Detection dogs have become an integral part of the criminal justice system over the past centuries. Military personnel and law enforcement officers alike utilize canines as companions and partners in the field due to their strength and attributes of loyalty and courage, which complement that of his handler. It was not until the late 1800s that canines would be utilized to their full potential as detection dogs by using their heightened sense of smell to further their contribution to civil services. Thus, before entering the work force, detection dogs and their handlers must undergo extensive training to ensure “familiarization” between man and dog and dog and his purpose.
Canines, as a whole, have a long and detailed history of partnership with human beings dating back to centuries Before the Common Era (B.C.E.). During that time, dogs were primarily used as warriors and guards in service to Egyptians, Greeks, and Persians (Chapman, 1960, p.8). It eventually globalized to the west coast of Europe in the early 1300s where dogs patrolled the perimeter of Saint Males in France. However, it was not until the late 1800s that canines would be utilized primarily for their heightened sense of smell. As early as 1888, blood hounds were employed by Scotland Yard for scent detection in the “Jack the Ripper” case (United States Department of Agriculture, 2013, p.178). Although the dogs did not pose sufficient assistance, the British Police and Military continued to explore the use of dogs in olfactory work. Hence, during World War I, dogs were trained to detect land minds and trained to detect munitions caches in World War II. The Nazi Army was the first to use scent detector dog units. As a group, the dogs were trained to follow the tracks ...
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be a dog. It wasn’t just any type of dog, this was a special, bomb-sniffing dog use for military
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contact on the behaviour of sheltered dogs. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 60 (1), 83 – 88.
K9 dogs ar expected to perform well in varied things, like finding a suspect through smell, protective its handler, finding hidden objects in an exceedingly 150’x150′ space, knowing a way to respond once under attack, and sleuthing explosives and narcotics. Before a handler will begin operating with a dog as a political candidate working dog, the dog should pass the normative police check, or may be bought, absolutely ready, from Master Dog coaching.
Dogs can carry out multiple tasks which prove they are a large asset in fields in which man can possess flaw and error that can be unforgiving and not to mention deadly. For decades dogs have been aiding in the works of keeping crime low, prevent terrorism, detecting explosives and patrolling for drugs and narcotics that can be dangerous to others and to please humans more than any other animal. Dogs can contribute greatly in the health and safety of our nation.
The use of canines in law enforcement is a tool that has been utilized for years around the world. In the 1970's the use of dogs to a foothold in the United States( 2013, dogsforlawenforcement.org). Canines assist local and federal law enforcement agencies in many ways such as locating and apprehending violent criminals, tracking missing people, sniffing out drugs or bombs
The inadequate knowledge of dog psychology in owners not only unveils their neglect of responsibility, but models their poor assessment in dog behavior pertaining to the individual breed; in addition, it confirms their shortage of precautionary measures to suppress aggression within the dog. In Don Kapp’s “It’s More About Owner Than Dog,” owners overlook their incapacity to meet the desires of the certain breed. When a person acquires an animal, its essential to acknowledge all “responsibility.” And by this, owners must study about the precise breed, it’s personality type and be able train and “socialize” them. Some owners however, discount the need to adjust early signs of disobedient behavior during the peak “first five months,” where suitable behavior of a dog can be conditioned. Owners tend to treat all dogs alike, yet not all dogs are created equal. All dogs have an intensity of aggression; nevertheless, it is the responsibility of the owner to warrant that they attain solutions to contain that aggression. Trevino and Shuit’s “Mauling Death of Boy by Dog Spurs Warning,” exemplifies the need of owners to inhibit aggression within a dog before it directs to maulings. “Payaso,” a male pit bull conceivably “lulls” owners with affection leading them to believe the animal is normal.
Police officers work with special units that make use of their dogs’ skills. Thornton says, “They work fire scenes; public transportation venues, such as subway stations, train stations, or airports; and large public events that may be the subject of bomb threats. They may also check vehicles or buildings for drugs or other contraband,” (Chapter 28). The Central Intelligence Agency; the U.S Postal Service; the Secret Service; the Drug Enforcement Administration and many more use dogs in their teams. Some of the most known areas the dogs are in are tracking, substance detection, police enforcement and cadaver. Other type of areas for dogs are arson or they are also known as accelerant-detection K9’s.These dogs are trained to sniff out traces of accelerants or other substances used to set fires. Their job is to investigate fire scenes and to determine a fire’s cause. More than 200 arson dog teams are at work in the United States and even in Canada. The handlers have to trust their dogs like any team does with a human partner. Once the dog alerts that something is there, the handler has to investigate further. The trainers need to establish a bond with the dog that will also become their family. At school’s for handlers and dogs to learn arson detections, they have simulated fire scenes, they learn how to locate and identify tiny drops of accelerants and the fuels used to start fires. Those schools also have challenges the handlers and their dogs face like wet grass, wet buildings, mud, ashes and burnt debris. Dogs aren’t the only ones who have to learn things. “Their handlers must also learn to identify hazards, such as dangerous debris or weakened areas that could endanger their dogs or themselves,” says ...
Throughout the world there are many different countries that contain diverse cultures, religions, and life styles. There is however certain aspects within these countries and cultures that acts as a common ground between one another. One dominant aspect is the existence of dogs within these cultures. Dogs are common throughout the world, either as a domestic pet, a protector on a farm, or an assistant for hunting; amongst others. Regardless of the reason for having a dog most people have either owned one for themselves or has known somebody who has owned one at some point in their life. Despite the relative normality of having a dog in your life in one way or another, the reasons for dogs coming into existence is not common knowledge among most people. Throughout a great portion of mankind’s history dogs have been an essential part of life. The truth is dogs were actually created in part by man. It was evolution from wolves in the form of natural and artificial selection that brought dogs into existence (Harris 3). This is the most modern and widely excepted theory at this time, however this was not always the case considering the theory of evolution in of itself is relatively new in our society. After evolution as a theory was accepted there were several other variations on the theory such as, the evolution being from jackals opposed to wolves, and artificial selection being the only form of evolution to have taken place. According to Jarret A Lobell and Eric A Powell of Archaeology magazine “The idea that dogs were domesticated from jackals was long ago discarded in favor of the notion that dogs descend from the gray wolf (2)”. As for the theory that artificial selection ...
A dog handler working in the law enforcement field is basically an officer who has completed all of the requirements to become first a police officer, and then a specially trained officer working with other specially trained police canines. These highly trained dogs are either chosen or bred for their high intelligence and their strong sense of smell (Canine Officer Careers – K9 Job Description., 2015). There are many tasks that these dog handlers and canines have to perform on a daily basis. This is why it is important to have dogs that are well rounded in their intelligence and their sense of smell. Not only is the handler just a dog handler, but he maintains the duty of being a police officer and has to perform duties such as apprehending
Beltz, Pat. “Police dogs – Police K9 - Bomb dogs.” http://www.policedogtrainers.com/. Working Dogs International. Web.11/17/2010.
Recently, some police departments decided to rescue pit bulls and use them in their K9 units. As a German Shepherd costs thousands of dollars, an adopted pit bull is much cheaper. This idea is expected to grow as pit bulls are found to be intelligent and strong dogs which is great for the law enforcement. While the breed is being adopted out of shelters, given a home and duty, the officers also get to work with the misjudged animals to show the world the truth about pit bulls.
Dogs may be kept or tolerated for as social companions or pets, hunting, herding livestock, guarding and as a source of food. Trained dogs have continued to offer specialized tasks for instance in search-and-rescue services, assisting physically challenged people in their day to day life, detection of explosive devices such as bombs and detection of drugs through sniffing.
What is Canine? The canine (K-9) is referred to as a police dog. There are different certain breeds of k-9’s used, for example ,German Shepard’s (protection, attack dog, ground based tracking and air based tracking, locating human remains, locating drugs, locating IEDs, locating evidence), Rottweiler’s , Doberman Pinner’s, Labrador Retriever’s (locating bombs, drugs ) and Belgian Malinois’s (protection, attack dog, locating IEDs, locating evidence, locating drugs, prisoner transport, human tracking) . The k-9 have specialized talents such as search and rescue, cadaver dogs, enforcing public order, detection dogs, and arson dogs says officer olive. The K-9 handler will be tested on with their k-9 abilities to demonstrate their physical ability to control ...
Emert, Phyllis Raybin., and Howard Schroeder. Law Enforcement Dogs. Mankato, MN: Crestwood House, 1985. Print.