Taking Off the Leash Expanding K-9 Capabilities in the Industry

“The critical balance of independent searching, focus, and control are hallmarks of this new kind of capability.”

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By Jay CrafterCo-written with Nicole White

By ugly necessity, war brings development, pure and simple.

The last decade involving two different wars and an onslaught of world-wide security threats has driven canine research and development like never before. To keep pace with the evolution in terrorist and criminal behavior, military and civilian security forces have had to advance their capabilities to mirror and overcome the threat. In some fights, the gloves come off. To win ours, the leash does.

Off-leash capabilities were born out of desperate need. When the war on terror began, canine IED detection happened on lead. But it wasn’t good enough, and men were dying. We needed a standoff search plat-form, and even though there was a severe lack of knowledge about off-leash capabilities in a war environment, several programs were introduced almost immediately. One of those, and the most success-ful to date, is the Department of Defense IDD (Improvised Explosive Device Dogs) Program. Even in its infancy, ground commanders be-gan to realize the value of this tool, used as both an offensive and defensive search asset. Ground units were now in a position to detect actual IEDs or even materials destined to become IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) from a safe distance. Unconventional trainers from non-military and law enforcement backgrounds were an integral part of this success. The off-leash ca-pability increased the speed of the search and enabled the handler to cover more area, more efficiently, with the confidence that his canine could be both observed and directed from afar. Confidence spurred productivity, and ultimately, created an 80% increased success rate in IED finds for trained canines - a statistic unmatched by any machine. The critical balance of independent searching, focus, and control are hallmarks of this new kind of capability. It was first founded to support emerging requirements for Special Operations Forces. I believe the new standard for working canines can be created by taking the detection ability of a mine detection dog, the concentration of a tracker dog, the loyalty of a patrol dog, and the control of a field trial retriever, and adding incredible handling and obedience where distance is not a factor. This would be the ultimate canine security asset.

52 • K-9 C OP M AGA Z I N E

In the late 1990’s, as a Military Working Dog handler supporting the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), I was trained extensively in off-leash handling for counter terrorist searches even before the 2001 US terror-ist attacks that prompted much of the US Military’s inter-est in the capability. The issues from Northern Ireland gave Great Britain a distinct understanding and advantage in off-leash training as they learned how to counteract extensive and evolving threats from the IRA and other groups. During these years, I supported an EOD team as a mine detection handler in Bosnia, deployed as a patrol dog handler with the Finnish Army in Kosovo, and worked as a tracking team with the Royal Air Force Police. I learned to interpret behavior and identify new possibilities for canine training by watching my dog, relying on fundamentals, and not being afraid to seek new solutions. As a Class I dog trainer in the Royal Army Veterinary Corp, I was responsible for 6-7 dogs at any one time. The certifications for those that were mine detection dogs included 30 searches. If you had one miss or false indication you failed. In Bosnia, an additional 20 searches were completed in high stress envi-ronments with the same demanding qualifications. The train-ing in tracking, searching, and patrolling was intense, and I learned how to push a dog’s limits under extreme distraction and challenges. This combined experience led me to the United States where I trained off leash detection for the Specialized Search Dog (SSD) course for the Department of Defense. I consider myself an open-minded dog trainer with confidence gleaned from a diverse background of training throughout Eu-rope, the US DoD and Australian Army trainers. Every trainer believes their way of training is the best. I ad-mit; I am the same. Unfortunately the arrogance of the trainer places a false limitation on the dog’s capability. I thought I understood what an off-leash capability meant. But I was humbled and inspired by what I saw happening at K2 Solu-tions. One of the best retriever trainers in the industry, Bobby George, blew my mind with the preciseness of his off-leash handling. At a whistle from 200 meters away, his dogs would spin on a dime with an accuracy and speed that was breath taking. I contributed to the effort by bringing in the skills I had developed through years of training highly focused mine detection dogs. We needed the canines to search for trace odor with that same commitment and drive, concentrating for long periods of time with their nose on the ground processing infi-

nite amounts of odors, and doing it simply because the dog wanted to please its handler. This distance control was paired with perfecting a dog’s self-discovery to cre-ate a more explorative canine. Ultimately, this laid the foundation for the advanced IED detection dogs. K2 trainers’ diversity and depth of experience with support from our formidable Research and Development section has revolutionized the way we approach train-ing. Whereas most trainers are notorious for not want-ing to share information, ideas or breakthroughs, K2 fosters cross-platform collaboration with incredible suc-cess. For the first time I saw what the true potential was for off-leash when coupled with both retriever and tactical training methods and combined with operational knowledge in public safety settings and wartime envi-ronments. Taking soldiers unfamiliar with dog handling through a five weeks course and then putting them in the most hostile environment in the world seemed to go against all standard training beliefs. But the dogs were so highly trained, that they carried the handler through the searches. We turned the previously assumed adage: the dog is the brawn and the handler the brain, on its head. While the original development of the advanced off-leash capability was for detection of explosives overseas, that intense willingness to work mentality, vital for a successful off-leash canine, is applicable across breeds and requirements. We want to see the canine 100% com-mitted, driven, and focused. Efficiency and accuracy are

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absolutely paramount. The ap-plicability of this capability in a world with ever increasing tactical and speed require-ments is compelling. In 2006, as the Program Manager for security at the Baghdad In-ternational Airport, my teams were responsible for search-ing over 3000 vehicles per day with as many as 6500 pieces of baggage and freight. All of this was done on-leash - a physically taxing and time in-tensive undertaking for both canine and handler. To have implemented the off-leash ca-pability in that environment would have not only increased efficiency, but also aided in even more effective security by enabling the dog to free-search and honor his nose. A veteran of the Royal Army Veterinary Corp, the Explo-sive Search Dog Program, and the SSD Program at Lack-land AFB, and now a K2 colleague, Paul Bunker touts the great searching speed and thoroughness of advanced off-leash canines as 10 times faster and covering 10 times the area as a human. If the fully vetted and proven training method utilized by IED Dogs overseas was responsibly transitioned to a do-mestic security standard, the benefits would be substantial on several levels. An extensive off-leash canine capability

would provide handlers with the ultimate control of their dog: allowing them to work more quickly at a distance, in areas inaccessible to humans, and even under the distrac-tions of crowded public places like airports, stadiums and college campuses. For law enforcement, the biggest factor would be efficiency and time savings. Where currently it might take 4 canine teams to search a football stadium, an off-leash canine could search the entire thing in a fraction of the time with an efficiency and thoroughness not possible tethered to a 6-foot line.

A PBEDD or Person-Borne Explosive Detection Dog,

which can be worked off leash as

well, scans a high volume choke point

at the airport.

>>

54 • K-9 C OP M AGA Z I N E

According to many Police Working Dog Associations, control at a distance is one of the largest challenges to off-leash canine handlers. The basic training of patrol K-9 teams has to be mod-ified and increased to meet the demand that police agencies place on them. The demand for “less than lethal force alterna-tives” is increasing, and as a result, the K-9 team will be placed into more high-risk calls for service than ever before, said one Connecticut Police Working Dog Association (CPWDA) report. Rick Ashabranner, president of the North American Police Working Dog Association (NAPWDA), likens the applicabil-ity of increased off-leash training within law enforcement to the evolution of other weapons. “I trained with a revolver and would use a revolver on the street. But just because the revolver works, doesn’t mean you ignore a new, improved weapon like the Glock,” he says. “Even though current tactics may bring success, doesn’t mean we can ignore new advances.” The Person-Borne Explosive Detection Dog or PB-EDD, is

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a great example of moving today’s needs into tomorrow’s standards. The PB-EDD canine effort led by Bobby Lane and Lindsey Dixon, trains the dogs to detect explosive odors in the air surrounding a person at the moment a target sub-stance passes through the environment. Currently deployed in public spaces with high volumes of traffic, these canines are scanning upwards of 150 people per minute. PB-EDD’s highly effective form of non-aggressive and less intrusive security allows law enforcement to identify at a distance a suspicious person without impeding or frightening the sur-rounding public. While this type of search is conducted pri-marily on-leash, the dogs have been trained in the off-leash capability and can be unclipped immediately to provide a safe standoff capability during venue searches. The leash does not affect the off-leash capability. Advanced off-leash capabilities, as it pertains to school security, is also highly applicable. Weapons and narcotics detection—whether on an individual, in school lockers, desks or backpacks—can be undertaken with more effec-tiveness and maneuverability than any machine or person. Recent tragedies continue to propel law enforcement agen-cies to look at the unrivaled security an advanced off-leash canine can provide. A police dog working on a six-foot lead or off-leash within a very controlled space cannot detect ex-plosives, weapons, or assailants and still provide a margin of safety to handlers and citizens alike. Searching a school, a stadium, or an airport could take hours longer and require many more teams. The risk multiplies. The cost magnifies. So it is not a question of can a police department afford a K-9

unit and the subsequent training for extensive off-leash capabili-ties. It is a question of how can they not. Maintaining safety as well as low liability in off-leash use requires not just training the canine, but the handler as well. To mitigate the higher cost of training both canine and handler together, the canine is trained first and brought to a level that requires only sustainment. Traditionally, a handler will be developed alongside their dog to fully un-derstand the requirements of the new capability. However, during the initial stages the weakest partner in the team is the handler. We have learned early on that the canine can be trained to such a high standard that the handler can settle into a secondary role for both effectiveness and efficiency. Training plans that involve multiple trainers that work the same dog to ensure a tried and tested dog robust enough to be paired with any new handler for team developments. We do not expect an inexperienced handler to carry the dog through the first few weeks of a training course. We expect the dog to carry the new handler.

The leash does not affect the off-leash capability.

The balance between maintaining control while reinforcing the canine’s drive is critical. It is also about striking the balance in obedience to make sure the current training doesn’t cause deterio-ration of prior obedience training. Transitioning from the off-leash distance typically used by law enforcement to a much more extensive utilization requires many of the tactics, techniques and pro-cedures IDD trainers use in order to cover acres of ground at a distance. Some of these techniques in-clude: the stop command, directional casting, tar-geted release and the send. The commitment of the “send” is key, as the dog should approach a search with the same drive and focus as he would a bite.

This is developed through force fetch training with the E-collar to get the dog to commit to the target. Early in my career I disagreed with use of the E-collar from pure lack of understanding. Unfortu-nately, that is common. Both misuse and a lack of understanding have caused almost complete ban-ning of this tool in the United Kingdom with jail time and fines of up to £20,000 GBP. The potential for misuse exists, yes; but used correctly, I believe it is the most effective tool to reinforce drive and increase canine motivation. With correct training and the help of the E-collar, early limitations are a thing of the past.

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Recent R&D efforts have forever changed the landscape of canine training and capabilities. I’ve experienced firsthand how knowledge from new scientific discoveries has literally changed training patterns overnight. One breakthrough in the last few years has been the recognition that part of a canines’ olfaction capability comes through the birthing of receptor cells. As the canine is exposed to specific odor and challenged to detect smaller quantities, more specific recep-tor cells are birthed. Integral to a canine’s olfaction capabil-ity, this knowledge was a scientific breakthrough. Even a few years ago, there was little understanding of how canines

grew these receptor cells and how dependent on exposure that process was. The longer time frame and more exposure a dog has to certain odors, the less of the odor he needs in order to indicate on it. The dogs’ vapor sensing capability far surpasses the capability of modern measurement techniques, noted a 2002 Sandia Nation-al Laboratory report on the smell sensitivity of mine detection dogs, whose olfaction capabilities approach that of one molecule per sniff. Ten years ago, a dog was trained to find ¼ pound of explo-sives or an entire stick of C-4. Dogs are now trained to find trace odor - 0.0025 of a gram of TNT - dust, basically, at 100 meters in front of any handler. Much of that development came from the British Army mine dog program. It was so successful that the Defence Science and Technology Laboratories established a research team to identify how and why mine detection dogs are so successful with their detection abilities. It proved to be a prime example of applying gathered research directly to training protocols. What we now understand of a canine’s physical capabilities, physiological makeup and olfaction has given us the ability to create one of the most effective defensive assets at our disposal. Converting knowledge to application has been a powerful tool that is leading to further boundaries being pushed. The beauty of this research is that it supports traditional gut-instinct training. For years trainers have had to rely on their experience alone to produce a great product. Now, we have scientific fact to provide early and ongoing support to training plans, ultimately ensuring a much better product. The information gathered in the last two years from R&D has advanced exciting breakthroughs in homemade explosive (HME) detection and performance enhancing training programs to name a few. Universities like North Carolina State University, Duke University, University of Maryland through Johns Hopkins, and Oklahoma State University are partnering with the K-9 world to explore the unknowns of canine olfaction and physiolo-gy. My personal success has allowed me to work alongside these researchers who provide our trainers with cold hard facts - one of the reasons why our off leash training program is second to none. This cutting edge work with our partners also gave me the opportunity to present to the broader R&D community at the an-nual Defence and Science Technology Laboratories Conference at the London Imperial College early in 2012. These relationships give us the edge in current training programs and are equally important as we look toward the future of canine programs.