Keen to be authentic for the reader, I volunteered my services on a couple of training session with the police Dog Section.
‘We need someone none-the-wiser and who the dogs don’t recognise, so you’ll come in handy,’ was the reply to my request - or words to that effect.
I quickly learnt the basics:
1. Keep your hands in your pockets at all times.
2. Look as benign as possible.
The Spaniels are bundles of fun and joy - at least they appear that way - and are used for sniffing out drugs, explosives, buried people etc. There was one from the Fire and Rescue present, complete with her own set of body-mounted led searchlights!
The German Shepherds are rather more, well… badass! They don’ suffer fools pass a fast 'once over' to suss out whether you are in that category. Perhaps with me they were being kind. They come under the category of General Purpose and will go for the bad guys with a vice-like grip to the arm, or the good guys with a deep bark to signal a find.
To do their work the German Shepherds need to be let loose to follow scents in the air, so the handler must trust their dog will distinguish friend from foe, and the dogs are pretty good at figuring which is which!
My first exercise was to hide at the top of a cupboard in some forsaken derelict building. This was fine as I was pretty certain the dog couldn’t jump that high - although it got a bit close with its leaps, for comfort.
The second exercise required me cowering under a blanket which wasn’t fine once the dog knew I was there!
The trainers / handlers are amazing and could teach jolly-old-corporate-manager a few tricks:
Firstly, the dogs do everything for reward and are never punished.
Secondly, consistency is crucial. No favouritism or good and bad days.
Thirdly, the objective is always crystal clear and reward based on that.
The dogs learn that handler is a good person to be around so want to engage with them. Reciprocity, in the business world.
You'll meet Blue and Sandy in the story so for now I'll leave you with a couple of thoughts. Firstly, these dogs deserve massive respect for the work they do - the lives they save and the hazards they face. Secondly, stay on the right side of them!
‘We need someone none-the-wiser and who the dogs don’t recognise, so you’ll come in handy,’ was the reply to my request - or words to that effect.
I quickly learnt the basics:
1. Keep your hands in your pockets at all times.
2. Look as benign as possible.
The Spaniels are bundles of fun and joy - at least they appear that way - and are used for sniffing out drugs, explosives, buried people etc. There was one from the Fire and Rescue present, complete with her own set of body-mounted led searchlights!
The German Shepherds are rather more, well… badass! They don’ suffer fools pass a fast 'once over' to suss out whether you are in that category. Perhaps with me they were being kind. They come under the category of General Purpose and will go for the bad guys with a vice-like grip to the arm, or the good guys with a deep bark to signal a find.
To do their work the German Shepherds need to be let loose to follow scents in the air, so the handler must trust their dog will distinguish friend from foe, and the dogs are pretty good at figuring which is which!
My first exercise was to hide at the top of a cupboard in some forsaken derelict building. This was fine as I was pretty certain the dog couldn’t jump that high - although it got a bit close with its leaps, for comfort.
The second exercise required me cowering under a blanket which wasn’t fine once the dog knew I was there!
The trainers / handlers are amazing and could teach jolly-old-corporate-manager a few tricks:
Firstly, the dogs do everything for reward and are never punished.
Secondly, consistency is crucial. No favouritism or good and bad days.
Thirdly, the objective is always crystal clear and reward based on that.
The dogs learn that handler is a good person to be around so want to engage with them. Reciprocity, in the business world.
You'll meet Blue and Sandy in the story so for now I'll leave you with a couple of thoughts. Firstly, these dogs deserve massive respect for the work they do - the lives they save and the hazards they face. Secondly, stay on the right side of them!
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| These two had the good grace to make me look half in control. |
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