Week Five: K-9 Demonstration

- Session Five started out with a little excitement as the Sheriff’s Department had to send out a few correctional officers and K-9 units to the Ferncroft. Apparently Scott Brown was planning to speak and they were expecting about four busloads of protesters. There was nothing in the local paper but I did find an article online in the Salem News. According to the article about 40 teachers, firefighters and unemployed folks showed up and held a peaceful demonstration. http://www.salemnews.com/local/x1415460777/Brown-defends-vote-on-jobs-bill
Also, I sat next to one of the participants in the program that looked very familiar. Sure enough, he was one of my former students, a seventh grader at Triton Middle School only five or six years ago! He had recognized me as well but couldn't place me. I think he was nervous I was going to make him speak in Spanish and made sure he told me he didn't keep up with the language.
- This evening’s presentation by Lt. Cody provided us with an overview of the training involved for both the handling correctional officer and the dog, the use of the K-9 units throughout Essex County and demonstrations of a drug search, an object search and the “bite and hold.” Another officer, Jorge and his dog assisted with the demonstrations.
- Lt. Cody made it clear to us that he is not a dog trainer but a handler. Much of the training occurs in a separate setting where the dogs are purchased. The price of each dog depends on the amount of training it has had. Lt. Cody’s nearly fully trained dog cost $5200. After the dog is purchased, it is sent to live with the officer at his home. No officer can participate in the program unless he/she owns his own home.
- After two weeks, allowing time for the essential bond between partners to occur, training for both officer and dog begin at the Police Dog Academy. Unlike the negative approach with frequent corrections used thirteen years ago, this training is based on constant positive reinforcement. Even officers with the deepest voices must learn to praise their dogs in a high pitched tone. Jorge said that was particularly difficult for him. Not only is it hard to get used to but there’s a bit of an embarrassment factor as well.
- The dogs are usually between nine months and fourteen months of age, the ideal training time, when they start the police academy. The dogs are carefully screened out prior to training. Any dog that shows fear easily or reacts to gunshots is not eligible. The first phase of the program is obedience training. The dogs learn to be focused 100% on their handler. Phase two is Tracking. The dog’s favorite toy becomes the most essential tool for learning how to track and continues to be an integral part of the equipment throughout the dog’s service in law enforcement. Whether the dog is searching for a person, drugs, an object belonging to a criminal it is doing so in order to get a chance to play with its toy. The training involves learning to associate various scents with this reward. As soon as the dog hits on a sent, the toy, usually tucked into some part of the officer’s uniform, comes out suddenly. Lt. Cody’s dog’s favorite toy is a large Kong. They did a remarkable demonstration together in the training room where Jorge had hidden a package of marijuana in a metal box and the dog searched the room methodically until he started scratching frantically on the box at which point Lt. Cody tossed him the Kong toy and praised him with the highest pitched voice he could squeak out.
- Although these dogs are not house pets, they do live with their human partner and family. They are working dogs. When they are not working, they are housed in crates within the home. All vet bills and food are paid for by the department. They are treated and cared for at a veterinary office in Georgetown. A six year commitment to the K-9 program is required. If the dog dies before then, a new dog is issued and the process starts all over again.
- When the dog begins to fail as a result of age, usually between 8 and 12 years, they are retired and allowed to live out their lives as a house pet. If the officer and his family would prefer not to keep the dog, it must be euthanized. None of these dogs can ever be transferred over to another party. Lt. Cody’s dog would be retiring in the spring. There is a plaque near the training room that honors all the dogs that have worked for the correctional officers in the Sheriff’s Department.
- Since many police departments do not have canine units, the sheriff’s departments’ units are frequently deployed. Three K-9 units are sent out for a missing child. Lawrence with its fiscal problems, not only understaffed but with the higher crime rate has become a huge problem on weekend nights after the clubs get out. They now have K-9 units posted regularly on Broadway and Essex Streets. There is nothing better for crowd control than one of these dogs. In large brawls, they sometimes use the German muzzle, a leather muzzle with a lead piece in the snout. The dog will run and give a good whack with his muzzle to subdue various individuals. But usually, the fear of being bitten by a dog is enough to disperse a very large group. They never attack as they are trained to charge an individual upon command, then bite and hold. They learn to only bite the upper arm or leg. The claws are never trimmed so certainly the bite and hold technique is not a pleasant experience for any suspect.
- Lt. Cody displayed the bullet proof vest used for the dogs that protects all their vital organs, a much more expensive vest than the human equivalent. After an outdoors demonstration of the bite and hold technique, we were shown the interior of the K-9 police cruiser. All the different equipment for the many different situations hangs from a bar attached to the inside hood of the trunk. The back seat of the cruiser is in itself one large crate. There is no upholstery for the dog to destroy since they often get jazzed up for their work. A door to the backseat slides open between the driver seat and the passenger seat where the dog waits for a command to come out if needed. The dog can be left in the car in the heat with AC on. Each cruiser has an emergency backup system should the AC fail.
- It was interesting to note that all the dogs ever used in the Essex County Sheriff’s Department have always been males and continue to be for no other reason but tradition. Male dogs are not necessarily more aggressive than females; it has just always been an accepted practice to purchase male dogs. Other sheriff departments in Massachusetts do use females as well.
- Lt. Cody frequently presents his K-9 talk and demonstrations to school and civic groups. He is always available for questions and conversations about his service in the K-9 department of the Essex County Sheriff’s Department. He is an enthusiastic and energetic presenter and would be a highlight to have at any animal related fundraiser or other event. As a dog owner, I especially enjoyed this presentation. Having a deeper voice than most females I know, I decided to experiment with the high pitched praise on a friend’s puppy I have been taking care of. It works! Maybe I will try to figure out which is her favorite toy and see if I can train her to help me find my car keys or the TV remote……hmmm…

- Next week, we will learn about transportation of inmates and defensive tactics.


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