We trained a dual purpose police dog that is now working at a department in Alabama. The dog was trained in narcotics detection, police patrol, handler protection, tracking, article searches, agility and obedience. I trained with the dog almost every day for several months before it was eventually sold and went to Alabama. Now this wasn’t your ordinary German Shepherd. This dog was highly intelligent, extremely athletic and super talented (just check out our gallery and see for yourself). The training went something like this; show the dog what you expect one time…and it’s done. Yes, it was that easy.
As I continued to train with the dog, I had several police departments and “master trainers” come to look at it. They were in the market for a dual purpose German Shepherd and wanted to come by and see this one work. So, time after time, I had departments sending people by to watch the dog work. All of them were impressed with what the saw. However, no one was interested in the purchase. The dialogue usually went something like this: “Man that’s a really nice dog, so how old is he?” My reply was always the same “Well, SHE is about 18 months old.” Apparently the name Kira wasn’t feminine enough to clue these guys in. Or apparently they were dazzled by her work ethic and athleticism so much that they didn’t take the time to notice the undercarriage.
Once the cat was out of the bag about her gender, none of these guys were interested in working with her or giving her a second thought. I even had one handler, who stated that he had years of prior experience handling a dual purpose dog, that said “I can’t work with a B!%*h dog”. So I politely walked them back to their patrol cars and haven’t heard from any of them since.
About a month later and officer called and stated that he was in the market for a dual purpose police dog. He stated that he saw some dogs on our website that he wanted to look at. One of the dogs that we spoke about was in fact Kira. Well, I had been through the drill before and explained to him up front that Kira was a female. The last thing that I wanted was for him to drive 600 plus miles to look at her and later find out that he was a she. He stated that he had not preference as to the gender of the dog and that all that he was concerned with was whether or not the dog would work.
Well, it has been a little less than three months since the handler and Kira completed their training here at Highland Canine Training. The handler called me today to tell me that Kira “did it again” last night. He was referring to a successful track of two suspects in several car break-ins. It appears that Kira tracked the individuals for about ¼ mile and ended up at a house where she alerted to a door. After speaking with the occupants of the house, one of the suspects was found hiding in a closet and another was arrested from the home as well. All of the items that they had taken were recovered and at least four car break-ins were cleared. Great Job Kira! This adds to the other 10 successful tracks that Kira and her handler have completed along with the more than fifty…that’s right 50, felony arrests that this team has had in this short period of time.
I have seen plenty of successful police dog teams over the years. Some of the K9 counterparts were male and some were female. If you have a good quality dog, gender doesn’t matter. So the next time you find yourself in the market for a working dog, take a few minutes to look at the girls that may be available.
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