The GSD Police Dog

Introduction to the GSD 

A PSD’s job has underwent a drastic change:

• Either it is a part of the K-9 Team involved in Search and Rescue missions in rural areas, or

• Part of a specialty unit involved in apprehension of armed suspects on the run in an urban are, or

• Somewhere in between the two! 

Throw drugs, explosives and a myriad of modern ways crime is committed today and you end up with a range so diverse that the modern GSD finds difficult to breach.

A Sorry State of Affairs

It is traditional to choose canines bred as working dogs as PSDs, which has created a huge demand for GSDs, Malinois, and Dutch Shepherd varieties from countries, like Holland, Germany, and Belgium. Unfortunately, the increased demand has in no way increased production of serviceable German Shepherds. Plummeting numbers of GSDs as PSDs tell the story all too well! 

Theories abound for this failure. Some of them are mentioned as follows:

• The GSDs are now primarily being bred for the show ring with not much attention given to presence of working traits in the breeding stock.

• Sport’s failure in weeding out the less desirable characters from the gene pool.

• Less than optimal selection in the Korung:

lack of fighting instinct, absence of play drive evaluation, or Schh scores used to qualify a breeding candidate.

GSDs Lose Their Status

The once sought after GSDs are being passed over by handlers in face of the demand from many agencies for alternate breed PSD's. This has occurred mainly due to two reasons:

• Few individual GSDs now have sufficient drive that enables them to excel at duties of a PSD.

• Additionally, diverse environments and a variety of tasks now involved with PSDs has made things complicated. We expect the PSD to work with SWAT Teams. In such cases, small security deficiencies, minute changes in sound sensitivity, as well as, the changing nervous threshold can lead to huge prices being paid.

Demand for Control

Society, today, demands the PSD be controlled and the handler — and other concerned parties — be safe while in pursuit of armed/violent suspects on the run from the law. This had led to increased demands made over the temperament of the PSDs, as well. A controllable canine is the result of more than just training, it also requires the animal in question to be tough and brave, — all of which used to be synonymous with the GSD in the past.

A Need to Evolve

Scent training now incorporates areas, which had not been required of a GSD previously. 

• Learning to differentiate between the suburbs and urban areas is one such area. The GSDs must be able to search uneven terrains, as well as, maneuver through crowded areas and be able to pick a scent from the multitude of smells in such areas. 

• Other new things to learn for the GSDs were sniffing out drugs — storage, import or even distribution —, body dumpsites, suspected arson etc.

• Recreational areas in the wilderness have also added to the load of the GSDs since people who take off to these areas often require rescuing.

• Worldwide threats — whether precipitated by natural disasters or terrorist attacks have further extended the list of things to learn.

However, scent work through training has not yet been standardized. Producing a progeny trained in this type of work is thus difficult. I have heard that the German Police has considered addition of retrieval exercises to the Korung for breeding candidates; however, a corresponding test has yet to be added by the SV. Such a test would have a wide range of applications.

Solution to the Plight of GSDs

Working Show-dog supporters insist that all trained dogs must be on par with the standards of the show they are running. On the other hand, breeders insist that will damage the GSD stock even further. Once we have come to accept that there is a problem that requires solving, we can see both sides of the picture. Let us examine possible solutions:

• Follow the German Police, Northrhine-Westfalia’s lead. Development of breeding programs for both GSD, as well as, the unregistered Malinois dogs from out of Holland. With the common aim i.e. provision of well-bred and healthy PSDs, the state now breeds the lion’s share of PSDs currently in use. In the U.S., though the local law enforcement relies too much on the products of imports or the result of hobby breeders.

• Max V. Stephanitz introduced the GSD only because of its working ability. Candidates chosen to be included into the ranks of PSDs should be strictly checked. Animals that do not meet the mark should be rejected, even if that means all the GSDs are declared unfit for the job!

GSDs in Danger

The GSD make excellent:

• guide dogs for the blind,

• search and rescue dogs

• protectors of homes

• companion dogs

However, their pièce de résistance has always been their excellence in the police canine arena. Other breeds traditionally used to herd cattle may be much better at their job than the GSD but nobody beats them at police work. With demands of appealing physical appearance flooding in, the entire picture could change! Law enforcement might give up on GSDs entirely, turning them into lapdogs for the wealthy and eccentric which is entirely against the GSDs nature. Read more www.ccprotectiondogs.com

Real Protection Training Versus Sport Training

Introduction

Instead of hiding what is broken, we should always try fixing it. That is the case with the police service dog forum. The price that we are now paying for it is making it difficult to overlook this truth!

Poor Training and its Result

Cases of unprovoked bites and dog attacks by police service dogs are being reported more and more often these days. On the other hand, I have also come across reports of police service dogs who had been killed while in the line of duty. The report mentioned stab wounds as the cause of death but I disagree. Poor training got the canine killed – his training led him to hold on to the unarmed limb of the suspect after a “sport” bite. 

Officers of a neighboring department shot another police service dog during a drug raid when attacked by him. Again, the cause of death is listed as gunshot wounds; poor training is the real culprit.

Poor Training and its Result 

What limits the effectiveness of a police service dog while in the field? Departments like the one in California are now downsizing to 2-3 dogs per K-9 unit because of their ineffectiveness. Poor training, handling which hampers a dog’s decision-making ability under stress. Most of such dogs, as well the handlers, are certified but what does a certification like that prove? Does it help you against the bad guy you are tracking? 

Old vs. New Training

The feats performed by the German K-9 Units in the World Wars let us know in no uncertain terms how effective – and dangerous – a dedicated handler could be when paired with well bred and well trained dogs. Technology has seen unimaginable advancements today, but when it comes to using K-9s as police dogs and their breeding, we seem to be regressing. An effective Personl Protection Dog is only as good as his handler. 

Protection Dog Training 

Do we see the truth easily? It tells us that the dogs on the street are ineffective. Poorly trained handlers and handlers who cannot function under strain are decimating their usefulness even further. 

Protection Dogs being of the oldest and natural dog training incorporates handler-dog communication in it. Its effectiveness can be seen very clearly, when a handler is able to work and communicate while under stress. However, unlike the towel tug and the ball, you need hard work with dedication to achieve that sort of communication with the canine. Working services uses truth and just truth as its prop. This form of training uses the natural bond between a dog and his handler. On the other hand, the sporting method has cost lives and continues to do so! To read more visit, www.ccprotectiondogs.com

Training Your Dog for Protection is not a Game

Introduction

Aside from the misconception about Bark and Hold way to train your dog, the full mouth bite is another huge one. Due to the belief, many law enforcement agencies hold that a full mouth bite will help them avoid lawsuits; they tend to think when faced with strain or pain of death, the dog will let training take over and give a full mouth bite. A dog trained that way may even test well during a U.S.P.C.A. trial. 

Background

Predators, like dogs, possess four large canine teeth. When threatened, a dog will use them. It is a natural impulse and he will not stop and think to bite down with his molars. That is the reason actual bite marks are in the form of four punctures. A dog knows that his molars will be useless when biting through heavy clothing, naturally he will use his canine teeth for a more penetrating and effective bite. No amount of training will overcome this natural instinct. 

The drive to defend himself is a choice between flight or fight. If he chooses to stay and fight back, the canine will not want to look weak or frightened. In order to survive, hunters like dogs, lions and tigers need to behave this way. A full mouth bite only alters this instinct, but cannot completely overcome it. 

Importance of Communication

As I said in the blog post, To Motivate your Dog to work, when training a dog, you need to keep the lines of communication open. The canine needs stabilization that is the result of working with it in a natural, straightforward manner. Think that the nervous dog you can spot on a sporting field that refuses to bite in a manner unnatural to him is a wrong dog for the job? Rethink that! A dog uses his canine teeth to chew and digest its food. Why do we train it to use its molars?

Educate Yourself

Through this blog post, I aim to educate dog trainers sufficiently so that they can separate truth from the myths. Through stabilization, we can form dogs and their handlers into a team with their natural instincts and habits as their biggest strength. These teams will work whether in homes, on the streets or in law enforcement. 

A dog is gifted with natural abilities, like strong sense of smell, the bite and agility. We did not train them to acquire these and we should not try to take them away through training, either. The dog is an intelligent creature, fully capable of differentiating between bare flesh and a bite suit. With the sleeve on, a sporting dog will use his training and give a full mouth bite. Remove the sleeve and attack its handler and you will see the transformation for yourself. When under stress, the dog will use his canine teeth to protect his handler. 

Incorrect training is one of the biggest causes for the lawsuits brought in the court. If you train a dog in prey, how can you expect him to react in the same way in real life situations? Stabilize and remove factor that leads to unnecessary bites. The U.S.P.C.A. and Schutzhund fields do not factor here unless your life is also a part of the equation! 

To read more visit, www.ccprotectiondogs.com