This clip was shot on the end of course test for Acco. It is the ‘manwork’ element of the test and comprises four exercises.
1) The Stand-off or Stand-out. In this exercise a running suspect is challenged by the handler and when he doesn’t stop the dog is sent to detain him, note that Acco always looks to me for confirmation before any aggressive exercise. When the dog is well on his way it transpires that the suspect is an innocent party. He maybe deaf, daydreaming or even using an ipod. he then sees the dog and stands still. the dog must not bite the suspect but just contain him by barking until the handler arrives. Once the handler has confirmed that all is in order then the now innocent man goes one way and handler and dog another. Acco is of course still curious and watches the man until out of sight.
2) The chase and attack or chase to stop. This exercise is a repeat of the last except that this suspect is not innocent and does not stop until Acco convinces him that it would be a good idea. Once Acco has detained the suspect by biting his right arm, I, as the decision maker take charge of the situation. I instruct Acco to ‘leave’, he leaves the criminal, comes to heel and goes into the down. I then approach the prisoner to search him. you will note that I never get between Acco and the suspect. This is so Acco can keep the offender under observation at all times, if he tries to run, pulls a weapon or attacks me then Acco piles in with no further command.
Once the suspect is searched I return to Acco and put him back on the lead. We then escort the prisoner to the Judge. It is worthy of note that although Acco has chased and bitten the offender once I have taken control then there is no more aggression from him. Once we reach the Judge and I instruct the prisoner to stand still Acco just gives one bark to remind the prisoner the proximity of a set of teeth!
3) Test of courage (stick attack). This clip always gives me pleasure. The idea is that the dog be sent to engage a violent criminal armed with a stick, knife or other similar weapon. The dog must engage the criminal without undue hesitation or nervousness.
Because this is an initial course with very young dogs the usual routine is for the ‘stick criminal’ not to be too noisy and aggressive so that the dogs confidence is not dented at an early stage of their working life.
Acco however was a very confident and powerful dog. As a result the instructors approached Neville who was the designated stick criminal for the test and told him that if he could ‘stick Acco out’ i.e. If he could be so noisy and aggressive that Acco had second thoughts about going straight in to attack, then they would pay for all his beer at the end of course drink up. Neville was a big strong rugby player and therefore liked his beer, he had also never seen Acco work and so he thought that he was onto a night of copious free beer.
Sadly for Neville the instructors told me what they had done. I therefore decided that once Acco had bitten I would take my time getting him to leave.
When doing any manwork exercise the longer the distance that the dog has to travel, the harder the bite. You can therefore understand the thought process of the Steward when you hear him say to me “Do it from here. Not too far, we don’t want Neville killed.” Neville comes out and does his bit. You can hear the force of the impact as Acco engages and the response of the spectators. I then leave Acco hanging on while I retrieve the weapon. The instructors are feeling a bit guilty now and you can hear the Chief Instructor call out “Don’t be rotten Robin!” But nobody is going to have free beer at the expense of my dog, we’re a team!
4) The gun attack, another test of courage. In this exercise the dog is sent to engage a suspect armed with and firing a firearm. It can be any sort of firearm, handgun, shotgun or rifle and the criminal can be static or running.
After a great stick attack this exercise didn’t go quite as planned. The criminal ran firing his gun, Acco chased and stopped him, I disarmed the suspect and then told Acco to leave. That’s when it started going slightly awry. Acco was enjoying himself so much that he suffered selective deafness. When he did leave he decided on a bit of summary justice and bit the suspect on the leg. It’s worth turning the sound up and listening to the spectators comments. You will also see that I am deeply upset by the whole matter.
I hope it was worth waiting for. In the next clip you will see some practical tracking exercises ending in a bite. You will also see some of the worst acting since ‘Crossroads’ and ‘Eldorado’ left our television screens!
1 comment to Police Dog Training 5, Manwork (Biting)
Wow! That’s just so impressive. Man and dog together. Brought a tear to my eye – I bet it brought a tear or 2 from the “criminals”! Unfortunately, I had no sound with the clip but the impact remains. What a brave and loyal dog.
Wow! That’s just so impressive. Man and dog together. Brought a tear to my eye – I bet it brought a tear or 2 from the “criminals”!
Unfortunately, I had no sound with the clip but the impact remains.
What a brave and loyal dog.