Gary's K-9 (photo) -Ask your K-9 / dog training questions.

Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2009 11:21 pm

Hey Roadman and thanks for the update.

If you can say online, how are they charging these phones undetected and do dogs also locate chargers?

Thx

watchman

Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2009 12:11 am

I do not want to say too much on line about what exactly the dogs are alerting to as this is an open forum. Surfice to say they are using chargers, some that are also used to charge devices they are permitted to have. If we find a charger that has been altered in any way it is confiscated. The big advantage I have over other people training dogs for this type of work is that from day one, the dog is training in the environment they are going to be working in. This is a big advantage as the dog learns early on in the training that he is successful in these areas and remembers.

Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2009 1:45 am

Roadman
you can send a pm to watchman by using the link at the bottom of this post

Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2009 11:37 am

Roadman
check your pm

Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 5:42 pm

How are Water Recovery Dogs trained and are they effective in fresh, salt or moving water?

Thanks

watchman

Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 6:08 pm

Watchman,
Really do not know anything on this subject. All of my experience has been working with Police Service Dogs and Narcotic Detection. In fact, the work on my current project with the contraband dogs was just a matter of substituting odor. I am using the same method I would use on detection dogs except using tobacco and cell phone odor instead of narcotic odor. I was concerned that with the cell phones the odor would be minimul and the dog would have to get really close to the odor. To my surprise that is not the case. Yesterday I had a cell phone hidden in a locker and as the dog walked by you could see he picked up the odor. Subsequently turnded around, sourced the odor and alerted. Every once in a while you come across a really good dog and I was very lucky in finding this dog. I walk in a room and he is already looking. All he needs me for is to open the door so he can get in the room !!

Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 6:42 pm

Roadman

Is this the dog you picked up about 3 weeks ago?

Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 7:58 pm

Absolutely !!!! This is the one I got down in Tamecula from the Belgium Malonois rescue. First week I worked the dog on tobacco and at the end of the second week of training I had him on cell phone odor. Dog is a natural !! This entire last week we worked strictly on cell phones. I have not done anything with the Mal I got a couple of weeks ago from the Humane Society in Martinez. Have not made up my mind as to what I am going to do with the second dog. As of right now the department has not allocated a second dog for this program. My daughter is a deputy sheriff at the local SO and I am considering training the dog for her to work at the SO. Also a young Mal with lots of drive and will have no problem with bite work or detection.

Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 11:21 am

watchman
the dog that is most used is the Newfoundland i have not worked with this dog but i have Sean that at water shows
also found this on the webb
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/7866910.stm

Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 1:51 pm

Gary,
That was interesting. I recall some years ago seeing an article about Chesapeake Bay Retrievers doing something similar. Both dogs were well suited for water due to the oils in their coast which allowed them to work in cold water.

Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 6:13 pm

watchman wrote:

How are Water Recovery Dogs trained and are they effective in fresh, salt or moving water?

I was asking about dogs that help divers locate submerged cadavers.

Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 6:21 pm

watchman
sorry about that

Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 6:54 pm

Gary I apologize; my question was somewhat ambiguous. Embarassed

Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 6:57 pm

I have watched Cadaver Dogs in the past and found it very interesting. Does not seem to matter what kind of water the body is submerged in from what I could tell. The main theory is that odor will rise to the surface and that is waht the dog is alerting to. I would imagine it would give the divers a general vacinity to search as wind currents would be a big factor. I did a test with my drug dogs years ago using the same theory. I placed a bindle of tar heroin in a one gallon gas can filled with gas. Every dog was able to find the heroin confirming the theory that the odor does rise out of the liquid.

Posted: Mon Mar 16, 2009 7:08 pm

Roadman
did you have time to check out that webb site i sent you