I had a great honor today of spending the day with a French Gendarmarie Maitre De Chien, or as we would say, Police K-9 Handler.  We shared stories, training ideas and other information though sometimes difficult with our obvious language barrier.  Luckily Jean-Luc's english was much better than my french.  As we communicated throughout the day I realized something, K-9 handlers universally speak the same language.  We all enjoy the same feeling of accomplishment from a successful deployment, appreciate our dogs more than most people and get frustrated when the uniform patrol officers rush in to search on thier own, without waiting for the K-9 team to arrive.  Yes, even in Europe they have the same problems we do with getting perimeters established. 

Last October I met Lt. Dick Van Leenen from the Netherlands and again learned we share many of the same pros and cons. Three years ago this month I travelled to Brasil and interacted with dozens of K-9 handlers there.  I found they too enjoyed the same things we do and have many of the same frustrations we experience.  Though we maybe separated by thousands of miles, oceans, political views and more, when it comes down to it, we're all sheepdogs on the same mission.  
 
What a small world after all.  I strongly encourage all of the Police K-9 Magazine readers to take any and all opportunities to reach out to our brothers and sisters in K-9, world wide to pick up new techniques, share your ideas, discuss deployment options and more.  You would also likely be surprised to hear realize how good most of us have it here.  We generally have much nicer vehicles, access to quality training equipment and materials, are more supported by our judicial systems and the public at large, and appreciated more by our peers in law enforcement.  Our dogs are better protected by our laws that criminalize the molesting, injuring and/or killing of a K-9, our equipment like Hot N Pop systems that monitor our vehicles for our dog's wellbeing and our balistic vest that are frequently purchased for us by our communities.  I found out Jean-Luc's issued patrol car would probably fit inside my issued Tahoe.  He has no remote door opener to summon his dog when needed in an emergency.   And even with all of this he says K-9 is the best position in law enforcement and, like me, he wants to die or retire with a leash in his hand.  We truly all speak the universal language of K-9.  MJC

I'm often asked "how can I  ...?"   I like to tell handlers not to focus so much on the how, and learn why any training technique works.  Once you learn the why behind the training technique, the how comes natural.  I like to have handlers read as much as they can about K-9 behavior and history so they better understand how their dog views it's world.  Once you better understand how the dog perceives its world, you learn to better read the dog while in training.  There is so much more than just focusing on how to perform a particular technique.  I often change techniques midstream, for each dog, based on their individual responses to training that session.

 
One thing I'd like to address in this Blog is a suggested reading list.  There are several books such as The Dogs Mind or Understanding Your Dog that help handlers dig deep in the minds of their partners to see them in a different light.  I also like Decoy's and Aggression to help understand the dog's body language during controlled aggression work.  One of my favorite references is an Oxford Guide to Animal Behavior I found in a dumpster behind a highschool that was clearing out it's library.


Once a handler has a better understanding of his/her dog from the perspective of the dog, training takes on a whole new meaning and purpose.  If anyone has any reading materials they would like to share please post it here and let's keep it going.  Train hard, stay safe.

Mike Colton                     

This is one of my guys and my dog during a slow training day last year.  What is most impressive is this guy is 6'2" 240.  Pretty good moves for a big guy. 

What a great looking site and much needed forum for professional K9 handlers.  It's an honor to be apart of this site.  Looking forward to many spirited and informative posts.