PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - They scramble down narrow tunnels, clamber up metal stairs in the dark and negotiate tricky spaces to get the job done.
For their effort, they always get the same reward: a slobbery toy.
Tennis balls, jute ropes and plastic bones were more visible than handcuffs or guns at police dog and handler training last week in Brooks and Stayton. The all-day exercises sponsored by the Oregon Police Canine Association drew more than 100 police dog teams and involved real-life scenarios designed to build canine confidence.
“We ask so much of these dogs,” said Officer Shawn Gore, an experienced handler and trainer for Portland police. “We need them to fight people but we need them to have controlled aggression so that they bite only when we want them to. We also need social dogs that can interact with citizens and offers in tight quarters.”
A well-trained police dog finds drugs, nabs suspects and protects its handler. Officer Jeff Dorn, who was shot tracking a suspect in Southwest Portland last month, said he was saved by his dog, Mick, who was killed during the chase.
Mick’s death was on the minds of many handlers at the training.
“We have a heavy heart,” said Officer Rob Havice, a longtime handler and trainer with Medford police. “It hit close to home.”
Handlers forge a close bond with their dogs. The animals are part of their family, but they are also a tool that saves time, money and lives.
Patrol dogs are trained to track human scent in all sorts of situations and find items that have been handled by people, such as a knife. In the exercises last week, held twice a year for teams from around the state, dogs were thrown into environments that normally would be frightening, such as dark clanging stairs or a long, narrow tunnel. The idea was to condition them to respond regardless of the situation.
One Belgian malinois, a common breed in police work, crouched before a dark doorway, eyeing his handler. One command and the dog raced in, nosed the room, then bounded up the winding stairs, where a suspect was hidden in a metal cage. The dog burst into barking but quieted with a command. A less experienced dog, a German shepherd put through the same exercise, essentially ignored his handler and kept barking.
Dogs that don’t respond immediately just need more training, Gore said.
Many handlers use Czech, German or Dutch commands, depending on where their dog was bred. Using foreign words distinguishes between commands to the canine and orders to people during a foot chase, for example, or a fast-moving situation involving a dangerous suspect.
Patrol dogs have physically demanding jobs. The life of a drug dog is a bit more tedious as they nose around, trying to find drugs hidden in secret compartments.
They’re trained to recognize marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin. When they find the stash, they signal, usually by scratching or sitting still.
Then they get a toy, their big motivator.
“My dog would work for a stick,” Havice said. “They love what they do and they have fun doing it.”
Havice uses one toy at work and another at home, creating a distinction for the dog. Dealers have been known to hide drugs in tennis balls, hoping to distract the animal.
Dealers often use masking odors to confuse the dogs, but Havice said they never fool a canine’s sophisticated sense of small. Dealers also try to distract dogs by hiding drugs in food. Havice said handlers feed their animals at the same time and place every day to condition the dog to eating only then.
Many of the police dogs in Oregon were imported from breeders in the Netherlands, Germany and the Czech Republic. Some, though, come from shelters. They all have several things in common: a love of toys combined with high energy and a strong drive.
“Most people would not want the dogs we have as pets,” said Portland Police Officer Alex Fyfe, a master detection dog trainer for the association. “They’re extremely active.”
To be certified, the dogs have to score 100 percent on a series of tests. Getting to perfection requires about 200 hours for a drug dog team and about 360 hours for a patrol dog unit. After that, the dog and trainer work on exercises daily to keep them both finely tuned.
“Our training is constant,” Havice said. “It’s like an athlete. They have to train to maintain their conditioning.”
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Information from: The Oregonian, https://www.oregonlive.com
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