Why is police dog training trying to be kept secretive?

[bmasplund]

I work in LE and I will tell you that some of the training is not conventional is still the old way of choking out your dog for disipline issues. Honestly if departments are still using this tactic for training which most are, would you want the public seeing you choke out5 your dog. NO. I remember a instence when a k9 dog bite the handler at a demonstration and they handler couldnt do anything because the public was there. I dont thinks its keeping secrets on training techniques as much as how harsh it can be.

[selzer]

I like my weed theory better.

[GSD_man]

When I dug up a local K9 officer on Facebook and asked him about the training, public observation blabla, he responded that the public is not allowed for "OBVIOUS REASONS"
I wonder what he meant with "obvious reasons", silly me, I should have asked.

[Wolfiesmom]

Originally Posted by Castlemaid

Agree with Selzer, you can't make a blanket statement like this and categorize trainers and dogs as all the same.

I watch RCMP dog handlers work their dogs on a weekly basis - some have joined our Schutzhund club and work with our main helper in maintaining and improving the patrol dogs' tracking and fight skills.

They focus on developing a strong relationship with their dogs as their life depends on it. One member brings his young son with him, and we all stand around and watch and cheer on the dog when he brings down the bad guy in training.

As to your question about why? I don't know about the police in your area and their reasoning - I doubt that there is some deep nasty, unspeakable secret going on behind closed doors though - unless one is looking for yet another conspiracy theory.

Did you ever think they do this for show? It's called public relations.Anyhow, I am just speaking of the initial training that they do. Once the dog is trained they do the normal practice that everyone else does. There is no need for any more of the type of correction that is used in the initial training because the dogs get the picture very quickly.

I knew a guy that used to give his police dog, let's just say a certain pleasure as a reward for catching a criminal. He was the best dog in the area.

[GSD_man]

Originally Posted by onyx'girl

The criminals will find out about the favored rewards and then carry them...tugs, balls, treats.

I am starting to think, you won't see any rewards like that ....

[Wolfiesmom]

Originally Posted by bmasplund

I work in LE and I will tell you that some of the training is not conventional is still the old way of choking out your dog for disipline issues. Honestly if departments are still using this tactic for training which most are, would you want the public seeing you choke out5 your dog. NO. I remember a instence when a k9 dog bite the handler at a demonstration and they handler couldnt do anything because the public was there. I dont thinks its keeping secrets on training techniques as much as how harsh it can be.

This is what I am talking about. They pick the dog up by it's throat and choke it to the point of it almost losing consciousness when it needs a correction. Yes, they still do it.

[DharmasMom]

From what I have heard and seen the training of these dogs can be quite brutal. I know a guy at the dog park that ended up with a k9 the didn't make it through training. He said when he got the dog it had no fur on its neck where it had been choked repeatedly with a choke chain.

I also saw how the military handlers treat the dogs. In fact the handler I was working with went so far as to choke the #%$& out of my dog with a choke collar he fashioned from her leash. His reasoning for doing it- it was to make her submit and be obedient.

[Castlemaid]

Originally Posted by Wolfiesmom

Did you ever think they do this for show? It's called public relations.

Oh Wolfiesmom, THANK YOU For the laugh!!!

That would be like saying that I train with treats and balls for show, because it is well known that Schutzhund people are brutal to their dogs.

Anyways, the RCMP have some of the best-trained police dogs in the world, but I'm sure it might just be one or two dog that they bring out for the public, and keep the rest hidden, LOL!

I have no doubt that there are some LA people out there who are idiots and don't know the first thing about dogs and resort to what others here are talking about.

[GSD_man]

Originally Posted by DharmasMom

I also saw how the military handlers treat the dogs. In fact the handler I was working with went so far as to choke the #%$& out of my dog with a choke collar he fashioned from her leash. His reasoning for doing it- it was to make her submit and be obedient.

sad ...that is soo 60's, Koehler method type training ... Are these methods really still necessary to train a good police or military dog?

[selzer]

I think that it is nice to think about police dogs, especially GSDs, the way we think about our pets. But their handlers have to have a special sort of mindset. They HAVE to be able to put that dog in danger -- front of the line type thing in situations, and KNOW that even with bullets flying and whatever chaos that dog will do what he is trained to do.

They have to be aware that the idiots out there might try to sabotage or kill their dog, and be ready to flush the dog if they do. but they also have to go into this whole thing knowing the dog can drop out or be killed at any time.

I think that might make you a little more callous about the whole thing.

And also, lots of cops are x-military. Military wants to get you home alive, not worried so much about how bad you feel in training, they want you to know how to do your job when the shtuff is hitting the fan. And I can see them treating dogs with a similar mentality.

But I would not suggest that all of them are the same.

One fellow was telling me that the dog is not allowed any toys. He has one toy, and that toy he can play with ONLY when he does something really good. They do this starting from a puppy. Another told me her son was training a police dog, and the dog was chewing holes in the walls and they cannot correct it for this, because they might need for the dog to do just that down the line. And another guy told my dad that they switch handlers when they are training police dogs every month or so, so the dog does not get so attached to just one handler.

I think that there are different methods, and different levels of bonding with specific officers, depending on what the dogs are used for and how they are trained and how they are kept.