Working Dog Hygiene

By: Tracy Jordan, Certified Professional Dog Groomer

Tracy Jordan with Mason, a Turkish Kangal

My name is Tracy Jordan. I have been a dog groomer for over 30 years and have owned two of my own Grooming Salons and worked for several Veterinarians and groomers. My mother, who was Certified in Poodles, trained me to groom. Over the years I have attended many Groom Expos to expand my education. While working with Veterinarians, I also made a point to learn all I could from them.
When working with German Shepherds, and working dogs in general, grooming is a different approach. It is very important to keep visual on their skin and coat. Best way to do this is daily or at least weekly combing and brushing. You want to comb the dog out completely to find any debris or matting in the coat. When brushing, you have to brush from the skin out. This way you can see the skin and work the coat all the way through.
It is very important to keep your working dog healthy, and a well groomed coat is key. They can pick up all kinds of germs and pests while out in the woods, fields and water. Bathing them after working in the field is important in reducing the chance of getting sick.
If possible, pre-bush the coat to remove all debris and check for open sores or wounds. Then give the dog a thorough bath in a quality shampoo. If not, then at least brush out best you can and use a No Rinse or Waterless shampoo. This will reduce the chance of the dog getting a yeast infection or worse. I recommend Bio Groom Harsh coat for regular and QuickClean Waterless Shampoo for in between quick baths I use a metal Greyhound comb and Slicker brush by Miller Forge. All These Products can be found in Pet Edge Magazine. It is also recommended that the dogs collar is cleaned as often as the dog, if they wear a collar daily. The collar, over time will begin to smell and can also carry bacteria.
Keeping your equipment cleaned is important as well. Harness, collar and crates should be kept clean
to help prevent illness in your working dog. Grooming in general for dogs should include comb/brush out, bath, nail trim, clean ears and check pads of feet. By doing this on at least a monthly basis, you will help prevent hot spots and avoid illness from infection and pests.

Building A Successful K-9 Team

By: Travis Walthall
N.A.P.W.D.A Master Trainer

Let me just get right to the point. Administrators, a large majority of this article will be addressed to you. I’ll be blunt. If you’re easily offended or don’t like being told “You’re doing it wrong”, then stop reading now. Chances are, you’re doing it wrong and I will probably point that out to you in this article. I will tell you up front that I was never, and probably will never be, an administrator. I didn’t say that I was never a leader. Huge difference, as you know. I guess I should clarify. I did a lot of administrative work while working the street and working a dog. It was just never my full time job. So, in the interest of fairness, I will cut you some slack because I realize there are things that you, as an administrator, have to deal with that I never did. But, that’s your job. If you’re doing it correctly, street level guys should never have to worry about your responsibility, especially in the context of the topics this article will address. Let’s get to it.
Recently, I have either dealt directly with departments concerning their canine policies, or I have heard of departments having issues with their policies. Most of the issues I have dealt with, or heard about, have been with the “aggression control”, or use of force, portion of the canine policy. Many times, the problem is that the issue is being made more difficult than it needs to be. What is the landmark use of force case in the United States? Graham v. Connor. Canine policies should follow Graham v. Connor. That’s it. It isn’t rocket science. I recently spoke with a chief of a medium sized police department with a well-established, successful K-9 Team. Their policy had mirrored Graham v. Connor. He told me that they had recently changed the policy so that handlers couldn’t use their dogs to apprehend offenders simply because the offense was nothing more than fleeing. In other words, they could no longer “bite” people simply for running. My response was, “Your policy followed Graham v. Connor, correct?” He responded, “Yeah.” My response, “Well then, you couldn’t have done that in the first place.” He looked at me like I had three heads, then quickly recovered by explaining that they had just changed the wording to make it hook. One of two things had gone wrong here. Either Graham v. Connor was not correctly understood or “the powers that be” within this police department lost their heads because dogs were involved.
Honestly, I’m not entirely sure which is the case because I see both on a regular basis. If you’re a street cop, much less an administrator, and you cannot recite the “three prongs” of Graham v. Connor by heart, you need to learn them, right now! This is THE landmark case for use of force. It doesn’t matter if we are talking about deadly force or using a dog to apprehend suspects, this is the standard. By the way, deadly force and canine apprehension are NOT the same, in spite of what a policy I recently read says. Administrators, you are the people writing policies. You have to understand what your cops on the street, including canine handlers, can and cannot do. Develop a strong canine

K9 Hatto of  the Olathe, KS Police Department

apprehension policy using Graham v. Connor as your guide. If you can do that, you’re fine. If you need help, seek it out. Whatever you do, do not handcuff your canine handlers withpoorly written policies. The mind set of, “I was never a canine handler and I don’t understand it”, is tired and unacceptable. Fix it. The next point will cover a lot of topics. Shortcuts never are. If you already have a canine program and you’re looking for ways to cut corners, STOP! If you are establishing a canine program and you’re looking for ways to cut corners, STOP! This is one area where cutting corners is absolutely unacceptable! This usually has to do with trying to find ways to cut spending. The first thing administrators think of is either a cheap dog or cheap training. Neither one of those things truly exists. If you find either one, walk away and keep walking away. When it comes to dogs, two things are important BEFORE you ever see them, genetics and chemistry. The thing you need to concern yourself with is breeding. I’ve always dealt with European dogs because the Europeans have breeding down to a fine art. Many people ask me why “we” don’t use American dogs instead of spending all of that money. Fair question. The answer is usually something to do with cutting corners. American bloodlines are polluted. Why? Money and cutting corners. People want something for less, or for nothing, so we cheat. It will always come back on us. When it comes to training, two things are important, early experiences for the dog and adult learning. The vendor/trainer you select for your program may not have much to do with the early experiences of the dog, but his supplier does. The vendor/trainer you select should understand what you’re looking for in a dog and be able to supply that to you. If he can’t, find a new vendor/trainer. Your trainer will have everything to do with adult learning. If the trainer doesn’t understand what you need, find a new one. The thing you must understand is the fact that good trainers have spent

K9 Bolt of  the Joplin, MO Police Department 

years gaining knowledge and experience.Good trainers don’t come cheaply and neither do good dogs. If you’re not willing or able to spend the money necessary to start your program off correctly, don’t start it at all. You should understand that you are going to have to spend a lot of money to get your program started from the ground up. Hopefully, there are businesses and organizations within your communities that are strong law enforcement supporters that can help you offset some of the costs.
As I said earlier, I have always dealt with imported European dogs, which obviously cost more, and for good reason.Right now, the going rate for an imported male, around 12-18 months is somewhere in the neighborhood of $7,000-$8,000. If somebody quotes a price higher than that, they are either selling the dog of dogs or they are trying to take you for a ride. You could find cheaper dogs, but remember, shortcuts rarely work out. If you spend less money on a dog that isn’t up to standard and have to replace it, you just spent more than you would have had you done the right thing in the first place. Once you have the dog, it has to be trained. Right now, a six week basic course is in the range of $5,000-$6,000. That brings the total for just the dog and handler to $12,000-$14,000. Add to that the handler being in training for six weeks and it isn’t difficult to see what a commitment a K-9 program is from the beginning. There is the option of the trainer pre-training the dog, but the handler doesn’t have a chance to gain some very valuable knowledge if he/she isn’t there from the beginning of training the dog. The handler we see firsthand how the dog is trained from the beginning in most areas. The value of that cannot be measured and will help the handler problem solve issues that will arise in the future of the dog. The costs of a vehicle, a kennel for the vehicle, an interior temperature monitor for the vehicle, harnesses, muzzles, leads, an outdoor kennel for the dog to live in when it is not working, a concrete pad and roof for the outdoor kennel, water and food bowls, dog food, and veterinarian costs must also be considered, and that isn’t an exhaustive list. The cost of initial start-up for a canine program can easily exceed $30,000-$40,000. But, once the program is established and going, it pays for itself all other things being equal. Once you understand what you need from your dogs and vendor/trainer, you need to understand what you need from your handlers. First and foremost, canine handlers should be street monsters. What the heck is a street monster? He or she (I will use the term, “he”, from now on. Don’t be offended) is the person that absolutely loves to hunt bad guys. I mean that they love to actively seek out and arrest actual criminals. When a street monster finds a criminal, they also know how to deal with any resistance that criminal may offer. Once a street monster deals with that resistance and puts the bad guy in jail, they also know how to complete the necessary paperwork. Are you seeing a pattern develop? Canine handlers should be the people that are active in their current roles and need little supervision. If you find the person with those qualities, and they also love dogs, you have yourself a canine handler. But, understand something from the beginning. Good canine handlers are difficult to

K9 Hatto of the Olathe, KS Police Department

deal with. They are most likely not the guy that will simply go with the flow and do whatever you say simply because you said it. Nor will they accept mediocrity anywhere within the department without saying something about it. I’ve never met a group of people that care more about “the job” than canine handlers. Because of that, they invest themselves wholeheartedly, like no other group, into their jobs. They will take things personally, they will gripe and complain, they will “give you a piece of their mind” occasionally, and you won’t like them sometimes. See it for what it is. If it is simply a bad attitude, do what needs to be done to correct it. If it is because they care, which is more likely, appreciate it for what it is. I’ve already addressed the money factor in canine programs, but let me say it again, if you find cheap dogs or cheap training, walk away and keep walking. My last point is the fact that dogs learn in two ways, repetition and reinforcement. That reinforcement is either positive, negative, or passive. Passive may as well be positive. Repetition takes time, training time. You can’t shortcut time. The industry standard for training time is 16 hours per month, minimum. Let me repeat, minimum. Minimum equals mediocrity. Mediocrity sucks! Remember how I said earlier that good canine handlers care like nobody else? Well, good canine handlers won’t accept mediocrity. They will complain for more training time, even if they are getting the minimum standard amount. Before you, the administrator, think something like, “There’s no way they need that much time”, ask yourself how many training days you have attended so that you know how much time they need. In 17 years of handling dogs on the street, I can remember one time that anyone above the rank of patrolman showed up for a training day. It was the chief, who happened to drive by our training. To his credit, he stopped to chat. All five handlers had just laid a track for one another and we were standing around talking while the tracks aged a little bit. I knew what the chief was thinking the entire 15 minutes he was there. He proved me right the next day when he called me into his office to inform me that he was cutting our training time in half. When I asked him why, he explained that we weren’t using it efficiently. I explained to him what he thought he saw. He was a reasonable man and to his credit he kept things the way they were. Point being, if you don’t know, find out. Your canines and their handlers must have sufficient training time. If you’re not willing to give it, don’t start a canine program. If you already have one, attend training so you will know for yourself the time it takes to properly train dogs for police work. If you find out that your people aren’t getting enough time, give them what they need. On the other hand, if you see that your people are wasting time, deal with it accordingly.

One last topic. There are a great number of K-9 organizations out there that offer certifications. When looking for a group to obtain certification through, find one that is recognized within the industry and whose standards have been upheld by the courts. Stay away from “fly by night” organizations. Anyone can decide, at any point, to make-up their own organization. What are their certification standards? What does their accreditation process to become a trainer within their organization entail? Did “President” Bob just make them a trainer one day over a drink or did the trainer have to meet a standard? The adage of “short cuts aren’t” especially holds true when it comes to K-9 certifying organizations. I have learned many things over the past 17 years of handling dogs, but nothing as proven more true than one thing my Dad taught me as a young boy. He always told me that anything worth doing was worth doing right the first time. If you, the administrator and the handler, aren’t willing to do what it makes to do things right and repeat that effort every day, then don’t even get involved in the canine world. You will only end up hurting your people, your department, yourself, and the citizens you serve. Shortcuts have no place in law enforcement, especially in the K-9 world. It’s your responsibility to develop good policies and give your people the resources they need and deserve. Perfect effort. Every dog. Every time.
About The Author:

Travis Walthall & K9 Takoa

Travis Walthall is a Certified Master Trainer for North American Police Work Dog Association.
In 2016 Walthall retired from Joplin, Missouri Police Department after 23 years of honorable service to his community and it's citizens.
Walthall has worked and studied under some of the best names in K-9 training and behavior. Currently he takes part in teaching decoy training camps, NAPWDA, POST Certified and K-9 problem solving seminars across the nation.
If you need help writing a K-9 policy for your department that pertains to this article you may contact Patriot K-9 Training at patriotk9training@gmail.com