by Jason Purgason

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Great dog teams fail because the dog is expected to do something that he has not previously been conditioned to do in training. With that said, you should never expect your dog to perform a task well if he has never been trained to do so.

This is often seen in detection work. For example, a handler is called by another officer to search a tractor trailer that has been stopped on the interstate. Without proper conditioning and training, this encounter can soon be a disaster for the dog team. A lot of handlers rarely train theirs dogs around tractor trailers and other types of large commercial vehicles. I believe that there are several reasons for this. Some handlers do not have access to vehicles of this type. Others are a bit intimidated by these vehicles because they have never been exposed to them or been taught how to properly conduct searches of them. Needless to say, if trained to search commercial vehicles effectively, the rewards can be phenomenal.

This failure is also seen regularly with police dogs and SWAT or Special Response Teams. Very few departments allow ample time and resources for their canine handlers to train with SWAT or tactical teams. However, when there is a need for a canine in a SWAT situation, the dog and handler are expected to perform with perfection. I often observe this when teaching Basic Police Canine and SWAT seminars. Dog teams are being integrated with SWAT teams and have never been exposed to munitions, rapid gunfire, or even their handler or other team members in full gear. Police canines can be successfully integrated into SWAT or tactical teams with some work, training and team support.

I also see a number of patrol dogs that are simply trained to react aggressively to the sound of gunfire. A typical training session goes like this; a “suspect” in protective equipment is placed out in a field and shoots in the direction of the dog or handler. The dog is then sent to bite them and the process is repeated. This leaves us with several questions to ask: How realistic is this training? What happens when the handler returns gunfire with a dog that has been conditioned to bite anyone who shoots? What if the suspect is hiding under a car and shooting at the team?

So, how do we properly condition and train our dog for those situations that we are likely to encounter in the field? Through Realistic Training! With a little effort and aforethought we can establish realistic training for detection, patrol, tracking and all other aspects of canine utilization. By conducting training that is productive and realistic we are able to appreciate the dogs strengths and scrutinize areas of deficiency in the dogs training. We are then able to correct any deficiencies that we observe, making for a more productive and effective canine team.

If you would like to discuss training problems or are interested in our seminars please call 866.200.2207 or email training@highlandcanine.com