Tag Archives: malinois

Update on Vail Police Dog “Star”

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K-9 Star of the Vail Police Department had a really rough start in her life. She was a mix breed female that spent the first six months of her life tied to a tree in someone’s backyard. Star got a shot at becoming more when she was accepted into our Second Chance Program in 2007. Star came to us with some behavioral issues, she was not very good with new dogs or new people. We quicly rehabilitated her behavior and in doing so noticed that she really liked to chase and hunt for her balls and toys.

She had such an interest in her balls and toys that we decided to train her as a narcotics detection and trailing dog. Star was fully trained as a single purpose narcotics dog and was later donated to the Vail, Colorado Police Department, through our Paul LeBlanc Memorial Police Dog Donation Program. Stars’ new handler, Ryan Millbern, came to North Carolina to meet her and attend their handler school together. To sya the least, it was love at first sight. The two got along and worked very well together dring their initial handler training here.

Star

Well, Star has been working for the Vail Police Department for over two years now. In the past two years she has tracked suspected criminals and missing persons, conducted narcotics searches and located evidence during criminal investigations. In the past year, Star and her handler assisted or were involved with 84 arrests for various offenses including drug possession and burglary. Star regularly conducts public demonstrations for school children and other civic organizations.

Since the inception of our police dog donation program in 2006, Highland Canine Training has donated more than 7 dogs trained for single purpose anrcotics detection, police patrol and search and rescue. Highland Canine Training will continue its’ donation program in 2010 and we will post information regarding the program on our website when it becomes available. If you have questions regarding our program, feel free to email us or call at 866.200.2207.

CNN Article on Scent Lineups

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I recently saw an article which raised questions about scent line-ups conducted by police dogs. This article was brought to my attention by a friend who had some questions about the article and video that they saw, based on the fact that they encounter these line-ups in their work. Below is the video of the actual lineup that was conducted and later proven to be faulty. Later, in this article, I want to discuss how, in my opinion these line-ups can be improved to better serve law enforcement.

Protection Dog Puppies

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Several times per week I receive a phonecall from someone wanting to purchase a personal protection dog, however, they want to begin with a puppy. They typically want the puppy to be 8-9 weeks old at the time of purchase and they later want the dog to be a protection dog for their home and family. The problem is simply this, German Shepherd does not automatically equal protection dog. I am not arguing that German Shepherds, Belgian Malinois and other common protection breeds are trained for protection every day. What I am saying is that purchasing a puppy in hopes that it will later become a protection dog is a risky proposition and a challenging endeavor.

In order to raise a puppy to be a good personal protection dog, you must first understand the importance of socialization and what role it plays in the development of the pup. You must also understand and encourage some behaviors, such as mouthing, from this pup that are often discouraged in an average pet dog. More importantly, you must be skilled at performing the drive development exercises that are necessary to make you pup a protection dog, and this assumes that he is genetically predisposed to have the proper drives and temperament.

MalinoisSome of the biggest reasons that people want to buy puppies for protection dogs are so that the pup will bond with them, so that the dog will “get along” with their children and so that the puppy can understand from an early age that this is their family and home and “naturally” become protective.

Unfortunately, we often find that any of the reasons for getting pups, really ever work out. We see owners who purchase puppies that never really bond to them. We see pups that get older and have behavioral disorders and will often bite the children, become fear aggressive or resource guard their food. And lastly, these breeds are not as “naturally” protective as many people assume. Therefore, people will often end up with an adult German Shepherd or Malinois that is not at all what they expected it to be.

When you are considering a personal protection dog for your home or family, keep in mind that a puppy may not always be the best place to start. Purchasing an adult or young adult dog has some wonderful advantages. First of all, you know what the dogs temperament is like and the chances of this changing dramatically over the years is slim. Secondly, you will know that this dog has the desired drives and ethic to do the work that you need. By getting an adult you won’t have to deal with puppy behaviors, housebreaking, etc. And most importantly, you will have a loyal family companion that has the mentality to deal with a serious threat if the need where to ever arise.