WORKING K9sWhat is a working K9? A working K9 is a dog that excels at finding odor and or apprehension for the purpose of law enforcement. Dogs that only find odor, be it narcotics or explosives or one of the many other odors dogs are trained to detect are called single purpose. Dogs that find odor and apprehend criminals are called dual purpose. The term K9 is specific to police or law enforcement type dogs though is often a term used for personal protection dogs and in sport dogs that are trained to bite. Military dogs might also be put into this category but more often they are given their own acronym MWDs (military working dogs).
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POLICE K9sIndividual men and women work at highly stressful job as police officers, where they are underfunded, under appreciated, and overworked, not to mention the threat of not coming home every time they put on their uniform.
Team members from OR6 sat down and listened at their police conferences, trained with their K9s, and ate at their tables. Continued training is a major point at the forefront of discussion. Campaigning for more funding for education and continued education is not something police departments want to wear out on their sleeves.Public opinion has an impact on future funding and decision making, especially for K-9 units. The fear of public opinion has restricted many police chiefs from developing a K-9 unit, never the less put more department funding into highly needed education. Where the endless cycle of negative press latches on to every poor choice by a K9 handler that makes poor choices which could be avoided with the proper training. There are a lot of individuals and nonprofits raising funds for police K-9 units that are misplaced intentions. Bullet proof vest are not going to save dogs as much as skilled training. According to officers with boots on the ground, vest are impractical in most deployment situations. In fact they could do more harm than good, especially during warm temperatures. When a dog is shot in the line of duty there is usually a handler’s life saved or another officer who went home that night to their family. Dual purpose K9s have more value in the police department than anyone could ever quantify. One major value of K9s is their ability as a deterrent, in many situations without a K9 on location the situation would have escalated to the point of a shoot out. Another major value of the K9 is the ability to apprehend a criminal without lethal force. With proper training many K9s are used to apprehend criminals in crawlspaces, attics, underwater, hidden spaces where criminals try to hide.. OR6 helps departments raise funding for K9 training and provided the most qualified trainers in their area. (Check out projects here). OR6 provides an education program for schools and the general public on the value of police K9s and how they protect their neighborhood. This is a PR agenda to help mend relationships between police in their neighborhoods. (See how you can get involved here). |