dog barking at and scratching an explosive situation:-) It is really quite amazing to watch them work.
Sent your questions to a friend who is a K9 LEO/Trainer.
[quote]Mufasa wrote:
My understanding is that from a legal standpoint, they are actually considered Officers? (eg if you hurt one, you have assaulted an Officer?)[/quote]
“If you hurt my dog you’re going to jail. Hurting him is the same as hurting me. Fellow officers will take a VERY negative view of you as a result.”
“Jake retired at 6 years old due to injury. He is completely bonded to the family as part of the pack and will be with us to the end.”
My note: Jake was a patrol dog with a massive superiority complex while on duty but no more attitude than any other pet while at home without the working harness.
“No. btw-Not all K9’s are aggressive by breed or training. I wouldn’t train a bomb, drug, or interdiction dog to be any more aggressive than his temperment would naturally cause.”
[quote]4) If NOT neutered, are they allowed to mate/breed?[/quote]“Not intentionally while on active duty but accidents have happened. I bred Jake a couple times after he retired and he was thrilled.”
[quote]5) Are females ever used? (All I’ve seen are males).[/quote]“Yes, it’s not very common but like everything else in life there are exceptions.”
More importantly, if a police dog is sent after me, and I know the word to make him stop, if I say it will he listen to me or does he only listen to his trainer?
I have one more from just a few days ago. She is now 13 months old. My gf took a great picture and got it framed for me, I’m still waiting for her to give me a digital copy.
I don’t have any good reason for posting these. I just love German Shepherd’s and make sure to show mine off any chance I get!
I have one more from just a few days ago. She is now 13 months old. My gf took a great picture and got it framed for me, I’m still waiting for her to give me a digital copy.
I don’t have any good reason for posting these. I just love German Shepherd’s and make sure to show mine off any chance I get![/quote]
[quote]dk44 wrote:
More importantly, if a police dog is sent after me, and I know the word to make him stop, if I say it will he listen to me or does he only listen to his trainer?[/quote]
AFAIK, they’re trained to respond to the trainer(s).
[quote]Makavali wrote:
dk44 wrote:
More importantly, if a police dog is sent after me, and I know the word to make him stop, if I say it will he listen to me or does he only listen to his trainer?
AFAIK, they’re trained to respond to the trainer(s).[/quote]
This is true and situation as well as tone have as much to do with the commands as the words themselves.
An animal with the innate qualities to do effective bite work will be SAFER assuming sound raising and training than if he weren’t trained at all. However that same animal if improperly raised and mis or mal trained will be more dangerous than if untrained.
A fear biting pansy which should never be taught aggression can be the most dangerous of all from the standpoint of probability of unprovoked attack, but probably won’t do nearly as much damage if they do attack.
In an unexcited benign situation you should be able to walk up in a friendly unhesitating manner bend down and pet and love all over any well trained patrol dog and have him loving all over you back, even as a total stranger. If trained properly the animal understands that his aggression is the handlers to command, but will also understand that situations can be as good as commands.
The correct result is an exceedingly stable dog who assumes people are good unless they create situations he’s been trained for or he’s commanded otherwise. Anybody who does not see early and thorough socialization as the first and most important step in service dog training does not know what they are doing and may be making themselves a future court date.
Most of what I’ve just said is the exact opposite of what the general public believes about service dogs.
We had a female drug dog in Great Lakes, named Lyka. She was awesome, and liked me from the start. I wasn’t her handler, and her handlers would always try to discourage me from petting her, to which she would usually bark at them instead of me.
Thought drug dogs were all trained the same, but ours were trained to sit calmly when they found something, not bark and scratch.
Ben (the Dog on the plane), was VERY responsive to his trainer.
(Again…he was more well behaved than a lot of the losers in the airport)!
I think the commotion of all the people actually had him a little “nervous”; but he really calmed down once we got to altitude. (It was more a look on his face and looking feverishly from person to person; he never even barked).
[quote]dk44 wrote:
More importantly, if a police dog is sent after me, and I know the word to make him stop, if I say it will he listen to me or does he only listen to his trainer?[/quote]
The dogs that worked at my Department were not given commands in english. This greatly reduces the chance of the public knowing the correct command or language.
