For years certain elements in the ‘community’ and Government have been trying to either get rid of Police Dogs altogether or restrict their use and capabilities. Why? Very simple, they are effective, they have no pre-conceived ideas. They only know that the offenders [... continue reading 'Police Dog Sections Cut']]]> A recent story confirmed my suspicions that the Police Service (you mustn’t say Police Force……it’s naughty). Have been taken over by Social Services.

For years certain elements in the ‘community’ and Government have been trying to either get rid of Police Dogs altogether or restrict their use and capabilities. Why? Very simple, they are effective, they have no pre-conceived ideas. They only know that the offenders track goes this way. They don’t know and certainly don’t care that in that particular area the ‘community’ don’t like the police entering ‘their’ neighbourhood. If the bad guy went this way, well that’s where he went. If someone attacks a police dog then they will be bitten. If they run away the dog will stop them. The dog is the only piece of kit in the police toolbox who, two hours after an offender has left the scene can put his nose on the ground and say to his handler “He went this way and he dropped this weapon or threw away these car keys”. They can be used to track criminals, find missing persons, search buildings for suspects hiding, search crime scenes for evidence, deal with public disorder. Disarm and detain violent offenders, teach road safety to children, act as great public relation ambassadors and of course also find drugs, explosives, firearms and money. All this for a few dog biscuits and a bit of love and affection. Good value I’d say.

The rot set in when it was decided that a manager is a manager and their roles are interchangeable. No knowledge is required of the department that is being managed. We saw just how well that worked when the man put in charge of the Royal Mail came straight from heading the Football Association. there was a connection in that both organisations failed to deliver. If you’ve never worked or trained a dog how can you know when things are not right? If you’ve never been on your own down a dark alley at 3 a.m. with a group of people trying to fillet you with cutlery marked ‘made in China’ how can you appreciate the stress your staff are under? The fact that you ran the ‘Department of Folding Chairs’ for the government and can compile a mean pie chart doesn’t mean much in the real world.

We now see very real cuts in dog sections across the UK. one of the largest, Greater Manchester, are halving their establishment. Think of all that dedication and experience in both dogs and handlers, gone at a stroke. Once lost experience takes a long time to regain, if it ever is. What will happen to the money saved? A lot will be kept by the government and the rest will be spent on ‘management suites’ and teams of clerical staff to compile more targets and paperwork for the two policeman left actually doing the job to meet and complete.

Joined up Government they call it.

All these questions need to be considered before you go and look at any live dogs. the decision is [... continue reading 'Dog Breeds and Breeders']]]> So you’ve decided to get a dog. That’s one decision out of the way. The next is what type of dog? Should it be a pedigree or cross breed or ‘multi pedigree’ as I like to think of them? Puppy or older rescue dog? Dog or bitch?

All these questions need to be considered before you go and look at any live dogs. the decision is not yours alone, the rest of the family must have some input too. Really think this through, your family structure, lifestyle, working hours, house size and garden size are all relevant to your final decision as to whether you can look after a dog and if so what size you can comfortably introduce into your household.

There have been several good tv documentaries lately about breeders and show dogs which have been horrific but were well worth watching because knowledge is power. I have been making my living with dogs for 30+ years and yet did not know until seeing one of these programmes that the distinctive ridge on the Rhodesian Ridgeback is an indicator of Spina Bifida. The dogs born without the ridge are the healthy ones. Knowing that you would think that the sensible and caring breeder would go for the ridgeless variety wouldn’t you? In fact the policy of the breeders is to ‘cull’ all ridgeless puppies. ‘Cull’ is a term used to make the killing of perfectly healthy puppies sound a little less brutal and let’s face it, stupid.

Eugenics it’s called. It went down very big with Nazi Germany in the 1930s in their quest to build a master race. They at least, were logical about it and placed fit young men with fit young women with the idea of producing strong babies. Even in prewar Germany they wouldn’t have thought it a good idea to kill all the strong healthy children and nurture those who would be a burden on the state for the rest of their probably short and painful lives.

If you are going to get a thoroughbred dog make sure you attend the kennels or breeders home and see the litter on their home turf together with the parents. Don’t be confused or dazzled by pedigree papers they’re often not worth the paper they’re printed on. If you’re going for a breed that is classified as ‘working’ such as Labrador, German Shepherd or Spaniels then I strongly advise that you go to a breeder that breeds working stock. In many breeds, the German Shepherd is a good example, the working and show dogs are almost separate breeds with the show variety having an exaggerated sloping back end and, in many cases, is almost unable to walk. Have a look at a Police Dog or Guide Dog for the Blind, they have a good straight back and stand there looking comfortable because they are as nature intended. I’m not really sure what show dogs are about, would you make Jordan Prime Minister on the grounds that she’s got a big chest?

Another type of dog to steer clear of is fashionable ‘must have’ breeds which come and go out of fashion as quickly as skirt lengths change. I’ve read recently that the ‘must have’ in a certain social circle of women is the Pug. This is a breed that comes ready equipped with a whole range of health problems as a matter of course. When you add a sudden demand then unscrupulous dealers will churn them out regardless of quality. Another area of risk is when a dog appears in a film or on tv. Remember 102 Dalmatians? Ask any rescue centre how they were inundated 6 – 12 months after the films release when all those cute puppies grew up. How long before the R.S.P.C.A are swamped with Pugs because they’re ‘so last year’.

Silly story number one was the introduction of a new non emergency phone number by Dundee Police to take pressure off of the 999 system which was being overloaded by trivial enquiries.

It was decided that a bright [... continue reading 'Three Silly News Stories']]]> It must be ‘Silly Season’ looking at the press this week. We of course had the one serious story covered in a separate blog about Shock Collars in Wales.

Silly story number one was the introduction of a new non emergency phone number by Dundee Police to take pressure off of the 999 system which was being overloaded by trivial enquiries.

It was decided that a bright eye catching poster was needed to draw the public’s attention to the change. After much discussion it was decided to use a picture of an eight week old German Shepherd puppy, a potential Police Dog. Sitting in his handler’s upturned cap doing what pups do best, looking cute. Next to the picture were details of the new phone number. A simple idea, people see the cute picture, look at the poster and get the information.

No problem? Wrong, of course there is a problem. What if it upsets one of the few Muslims who live in the force area? They think dogs are unclean so everyone in the Police Service must make a grovelling public apology for the ‘insensitivity’ of the Police and of course withdraw the poster. Has anyone complained? One local politician out to make a name for himself. I know that there are people of all persuasions who trawl the media looking for some way, anyway, to be outraged or offended but come on, hasn’t some senior Police Officer or Government member got the guts to stand up and point out to the troublemakers that it’s a picture of a small dog advertising a phone number? That’s all it is, furthermore, the number is to help ‘the community’ a word beloved of these easily offended people who are usually self styled ‘Community Leaders’. In many cases of course the last thing these ‘leaders’ want is a happy and contented community because then their power base would be gone and they would have to revert to their true selves, sad inadequates with a strong dose of bitterness.

It is also of interest that it is now not uncommon to see Muslims with dogs, if only to guard their premises and that a number of Muslim clerics have stated that, even those who do consider dogs unclean make an exception in the case of hunting and ‘Service’ dogs because they are assisting mankind. A storm in a teacup, or should I say a Police Cap?

Silly story two. Once again political correctness interferes for no reason, and of course, doesn’t ask the people who have to do the job. This time it’s worry in case a explosive detection dog had to search a Muslim household and as a result offended the occupants. As previously mentioned the dog would be a service dog and therefore if not OK at least acceptable. The only thing that would be offensive would be dog saliva. So what have the brains come up with to prevent potential terror suspects being made ‘unclean’ by saliva? Yes you’re right, got it in one. Fit them with little lace up bootees, that’ll solve it???

I have a suspicion that anyone having their property searched with a terrorist connection is probably going to be less than pleased anyway and the arrival of a dog is going to be the least of their worries, unless of course the dog finds ‘the hide’. Once again people who don’t live in the real world are just looking for conflict. they are following their own agenda.

We did try boots on police dogs back in the 80s when inner city riots were sweeping the UK but found that the dogs were a little less than impressed with their new kit. Some ripped them straight off, others refused to move and those that did tended to stagger as if drunk before picking one of the other options to deal with them.

Silly story three, the top three breeds in a list of the most aggressive dogs are, 1) Dachshund. 2) Chihuahua 3) Jack Russell. We Dog listeners have a saying that to blame a dogs behaviour solely on its breed is like saying all Frenchmen wear berets. Of course breeds have certain pre-dispositions that we’ve bred into them but almost without fail their behaviour is down to the way that they interact with their owners and the signals they get from them. Owners of bigger dogs are probably more aware of the potential of trouble if their dogs bite. Many owners of smaller breeds either don’t believe that their dog would bite anyone or if they do don’t think it either hurts or matters. Owners like this often get a rude awakening when they injured party turns up at the Police Station demanding action.

Don’t worry what breed or mix of breeds you’ve got, big or small. If you give them the right information so they can rely on you (that doesn’t mean nagging them with sit, down and stay ad nauseum), they will be happy and safe dogs. the best way to achieve this is by contacting me or one of my colleagues and arranging a consultation. You can find a list of qualified Dog Listeners by visiting Jan Fennell’s website www. janfennellthedoglistener.com

To read the full ‘Ankle Biter’ story click on http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/2254479/Sausage-dogs-are-the-most-aggressive-dogs.html

It carries a number of articles and I’m involved in three of them. Yellowstone Experience (I’m far [... continue reading 'Dog Listener’s Newsletter']]]> We now have a new tool to help us spread the word about Amichien Bonding – the kind natural way to communicate with your dogs. Our own Newsletter. The first edition has just been published and you will be able to access it by clicking on the link below.

It carries a number of articles and I’m involved in three of them. Yellowstone Experience (I’m far right in the picture wearing a fetching little hat). Featured Dog Listeners about our involvement with rescue dogs from Afghanistan and their appearance at Crufts and finally, under the heading Health News is an article I wrote about Electric Shock Collars.

I don’t yet know how often this Newsletter will be published but hope to keep getting involved in its content.

Read and enjoy. As always, any feedback welcome. http://www.listeningtoday.co.uk/

The scenario is as follows. An offender has been disturbed tampering with vehicles and breaking into a garage. The victim calls Police and I attend with Acco. On our arrival I speak to the aggrieved and get as much information as possible about the offender, what he [... continue reading 'Police Dog Training 6, Tracking, Catching & Biting a Burglar']]]> A video clip of a practical police dog tracking exercise ending in a bite and some very bad acting.

The scenario is as follows. An offender has been disturbed tampering with vehicles and breaking into a garage. The victim calls Police and I attend with Acco. On our arrival I speak to the aggrieved and get as much information as possible about the offender, what he did, where last seen and of course a description.

Contrary to popular belief a Police dog does not need an item of clothing from the offender to sniff before he can track. In 35 years police service I never once had a criminal thoughtful enough to remember to leave his hat behind before decamping just to help my dog. Just an oversight on their part I’m sure.

Having located the area that the offender was last seen I place Acco in his tracking harness. This is used only for this exercise and acts as a word of command. I ‘cast’ him in the area that the offender was last seen and his nose goes down. He is looking for ground disturbance, shoe leather, crushed insects, bruised grass all overlaid with offenders personal scent. Personal scent is made up from a host of smells, gender, diet, occupational odours, fabrics worn, toiletries used (or not) to name but a few.

Once Acco ‘locks onto’ the track he will stay with it until he either locates the person he is tracking or the track for some reason, becomes non viable. A little tip to criminals here. Crossing water or walking along stream beds does not put the dog off. What it does do is make you wet and uncomfortable. It also leaves you with the job of giving an innocent explanation to account for the fact that you are soaked through and have a German Shepherd hanging off your arm.

Acco tracks across a variety of terrains including through traffic and with pedestrians passing. At one stage a helicopter landed less than 100 yards away, a test of concentration for a young dog still in training. Whenever the criminal changes direction you will see Acco ‘cast’ as he searches to pick up the track again. It is quite an experience to be on the other end of the tracking line and not only see, but feel, the dog work it out. The speed that a dog tracks depends on a number of factors, terrain, weather, disturbance by outside sources amongst many others.

The ‘criminal’ (a dog handler from The State of Jersey Police) had been briefed to lay a track including going through a housing estate and hiding up in the shed of one of the houses. The plan was that I would track and find him and that when that happened the criminal, depending on the amount of space he had, was to either, attack me or run off and try to escape. My brief was to track and locate the criminal and expect a bite on a non compliant offender at the conclusion.

We tracked and, after three quarters of a mile located the offender and called him out from his hiding place using ‘controlled aggression’. I am now ready to leap into action, will he run, will he try to hit me? No. He does a credible impression of a stunned herring and just stands there and talks about his auntie because he’s forgotten what he’s supposed to be doing! The instructor off camera is giving him frantic ‘run for it’ signals. I look at the instructor in a ‘where’s our bite?’ kind of way. Eventually the penny drops when the instructor indicates his displeasure to the criminal and Acco gets his reward. None of the human participants get an Oscar.

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 [... continue reading 'Police Dog Training 5, Manwork (Biting)']]]> I told you we’d get to some biting so here it is.

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.

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!

It aims to give just a taste of what a hiding criminal sees when found by a searching Police Dog.

The clip starts with the ‘criminal’ climbing up a tree to hide. You will then hear me ‘challenge’ “Police Officer with a dog etc.” You will also hear Acco [... continue reading 'Police Dog Training 4, Hiding up a tree']]]> This is a very short video clip of fairly poor quality due to the ‘autofocus’ being too ‘auto’.

It aims to give just a taste of what a hiding criminal sees when found by a searching Police Dog.

The clip starts with the ‘criminal’ climbing up a tree to hide. You will then hear me ‘challenge’ “Police Officer with a dog etc.” You will also hear Acco ‘speak’. When the criminal doesn’t give up Acco is deployed to search and soon locates the offender and indicates his find by barking.

When this exercise is done ‘for real’ it is not unknown for the criminal to be so spooked by the barking that they lose their grip and fall from the tree. This often happens at night when the first indication they get that the dog has located them is the sudden outburst of barking from the base of the tree.

As with all of these clips it is very early in Acco’s training. As he became more experienced I trained him to use a chainsaw so that if the offender wouldn’t leave the tree he could deal with them on his own! Oh alright, I made that bit up!


The biting bits will be here soon.

In [... continue reading 'Police Dog Training 3, Agility']]]> Here we are again, another video clip, this time with a look at agility. It is vital that a Police Dog can deal with any obstacles in his way when working. He may go over or under, around it or through it whichever is the most effective. If a criminal is hiding behind a fence the dog wants to join him as quickly as possible.

In the following clip you will see the first three obstacles we teach young dogs.

First, the three foot hurdle. This represents a normal height dividing fence which may be topped with barbed wire. In case of barbed wire the dog must not touch the fence with any part of his body to avoid injury. To ensure that there is no contact the top element of the training hurdle is a very light pole which is easily dislodged.

Second, the long jump. This is to teach dogs to clear obstacles such as ditches or excavations when searching areas such as building sites. By the end of training all dogs are required to clear an eight foot long jump but most will clear much more.

Third, the A frame. This is used to teach dogs to go over six foot fences into enclosed areas. In this exercise what is supposed to happen is that Acco should go over the obstacle when directed. He should then wait on the other side until called back by me. As you will see he realises that it is much quicker to just stroll around the side of the jump to rejoin me (bless him). I then go to his side of the jump to position him for a recall. Acco starts to negotiate the jump early but stops. I replace him in position and start to return to my side of the jump to recall him when he decides to take matters into his own paws. I just get back in time. As you can see Acco is very pleased with himself. I then realised that after a hard days training, tracking, searching, biting and a host of other things often the last thing we would do on return to the dog school would be to do a round of agility before feeding the dogs. Acco was effectively saying, “Can I have my grub now?” A lesson well learned.

The dogs are trained on a number of other obstacles, tunnels, wobbly bridges and catwalks to name but a few. Anything that they might meet operationally.

More clips to come, we’ll soon be at the biting part.

Read the story:- http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny–policedoglawsuit0728jul28,0,2519349.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime_file/2007/07/28/2007-07-28_jury_nips_nypd_dogbite_suit.html

http://allpawsbulletin.blogspot.com/2007/07/police-dog-dj-in-court.html

This story got me thinking of violent and non compliant criminals that I’ve dealt with over the years. As with the above story almost without exception offenders, with no [... continue reading 'It’s Not Fair. I Was Only Doing A Burglary!']]]> My attention was drawn to this story from America involving two burglary suspects who were upset because a Police Dog was used to detain them. It must have very traumatic for them (I hope).

Read the story:- http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny–policedoglawsuit0728jul28,0,2519349.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime_file/2007/07/28/2007-07-28_jury_nips_nypd_dogbite_suit.html

http://allpawsbulletin.blogspot.com/2007/07/police-dog-dj-in-court.html

This story got me thinking of violent and non compliant criminals that I’ve dealt with over the years. As with the above story almost without exception offenders, with no thought for anyone else break into innocent peoples homes, into shops or warehouses. They attack people often for no reason other than to spice up their own inadequate lives and then, when they lose the fight and get arrested, they complain! The Policeman wasn’t nice to them, the nasty Police Dog barked and frightened them. Indeed I remember one particularly unpleasant individual who, when told that he was being arrested for some serious offences, picked up a very large screwdriver in one hand and a metal bar in the other and told me that he was going to ‘stab me up’. he’d obviously paid a lot of attention in English lessons. When I told him that it would be a good idea to ‘moderate his behaviour or meet my dog on a more personal level.’ He did drop the weapons but complained that in challenging him I was ‘Out of order’ and ‘Over the top!’

Most of these criminals complain as a matter of course as part of their defence strategy. I’m sure that it’s coincidental but often when a suspect goes to a particular lawyer the Police Officer can be sure that a complaint will be made and even guess the line of the complaint. Some like to allege Police brutality, some prejudice of some sort, either racial, sexual, religious or something else that hasn’t become trendy yet. There are all manner of things that a suspect or his lawyer can do to muddy the waters. What the trial should be about is to find out if the defendant did what he is accused of doing. instead it becomes a game between lawyers with little thought for the victim. It certainly wouldn’t do to admit responsibility would it? If anyone’s to blame it must be Society.

I said earlier ‘almost without exception.’ Let me tell you about just one such exception. This is a true story and happened in the town of Aldershot in the County of Hampshire.

It was a dark and stormy night (well there had been moderate showers). I was working a late shift from 1800 to 0200 and it had been a very busy evening. It was a little after 0130 and I was looking forward to a warm bed. I had just finished arresting two suspects who had broken into a building site. To gain access I’d had to slide under a fence and so had a coating of wet mud all over my back. And then, when my mind was already in bed, the radio went and sent my body to another call.

The call was an alarm activation at the Argos store. This is now located in the local Mall but at the time of this incident it was in a basement now occupied by the Aldershot Bowl. The alarm at this premises was a regular and I had never known it to be anything other than a false activation. There were two sets of doors some yards apart so when I pulled up I let my dog, Acco, out of the van and left him to check one set of doors while I did the other. My doors were secure as I knew they would be. I turned to call Acco so that we could get on with the serious business of going to bed and there he was, gone!

I went to his door and found that the bottom pane of glass had been carefully removed and was propped against the wall. Acco had gone in and was waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs. I joined him and then found that the glass in the internal doors had also been removed. Being very perceptive I realised that there was something not quite right here! I stuck my head through the gap where the glass should have been and ‘challenged the building.’ A deep breath and a loud bellow. “Police Officer with a dog! come out or I’ll send the dog!” I then instruct Acco to ‘speak’ to let any offenders know that I’m not bluffing, and then a final challenge. “This is your last chance! Come out or I’ll send the dog!”. No response from within the shop so it’s ‘Game On!’. I sent Acco in to search for anyone in the premises. Contrary to popular belief Police dogs do not rush about shredding innocent members of the public. They locate the hidden person and then indicate to their handler by barking. If the offender is compliant then there is no problem. If they want to fight then the world can end in pain.

Acco searched the shop and indicated to me that there was nobody still in the shop but that the offender had been to the jewellery counter. The glass display cabinets were all smashed and the complete collection of watches, necklaces, bracelets and rings had been stolen. A haul amounting to several pounds in value!

Acco then indicated the doors to the warehouse, and once again I challenged with no response. The warehouse was in complete darkness. I sent Acco to search and very quickly I heard cries of pain from within. When I followed the sound of the screams I saw a suspect laying on the shelving, hanging onto the uprights trying to resist, as Acco who had a firm grip on his calf was encouraging him to let go and come and join him. Subsequently the suspect told me that when Acco had located him he had given him ‘a little shove with his foot to discourage him!’ A very bad move, in that moment the suspect moved from compliant to non compliant. The consequence of that action? Pain, lots of it.

I called Acco off and escorted the suspect into the shop area where there was more light and the following conversation took place.

“Are you injured?”
“I don’t know, I think so.”
“Let’s have a look, pull your trouser leg up.”

On pulling up his trouser leg I could see a very substantial bite injury to his calf.

“When we get to the nick we’ll get you medical treatment for that”

So far the conversation was nothing out of the ordinairy and I imagined him plotting the wording of his complaint or compensation claim but then his reply left me speechless.

“No, it’s alright. Fair does, he’s a police dog and I’m a burglar. He’s only doing his job. If I hadn’t kicked at him he wouldn’t have bitten me. It’s my fault but if I’d managed to scare him off I’d have been ‘Jack the Lad’ down the pub when I told all my mates about it. I tried it on and I lost so its fair enough. You’ve got a good dog there.” (I already knew that)!

The prisoner was taken to the police station so that I could finish the search of the warehouse in case he wasn’t on his own. Having concluded the search I went to the Custody Suite to deal with my prisoner. On my arrival he was being documented and a Doctor had been called to deal with his injuries. Our conversation continued:-

“How’s your leg?”
“So so, quite painful but it’s an occupational hazard isn’t it?”
“The Doctor will be here soon to see you.”
“Thanks. Do you know, there’s only one thing that pisses me off about you and your dog?”
“What’s that?”
“Well, when he bit me, he tore my new jeans.”
“I’m very sorry about that.”

And then with a huge grin he said,

“Yeah, do you know I only bought these jeans a couple of weeks ago with a stolen credit card?”

When he appeared at Court he pleaded guilty and apologised “For upsetting the Police Dog.” If all criminals were like that life would be a lot b
etter for Police and offenders alike. Even better Lawyers wouldn’t be so rich.

Criminals have a saying, “If you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime”. I would add “If you can’t take the bite, you’d better do it right!”