Police and Dog Encounters March 2014 Voiceover: Beat Intro 00:00 This is the Beat—a podcast series that keeps you in the know about the latest community policing topics facing our nation. Kimberly Brummett 00:08 Hello and welcome. My name is Kimberly Brummett and, on behalf of the COPS Office, I’d like to introduce you to Brian Kilcommons, an internationally recognized expert on dog behavior. He has trained over 40,000 dogs and their people, published nine books, and has been a part-time faculty member at Tufts Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine for 15 years. Brian is here to discuss with us police encounters with dogs and the behaviors dogs exhibit. Welcome Brian. Brian Kilcommons 00:35 Thanks Kimberly! Kimberly 00:37 What are some of the challenges police officers face with dogs? Brian 00:41 Some of the challenges that police officers face with dogs is encountering so many different dogs in so many different environments. Whether it’s an empty building, an apartment building, somebody’s home, somebody’s yard, the variation of scenarios is huge. And, surprise! They walk up to the house, knock on the door, and all of a sudden the dog comes running around from the back yard carrying on. For them to learn how to read a dog is going to be absolutely vital so they can understand if a dog is being dangerous or not. The other thing is, police officers—if you put yourself in their position, when they go into a certain area, let’s say they’re going into a home—there was a disturbance. There’s a fence up, they look around, they don’t see anything, they open the gate, they walk in the gate, and all of a sudden the dog pops up screaming at them. That is very difficult without them understanding—and that’s why this program is so important—on what the dog’s intentions are. Most dogs are reacting out of fear or warning; they’re not going to actively bite. Unless you know a couple of things: 1) How to read the dog’s body language. 2) What your body language is like. One of the things we do is we teach officers to turn to the side because it’s not as threatening. This is exactly opposite of the training they get with people. Because when they come on the scene, they need to be assertive and take control, but with dogs they need to be neutral. So, the big head jump is something that needs to be learned, but with the police officer reading the dog, knowing how to deflate the situation by changing their body language, it makes everyone safer. Kimberly 02:27 What training, specifically, do police officers need, to stop or neutralize aggression in dogs? Brian 02:32 Understanding what their body language is, how the dog interprets it, and, most importantly, how to interpret the dog’s body language. This is a difficult situation. They’re going into so many different scenarios, from empty buildings, where there may be dogs, to drug dealers where dogs could be dangerous, to home owners who haven’t trained their dogs. Them learning how to get the situation under control and evaluated as they do with people in a very short period of time is something that needs to be taught. That’s what this project is about. It’s really empowering police officers to evaluate a situation and knowing the moves to make to make sure that they’re not bitten. Most dogs don’t bite; they’re doing this out of fear. They can look at the dog going, “OK, fine, if I turn sideways instead of standing frontally, the dog is going to relax.” Direct eye contact is a challenge to a dog, so don’t look them in the eyes, look past them. Those types of tips and information that they will be getting enables them to make sure they avoid an aggressive situation with a dog. Kimberly 03:45 Are most dogs overtly aggressive with strangers and people in uniforms? Brian 03:50 I wouldn’t say most dogs. Some dogs are. One of the things people don’t realize is when somebody comes up in a uniform, they react to it. Whether it’s the FedEx guy, the UPS guy, one of the things that happens is the person comes up in uniform, the dog warns, and the person drops the package off and leaves. And the dog turns around and goes, “You know what, I’m pretty tough. Look what I just did.” When that happens on a daily or weekly basis, that aggression starts to build. It’s a way, in fact, that they use to teach dogs protection work or attack work. You show up, the dog shows signs of aggression, you leave, and the dogs start to build confidence. This is where the owners come in. The owners need to take control over their dogs. There are a lot of different training techniques. There are a lot of different trainers out there. If your dog is becoming over-stimulated and is showing signs of aggression, don’t rationalize the behavior. “He’s just being protective.” It’s your local police officer—I don’t think you’re in danger. [Laughs] People socializing their dogs properly, making sure they’re obedience trained, will give these dogs a lot more confidence. Where they’re reacting to a situation, they can be directed. A lot of the post office people do this now, and FedEx, they carry dog treats. The dog may not like a uniform—I don’t like people in black uniforms, but every time I see one I get $20. After a while, you know, they’re not so bad. If it’s done consistently, I’m going to start going, “Hey, where are those people in black uniforms?” Treats do that with dogs so when people show up, they give the dog a treat, the dog starts getting a positive connotation instead of reacting. Kimberly 05:44 How many dog owners train and have verbal control of their dogs? What are the implications for police officers who encounter them in their work? Brian 05:52 Well, Kimberly, you live in DC. There are a lot of dogs in DC. How many well-trained dogs do you see? How many dogs are dragging their owners around on the end of a lead? How many dogs are showing signs of aggression with other dogs or movements? When you go to the dog park, it’s like a classic comedy routine. “Fido, come, come, come, come.” It’s either deafness or lack of response. The dog isn’t deaf. As far as people training their dogs more, they’re going to be able to direct their behavior so you create the opportunity to reward. Half the dogs in America think their names are No. Changing that around and moving a dog to Yes is not something a dog can do; the owner has to. I think it makes a huge difference with police officers when they’re dealing with a confident, stable dog versus a dog that’s under-socialized, tired out, and is allowed to show signs of aggression on a daily basis. Kimberly 06:56 How important is reading a dog’s body language to understand the dog’s intentions? Brian 07:02 The way we communicate is through words and tone of voice. Dogs communicate through body language. We’re literally developing a different language and understanding that. You have the old wives’ tale, “He’s wagging his tail; he’s fine.” Well, it depends. If the tail is low and swinging, the dog is fine. If the tail is horizontal or vertical and it’s moving rapidly, the dog is stimulated. People knowing what their dogs are saying and not assuming. A lot of times people assume they know what they dog is thinking. I’m like, “Really? How’d you develop that? I’ve been working with dogs all my life and I haven’t been able to figure out what they’re thinking.” They’ll tell me through their body language but I can’t guess, so I have to look. That’s why this program with cops is so important, where they’re starting to learn what body signals mean with dogs so they can see if the dog is an actual threat. Most aren’t. And they have tools to deflate the situation. Kimberly 08:13 Great. Brian, thank you for your time and expertise today. Brian 08:17 My pleasure Kimberly. Voiceover: Beat Exit 08:19 The Beat was brought to you by the United States Department of Justice, COPS Office. The COPS Office helps to keep our nation’s communities safe by giving grants to law enforcement agencies, developing community policing publications, developing partnerships, and solving problems. Voiceover: Disclaimer 08:36 The opinions contained herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or polices of the U.S. Department of Justice. References to specific agencies, companies, products, or services should not be considered an endorsement by the authors or the U.S. Department of Justice. 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