How’s this for a specialized job? We’ve all heard of dogs who sniff out drugs at the airport, or who look for climbers after an avalanche, but Razor, a Mallinois employed by the Florida Department of Corrections, is trained to find cell phones!
Category Archives: Training
Second Chances for Jailbirds and Jail Dogs
Innovative prison program teaches dogs and men
At Wakulla Correctional Institute in Florida, an inmate reaches into his pocket and finds a dog biscuit for Pooh, a Husky-Labrador Retriever-Chow mix. Pooh gobbles the treat too enthusiastically and the inmate pushes him gently and firmly to the floor to calm him. Settled down, Pooh licks his hand.
Not too long ago, things looked bleak for Pooh. He was big and unruly and no one wanted to adopt him. Then Pooh got lucky and became part of a new program, Paws in Prison. Working with “dog whisperer” Jay King, inmates are taught how to train a dog, giving them useful skills and providing pound pooches a second chance.
The dogs move in with the inmates for two months, sleeping in kennels pushed right up against the bunks. King teaches them that it isn’t rocket science to train a dog–to teach them stability you have to be stable. He teaches them to train with kindness and treats, never harshness or punishment.
The end goal is to give the prisoners valuable skills that they can use outside prison (some dream of one day opening their own dog training schools), and to rehabilitate otherwise un-adoptable dogs to help them find forever homes.
Never, never, never leave your dog alone with a baby
What a tragic story out of Warren, Ohio. A father left his 3-day old baby alone in her bassinet while he briefly left the room.
Their family dog, a Husky, apparently thought the child was a stuffed animal or toy and picked her up, killing her due to a cardiac arrest.
This highlights the need to constantly supervise your dog when there is a baby in the house. It only takes a second for a dog to make a mistake and harm or even kill your precious newborn.
Below, some expert advice on helping your dog adjust to a new baby in the house.
Continue reading Never, never, never leave your dog alone with a baby
MWD: Meapons of Wass Destruction?
No, actually MWD stands for military working dog. The US Air Force has recently shed a bit of light on the training program it uses to train dogs for everything from guard duty to explosives detection.
First, the dog must be the right breed. The Air Force most commonly uses German Shepherd and Belgian Malinois, with a slight preference for the Malinois due to its longer average lifespan. Next, the dog is evaluated for its drive or “ability to remain focused and determined to obtain a goal”, according to Staff Sgt. Manuel Garcia of the 35th Security Forces Squadron.
The dog must undergo basic training, just as airmen do, at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. The program lasts from four to six months, depending on whether or not the dog gets held back for remedial training.
After being sent to its permanent base, the dog spends a few weeks with its new handler, learning to follow his commands. When the dog is ready, they review the basic obedience learned at Lackland, staying close to the handler and obeying his basic commands.
A few weeks later, the dog moves on to advanced obedience, where he learns to follow the same commands, even though he is off leash and at a distance from his handler. The dog also learns to crawl and roll, tactical moves he may need later.
Soon, the lessons begin to include actual work skills such as detection, attack, search, and working under the gun (literally!)
Once trained, the dog will work between 10 and 12 years, then be retired. He could be adopted, returned to Lackland to train new dogs, or be given to local police departments for further work.
A round of applause for our military working dogs! (As well as those they work with!)
Until next time,
Good day, and good dog!
How Does Your Garden Grow?
Having trouble keeping your landscaping nice because Fido doesn’t understand you just paid someone $1000 to spruce up the yard? Even if you’re just growing a few vegetables, you’d probably rather the dog didn’t eat them all before you got a chance to harvest them.
Two of my dogs have figured out a way to get over the chicken wire into the garden, but only one has figured out a way to get back out. More often than not, I have to rescue Penny (the beagle) or she just sits there and howls. So, I appreciated this article in the Detroit Free Press a few days ago.
The Stairmaster
Is your dog afraid to go down the steps? This is a fairly common thing among dogs, who we all know are just big chickens most of the time, anyways. Sometimes its due to a medical problem, but more often than not, it’s just fear that keeps your dog out of the basement.
Top Five Dogs for Public Safety Agencies
Have you ever wondered why different dogs do so well at different jobs? Just as with humans, they have different skillsets that are useful for different tasks. We’re all familiar with the German Shepherd police dog, but you may not be as aware of these other working dogs that provide us with important safety services.
Prison Dogs
From the Hamilton, Ohio Journal News: Project Free Inmate Dog Obedience (FIDO) is matching dogs from the humane society to prisoners at the Butler County Jail for obedience training. The prisoners are screened to make sure they have not abused animals, then they are matched to a dog from the shelter.
Applause for Working Dogs
For the 7th year in a row, Goodwill Industries of Greater Cleveland and East Central Ohio will sponsor an Applause for Working Paws Dog Walk on June 21st from 11:00 – 2:00 pm. Although we won’t be able to attend this year, it has been a lot of fun in years past.
Behavior Management
Australian company BarkBusters promises a lifetime of peace from your dog’s annoying behaviors: aggression, excessive barking, jumping, etc.