K-9 units unite
Posted 5/16/02

By Dawn Slade

The residents of Onamia heard more than the usual share of dogs barking recently. For three days, April 28-30, 100 police K-9 units were at the Onamia High School for the Mille Lacs County K-9 Officer Survival 2002 training sessions.

Region 12 and Region 18 canine officers and their dogs attended the event, which was hosted by the Mille Lacs County Sheriffís Department. Law enforcement with the state patrol, county, department of corrections and police officers came from North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota.

The three-day session began on Sunday, April 28 with over 50 dogs going through the annual drug certification process. This certification means the dogís capabilities are defendable in court.

The top five in two groups received trophies for their efforts, including the top rookie dog and the top indoor (vehicle) search dog.

Ron Schultz with the Minnesota Correctional Facility in St. Cloud was the head judge for the competition. Schultz is a level two canine trainer with the United States Police Canine Association.

There were training sessions for decoys as well. The decoy is an officer who suits up in special equipment and allows the dog to practice attacking a "bad guy."

Joe Clingan from Ft. Collins, Colo. is a retired police officer who is now a K-9 instructor led a training session for decoys.

"Do most of you throw a sleeve on your arm and hope for the best?" Clingan asked attendees. "A good decoy can essentially train your dog."

Clingan discussed the different "drives" a canine dog has, including the prey drive. The prey drive is where an animal scents, trails, bites, shakes, kills and eventually eats its prey. The canine dogs obviously donít kill or eat their prey, so Clingan discussed ways to redirect the dogís train of thought.

He told the handlers and the decoys that they need to be aware of the different stage, or drive, the dog is in. "The best canines are a blend of defense and prey," Clingan said.

Clingan talked a lot about a dogís behavior and eye contact with the dog. "You can put a lot of pressure on an animal just by staring at him," Clingan said.

He also said that once a canine dog has a real street fight with a bad guy, it totally changes the dogís demeanor.

Referring to the dogís bite (full mouth vs. frontal bite), "The bad guy doesnít judge how good or bad a dog a bites, it all hurts," Clingan added.

Clingan also had Austin Police Officer Rene Phan demonstrate muzzle-work with his dog, Joker. When the dog has a muzzle on, it teaches the dog to fight with other parts of his body - getting the bad guy off his/her feet.

Mille Lacs County Deputy Sheriff Bill Hawley was one of the coordinators for the event. Referring to the spring training session, Hawley said, "A lot of them [K-9 officers] donít have an opportunity to train with people of such quality."

That same evening, the dogs and their handlers worked the streets of Onamia. Area businesses allowed law enforcement personnel to set up eight stations throughout town as mock attack sites.

Each location had a professional trainer and the handlers were given an opportunity to work their dog on the "bad guy" at each site.

"Weíve had a great amount of support to do this," Hawley said of the Onamia community and businesses.

Mondayís sessions included a professional speaker addressing street survival and an opportunity for the dogs to work on detecting larger quantities of drugs.

"We take our training very seriously," Hawley said. "Officer safety is very important to us. The dogs have to find dangerous people and the officers are put in dangerous situations."

The last day of the session included seminars on surviving deadly force encounters, preparing mentally and emotionally for such an encounter, and dealing with the after effects of a deadly force encounter, including the effect on family and friends.

Vendors were on hand with the latest in safety devices and equipment.

Other area K-9 officers who participated were Mille Lacs County Deputy Terry Boltjes, and his dog Keeya, and Princeton Police Officer Eric Minks and his dog Jett. Both Keeya and Jett received their drug certifications.

Foley Police Officer Rich Hogan and his dog Brandy placed second overall in the competition and Hawley, with his dog Taz, placed 5th overall.

"It was phenomenal," Hawley said of the three-day event.