A Different Kind of Tango

Our local police department’s police dog, K-9 Tango and his handler, along with several other K-9 units from the county were at our shop to do some reinforcement training. The discipline, speed and accuracy of these police dogs are something to see in action.

Police dogs can be specialized to perform in very specific areas.

• Apprehension and attack dogs are used to locate and apprehend. Sometimes having a loud, barking dog is helpful and can result in suspects surrendering without delay.
• Detection dogs train to detect explosives or drugs. Some are specifically trained to detect firearms and ammunition.
• Dual purpose or patrol dogs are trained and skilled in tracking, handler protection, off-leash obedience, criminal apprehension and article, area and building searches. They can also detect either explosives or narcotics. Dogs can only be trained for one or the other because the dog cannot communicate to the officers if it finds explosives or narcotics.
• Search and rescue (SAR) dogs are used to locate suspects or find missing people or objects.

The training of police dogs is a lengthy process since it begins with training the canine handler. The canine handler has to complete the requisite police academy training and one to two years of patrol experience before becoming eligible for a specialty canine unit. Having dog knowledge and training outside of the police academy such as dog obedience, crowd control, communicating effectively with animals and being approachable and personable are all assets since having a dog will naturally draw attention from surrounding citizens.

Dogs must first pass a basic obedience training course as they must be able to obey the commands of their handler without hesitation and allow the officer to have complete control over how much force the dog should use against a suspect.

No tango dance lessons at the shop this time, but I did get some lessons from a special police dog named Tango.