Why is police dog training trying to be kept secretive?

[Wolfiesmom]

Originally Posted by Castlemaid

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.

Hahaha! I'm glad I was able to make you laugh! Perhaps I worded this wrong. Here in the states at least in my area they do bring the dogs to clubs etc to do demonstrations. Only a few do them. The rest of the guys who like to train on their own time in public would never choke their dog in front of the public. It is too upsetting.

[selzer]

Our k9 units are funded by donations. If they see cops choking or kicking dogs, what will happen to their donations?

[DharmasMom]

I know a k9 officer. He continuously says his dog is NOT a pet and is not treated as such. The dog NEVER comes in the house. He stays outside in a kennel when not at work and he never gets treats or plays games. The officer says that when the dog catches a criminal his reward is he can bite the person and then he gets a hot dog (I don't think he was getting when he told me this either).

[liv]

From what my brothers have said, the K-9 officers in their dept do choke out their dogs on a regular basis, as well as other archaic forms of discipline, it makes me sick when the talk about the dogs. Plus it turns out really crappy dogs who are indiscriminately aggressive but can't do anything else - apparently the only thing they're good for is if they have a line of sight on the suspect and he's running and the police all freeze. However, I do enjoy watching the RCMP dogs work - any I have seen have done a great job and both them and the handler look like they're having a good time doing it. The difference between the two is night and day!

[Castlemaid]

Wolfiesmom, these RCMP officer aren't coming to our club for public demonstrations. They come on their own time to improve their own handling and training skills. They come on weekday nights and stand in the rain and get soaked with the rest of us while they wait their turn on the field with the helper while the helper works our club dogs. There is no "public" there, only us club members.

Acutally, the helpers/trainers at OUR club are the ones who got to police training events to put on dog-handling seminars. Our main helper is away doing a quarry course for the RCMP. (teaching people how to run and hide and act like a bad guy for the dogs to find and bring down).

It just so happens that from my office window, I overlook some grassy fields that we, our club, use for tracking a lot - and I can see the weekly training sessions the RCMP have with their dogs out there - tracking, learning to handle a young dog, having some poor sap dress up in a bite suit and told to start running. Very entertaining, yes! But this is real training, not a demonstration.

[bmasplund]

One thing to remember is that Police dogs are in fact not pets. They have a job and departments pay big money for them. Once everything is said and done (Purchase, train and send dog/handler to training courses) it can cost well around $20,000 so this being said it is a very big investment for departments.

As for the departments where I live th K9's stay with ONE handler their whole career and usually once the are retired the handlers purchase the dog for $1 and they live the rest of their lives with the handlers.

Most of the retired k9's are very good dogs once retired. Great with kids, quiet and calm.

[TitonsDad]

My/Titon's trainer IS the trainer for Fort Carson Army Base, Peterson Air Force Base, El Paso County and CSPD K9 units. We can watch if we wanted to but I choose to leave them to their training out of respect for what they do. There is no secret to what a police K9 dog can do that our dogs can't do with training.

But I will say this though, what they do to train the drug dogs can make you cringe. You thought ball drive was crazy. Try drugs...

[ChristenHolden]

My DH asked a cop the next town over about tempermrent testing for ShcH. And he said to tie my dog down to a table and poke her with a stick till she comes after me. And if she didn't she wasent any good and to git rid of her and find another dog he said he had a booklet with all kinds of tests or training. We could barrow anytime. I'm tempted to then burn it so it can never be used again :angryfire :

[PDXDeutschhund]

LEO training is like that. I know that most tactical teams don't like the idea of their training becoming public (close quarters combat/MOUT), but there's really nothing unique or new about it. I guess I can understand why they'd be concerned that bad guys would know their SOP, but really the most important aspect of a breach is surprise and violence of action. I'd guess that K9 training is really no different. They just don't want the public familiar with their SOP.

[Hit Factor]

I used to be a Police Sergeant and I still work in this field, but not as a Police Officer. We never, ever, disclose our security vulnerabilities (crime if we do).

When asked to observe training, generally it's not going to be allowed because they don't know the spectator or have the priority or need to learn about the spectator (background investigation). Liability is another reason they won't allow spectators. If you are not there you can't get hurt by whatever happens.

If your neighbor is a K-9 Officer or you have some kind of relationship they will likely tell you a lot about the training.