Police canines train to keep the peace
Anik is a very, very good boy. Not only will he sit contentedly at his handler’s side until commanded to do otherwise, he also has a knack for finding drugs and taking down armed criminals who are generally unhappy to see him barreling toward them.
The Belgian Malinois/German shepherd mix is a model K9 in the Chattanooga Police Department who has been in service with his handler, officer Sean O’Brien, since January 2015. This week, he and 50 other police dogs from around the region are showing they’re fit to keep the peace on their streets.
The dogs are in Chattanooga to participate in the United States Police Canine Association Spring Trials — an annual certification process that takes the canines and their handlers through a series of exercises to demonstrate they can handle whatever lawbreakers throw at them this year.
“He’s a better dog now on the streets than he was two years ago,” O’Brien said while petting Anik near an obstacle course set up for the dogs on Moccasin Bend. “He’s a great tracker, but he’s also very sociable.”
Like some of the other dogs in Chattanooga this week, Anik is a dual-purpose K9, meaning he’s trained for patrol as well as drug detection.
Over the next few days, the K9s will hunt down people hiding in buildings, sniff out illicit substances and, most importantly, show that their barks aren’t nearly as bad as their bites.
O’Brien said handlers inevitably build relationships with their dogs, each of which have their own personalities and training difficulties, some a direct result of their breeding.
German shepherds and Belgian Malinois are often the backbone of K9 divisions, but both breeds have their pros and cons.
“The Malinois is much more stubborn and determined,” O’Brien said. “I’ve said they’d go through a brick wall for you.”
On the other hand, German shepherds are more intelligent, which is why Anik is a mix. The hope is that handlers will get the best of both worlds while avoiding issues such as hip dysplasia, which plagues German shepherds.
There’s also some crossover between the 50 different police departments participating in the Spring Trials — handlers share tips and tricks with each other about how to train their dogs.
Lt. Richard Penson, a 22-year veteran of the K9 division in Rome, Ga., said sharing experience is a great advantage for the participating departments.
“We all get to network together,” he said. “It gives us something to try.”
Penson’s current dog, Diesel, is a German shepherd, and he’s the third dog Penson has handled. After his two previous dogs retired, he cared for them until they died, and now their ashes sit in urns in his home with their photos and dates of service displayed.
Once Diesel retires, Penson will as well. He said he loves his job, but working with giant dogs is a young man’s game.
“It’s the best job you can have,” he said. “But when you have a dual-purpose dog it beats you down. The power these dogs have — you take a beating.”
Officers work to share the physical loads with each other, but there are days when someone has to draw the short stick. Today the dogs will be training on takedowns, and officers will be sent running down a field with padded arms and K9s on their heels.
“We all decoy for each other,” O’Brien said with a smile. “If you work a dog, you will be bit by a dog.”
“The Malinois is much more stubborn and determined. I’ve said they’d go through a brick wall for you.”
— CHATTANOOGA POLICE DEPARTMENT OFFICER SEAN O’BRIEN