Chaos, Charley, Cosmic And Comet From Our C Litter Graduate As Operational Police Dogs After Completing Their 3 Month General Purpose Initial Police Dog Course

The January 2016 Initial Police dog course has been a very eventful course to say the least.
We started the course with Chaos, Comet and Cagney. Cosmic and Charley were spare dogs with no handler allocated to them and so the course and I trained them during the week and they returned to their puppy walkers at weekends.

In week 4 Cosmic was allocated to Sgt James Little a new handler who was appointed to supervise the Cornwall dog section. The course are pictured here

after a very enjoyable day tracking across muddy fields. Rear left Comet with Andy, rear right Cagney with Tim, front left Charley with me, front centre Cosmic with James, and front right Chaos with Mark.

They are pictured above looking a bit cleaner after building searching.

In week 9 I traveled to Germany to collect 3 new puppies Bob, Bernie and Bevan.

In week 10 we were joined by an additional handler from Dorset Dave Cambell who had recently had to retire his operational dog with a spinal condition and he was allocated Charley our spare dog.

This meant we now had 5 dog teams on the course and we were all pleased for Charley who had been without her own handler since the start of the course. Predictably they are now Chas and Dave. The new team are pictured here together in the centre.

This was also a sad week for us as we attended the funeral of one of our puppy walkers Donna to form a guard of honour.

Two weeks later  the week of our assessments week 12, I had to make the very difficult decision to release Cagney from the course as she had struggled to make the necessary progression in a number of exercises.

We had seen a deterioration in her performance around week 6 and we had put this down to a phantom pregnancy which was clearly causing her some discomfort and changes in her behaviour.

However this didn’t improve after 5 weeks and if anything became more acute. We were all devastated because Cagney and her handler Tim were with us from the start and were part of the team.

Cagney now has a new home with Pippa in Devon.

Pippa has had 2 previous GSD’S both who lived to the ripe old age of 13 years. Pippa had lost her last GSD only 3 weeks previously and had made enquiries with all the regional GSD rescue centres for a new GSD without success.  Cagney has quickly settled in with Pippa and we will monitor her progress.

Despite the gloom surrounding Cagney and Tim leaving us we had no time to dwell on it because we had to prepare for our assessments which were in 2 days time.

Instructor Mark Avery from Gloucester Police dog section came down on the Wednesday and Thursday and put the remaining teams through their paces. Dawn who puppy walked Comet also paid us a visit on the Tuesday to see how he was getting on with his handler Andy.

Mark completed his assessments on the Thursday afternoon and I am pleased to say not only did he pass all 4 dog teams he was very complimentary about the excellent standards.

The dogs are assessed on all aspects required of an operational general purpose Police dog. This includes the ability to track and search for both criminals who have fled a crime scene and vulnerable missing persons. Dealing with disorderly crowds and violent criminals. Obedience and agility tests. Searching for outstanding articles and property.

Here are the teams performing some of their work on the assessments.

The above shows Chaos dealing very positively with a large angry crowd.

The above shows Cosmic showing his agility clearing the long jump.

The above shows Andy and Comet demonstrating their lovely heelwork.

The above shows Andy leaving Comet in a sit stay before he recalls him.

The above shows Chaos showing his attentiveness to Mark.

The above shows how determined Chaos is on his criminal work when dealing with an offender attempting to escape.

The above shows Cosmic guarding a criminal who has given himself up after running away until his handler joins him.

The above shows Mark and Chaos hot on the trail of a burglar who has fled across country before finding him half a mile away hiding in a hedge. On the test the dogs also have to locate 4 items of property hidden on the trail by the offender.

The above shows Charley and Dave tracking across country before finding their offender hiding behind a fence. He is then ordered to come out and is searched by the handler while the dog watches and waits for any sign that the offender might attack his handler. If the offender does that the dog is trained to immediately attack.

The above shows Chaos recalling to his handler Mark.

The above shows us all relaxing with the assessor Mark and all the dogs after completing their assessments and being told that they have all passed with flying colours.

The above shows the dogs demonstrating how calm and relaxed they are in a busy city centre environment.

The assessor commented on how unusual it was to see a group of Police dogs so relaxed and trustworthy in such a busy environment and so social together. He stated it was a pleasure to see and was clearly the result of the pups growing up together and developing together on our training sessions with our puppy walkers.



After successfully licensing it was time for a well-earned long weekend break before returning for more practical operational work and preparation for the passing out parade the following week.

On our final week all the handlers underwent their helicopter familiarisation work where they are required to ride in the helicopter.

The above shows Chaos and Mark enjoying the view before take off.

The above video shows Cosmic completely relaxed enjoying the flight.

The above shows the teams having a photo together after their enjoyable and successful flights.

The above shows Cosmic and James undergoing their livestock proofing session on the day before our passing out parade.

It is vitally important for our Police dogs to be neutral and totally reliable around livestock because we regularly have to work in amongst all types of livestock when searching rural areas for criminals and missing persons.

Finally our final day arrived when all the teams officially leave the course after their passing out ceremony. The ceremony is a chance for us to share the day with our families and to say a big thank you to all of our puppy walkers who make the whole thing possible.

The above shows the teams about to march to give a short demonstration of the heelwork, agility and criminal work to the crowd.

The above pictures show the handlers giving a demonstration of their work.

The above shows James and Cosmic with their family.

The above shows Dave and Charley with their family.

The above show shows Andy and Comet with their family.

Finally this picture shows all the dogs with their puppy walkers and handlers after a long and enjoyable course and a very enjoyable day.

For me it was a very emotional day seeing my C litter finally leaving to start their Police careers because it only seems like yesterday I watched them all being born to mum Ruby in our house. That is all of our 3 litters the A,B & C now out and serving operationally.

We have 15 operational Police dogs serving out of the 22 pups we have raised from our 3 litters. The 7 pups who did not make Police dogs are all thriving in pet homes and all of their owners comment on what lovely characters and temperaments they have.

We are now waiting to see if Sasha has been successfully mated to our dog Lenny and whether a D litter is on the way.

As for me no time for a rest as on Sunday I will be running a fun style competition for all of the 7 dogs for the September 2016 Police dog course and their puppy walkers.

Until next time goodbye from Sasha, Lenny and me.

Ronnie, Police Dog Training and a Sunday update

In this blog
1.    Ronnie finally finds a full time puppy walker 
2.    The new initial police dog course gets under way
3.    Training on Sunday for all the pups

Ronnie goes to his new home

5 month old Ronnie finally has his own full time puppy walker. He is the last of our 4 pups from Germany to be placed with a full time puppy walker.  He is pictured here sampling the snow at the home of his temporary puppy walker Annie.

Despite having her own 2 dogs and having recently moved house Annie kindly agreed to look after Ronnie for us until we found a full time puppy walker.
 
Ronnie is pictured here with his new puppy walkers Terry and Jill and their granddaughter at Annie’s house on the official when they collected him.

Terry and Jill are experienced puppy walkers

You will be able to follow the progress of Ronnie and his litter mates in our blog over the coming months.

Our C Litter pups start their initial police dog course

Our 5 C litter pups are all pictured here reporting for duty as they continue their journey to become General purpose Police dogs.

From left to right are Cagney, Comet, Chaos, Cosmic and Charlie.

Cagney, Comet and Chaos have been with their handlers for several weeks bonding and getting to know each other until the start of the course. There are only 3 handlers within our Alliance ie Devon and Cornwall and Dorset needing new dogs at the moment and so Cosmic and Charlie will be handled and trained by me running parallel to the other 3 teams.

Hopefully all 5 dogs will successfully achieve their Police dog licenses in 13 weeks time when they will be assessed by another outside force.

Just as I did with the A and B litters the C litter were also bred and raised at my house. Having supervised their development with their puppy walkers I am now looking forward to training them on the Initial Police dog course.

Here are the dog teams and dogs on the current course.

PC Tim Goodwin and Trainee Police dog Cagney

Tim has been a dog handler for 5 years and is currently stationed at Camborne dog section. His first dog Buzz has had to retire prematurely with a spine condition at the age of 6. Buzz now lives at home with Tim and his family.

Cagney was puppy walked by Terry and Jill Hodge in Exeter. Terry and Jill have puppy walked numerous puppies which have graduated as Police dogs in Devon and Cornwall and Essex Police dog section.

PC Andy Parkin and Trainee Police dog Comet

Comet is Andy’s second General purpose Police dog and he also has a drugs dog. He and Comet will be stationed at Ferndown Dorset.

Comet was puppy walked by Dawn and Mark Harrison in Plymouth. They previously puppy walked Sampson from our puppy program who is a General purpose and Cadaver ( body detection ) dog in the Metropolitan Police.

PC Mark Spearing and Trainee Police dog Chaos

Mark has been a General Purpose Police dog handler for 11 years and is also a Dangerous dog liason officer. Mark and Chaos will stationed at Weymouth in Dorset.

Chaos who throughout has been one of the stars of the C litter failed his hip X ray’s which needs to be passed to allow a dog to work as a Police dog for seven years. We were devastated because Chaos was born to work and would not have settled as a pet dog.

Initially we had found him a nice home but after three weeks his new owners returned him because he was just too much for them. We then had a stroke of luck when Mark who has only three years left to serve as a Police officer before retirement heard about Chaos’s plight and hearing about his potential agreed to give him a chance.

Our vet was more than happy to sanction this for the shorter period.

Chaos was puppy walked by Colin and Mitzi Belsher in Newton Abbott.

Me and trainee Police dog Cosmic

Cosmic has been puppy walked by Lindsay and Anthony Lane-Lobb in Plymouth. They previously puppy walked Police dog Buddy from our B litter who is now an operational Police dog in Cornwall.

Cosmic has been quite a sensitive and soft natured dog throughout his puppy hood. This has required his puppy walkers to be very sensitive and patient to help him to overcome his general lack of confidence particularly with regard to being very sensitive to some sounds such as fireworks. He is also very sensitive to the sounds of some types of gunfire.

Such is the improvement in his general confidence and the qualities he has such as his enthusiasm, determination, wonderful temperament and high work drive we are currently working with him to see if we can help him overcome his issues with certain sounds.

We may or may not succeed but after all of the hard work that has gone in from his puppy walkers we think he is worth the effort.

Me and trainee Police dog Charlie

Charlie has been puppy walked by Paul and Pippa Sabin in Torquay. They have successfully puppy walked a number of current Police dogs which includes Police dog Bruno from our B litter who is an operational Police dog in Avon and Somerset.

Charlie is our spare dog for the course and her puppy walker brings her to HQ for her daily training.

Hopefully Chaos, Comet and Cagney will be successful and she will not be required on our course.

She is doing very well and if successful will be going to one of the many forces around the country who are desperate for good dogs such as Charlie.

At the time of compiling this blog all five dogs are really enjoying the work and are thriving.

Charlie is the dark horse she is very intense in her work and is very determined. This is very well demonstrated here in this sequence of pictures showing the intensity in her face as she targets the criminal and bites with such conviction that even a big lad like Mark feels the power in her bite.

Cosmic who despite his sensitivities to certain sounds shows that he is no slouch either when it comes to asserting himself.

Here he is again letting the criminal know who is in charge having found him during a search of the building.

Chaos is the real live wire who lives life in the fast lane giving 110% in everything he does. Despite his full on style he is a very attentive and biddable dog as evidenced here giving his handler Mark absolute attention as they are about to start their focus work.

Nothing wrong with my hips.

Comet is Mr steady and reliable taking everything in his stride. He is pictured here making light work of the high jump

and here demonstrating a lovely freeze having found a gun he was tasked to search for.

When our dogs locate stolen property they must freeze and not touch the item so as not interfere with any DNA that might be on it.

Cagney is very similar to her brother Comet she also takes everything in her stride. Don’t be fooled by her easy going friendly demeanour she has a tough streak and will certainly stick up for herself if she needs to. She loves her handler Tim as you can see here.

Here she is doing the window jump.

Our puppy walkers have done an excellent job preparing the dogs with all the training sessions they attended and this has made it very easy for the dogs to be worked as a group in our focus and control exercises.

Here they are working together indoors due to the inclement weather outside.

I will keep you posted as to how they are doing on the rest of the course.

A busy day for all the pups on our training Sunday day

On Sunday last I had all 3 groups of our pups in for development training at 10am, 12 noon and 2pm so it was a very busy day. We are starting preparation for the County shows when I hope to include them all. 

From left to right Roxy, Roz and Ronnie

Pictured above are three of the youngest, our German imports aged five months.

We worked on article searching, tracking, tugging on a canvas toy in preparation for criminal work, recalls to their handler, the sit and down stay, and some agility on the ramps.

Here our German Shepherd/Malinois cross pups giving an excellent example of the down stay which is testament to the work our puppy walkers have put in.

Left to right are Riggs, Cato, Reggie and Dexter.

Pictured here is Riggs developing his biting skills on a large bite bar. 

It is very important that the pups enjoy tugging and biting games but is just as important that the dog releases the tugger immediately he is told to do so which Eamon and Dexter are demonstrating here. 

Here is Reggie on the high platform showing his confidence on heights. 

Despite their boundless energy they are tired and relaxed after an enjoyable session.

Finally here are the older group showing off their high rise skills as a group. 

Left to right are Billy, Flynn, Memphis, and Rika

They are pictured here working on their control exercises.

Finally I thought I would finish with this lovely picture of Rika with Rob. 

She exudes authority and the boys all know it.

As for me well 9 month old Lennie is still the mischievous pain in the back side he has been from the start and Sasha our potential brood bitch is settling in nicely despite Lenny. 

See you next time.

Paul