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The dark-haired, pony-tailed female cop *seemed* to have a handful of a dog. Both times, from the point they exited the car, it appeared the dog was on the point of being out of control, he was so amped up. She really had to hold on to him.

So I was wondering if this is the norm or was the dog more excited than is usual, perhaps due to the presence of a stranger with a camera riding along?

In my experiance during a hot call with lots going on most K9's are going to be amped up getting out of the car . Nicole has good control of her dog . She's a new K9 Handler(2nd year) and it's tough for smaller Officers to handle a dog like that but she does a good job . I think Cindy was a member of the same dog club Nicole is .

The camera crew does have an effect on the dogs . Camera guy rides in front seat . Sound guy occupies rear half of backseat . The squads(2 of them older spare K9 squads)were specially modified for the crew . A sheet of clear plexiglass seperates the sound guy from the K9 . I know my dog almost wears himself out whining and pacing all shift long when we have the camera crew . It's really annoying .

In this case though I think it's more the incident unfolding around the K9 team amping the dog up and it's normal IMO .

Aw man - WHEN is this coming to the UK?? Sounds like I'm really missing out on this series

PS Put me down for one of those T-shirts

I am looking forward to seeing all the episodes but it seems they mostly air when I am at work...oh but then that seems to be all the time these days!

One quick comment even though I haven't seen the episode about the below comment. It is wonderful to have a dog that comes into drive when you need it without too much effort. Try the opposite when the dog is dull and flat. It is like a screwdriver made of rubber...no good for what the task at hand.

As for a female handling such a dog this is great (I know some people would rather hear about an cop bitchin' about women on the job but that just isn't me) I would like to see more women look at the career and maybe this will prop up our recruiting a bit which seems to be suffering nationwide.

 Quote: Sarah Morris

I only caught about 10 minutes of the program and I have a question based on the tiny portion I saw.

The dark-haired, pony-tailed female cop *seemed* to have a handful of a dog. Both times, from the point they exited the car, it appeared the dog was on the point of being out of control, he was so amped up. She really had to hold on to him.

So I was wondering if this is the norm or was the dog more excited than is usual, perhaps due to the presence of a stranger with a camera riding along?

My apologies if this is an ignorant question...I don't know very much about law enforcement dogs.

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I am looking forward to seeing all the episodes but it seems they mostly air when I am at work...oh but then that seems to be all the time these days!

Same here. The only reason I got to see it was because it was my day off .

To be honest I'm wondering if K9 Officers will like the show . The main reason I watch it is because of the personal investment I have in it . For me a K9 series would have to be non stop active searches and hard high flying take downs for it to be interesting to me .

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As for a female handling such a dog this is great (I know some people would rather hear about an cop bitchin' about women on the job but that just isn't me) I would like to see more women look at the career and maybe this will prop up our recruiting a bit which seems to be suffering nationwide.

I agree and I will add that through my experiance the biggest problem I've seen female K9 Officers have is lack of upper body strength . Most have great patience and pay attention and stay focussed more so then male K9 Handlers . My advice for those interested is hit the gym , mostly upper body and core strength training . Plenty of running too . That goes for anybody wanting to be a K9 Handler .

I haven't read this whole thread so you may already know but it starts tonight.

 Quote: Jim Nash

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To be honest I'm wondering if K9 Officers will like the show . The main reason I watch it is because of the personal investment I have in it . For me a K9 series would have to be non stop active searches and hard high flying take downs for it to be interesting to me .

I saw the first episode and enjoyed it. I tend to be more critical than most. I thought the deployments and the dogs were a good representation of police dogs at work. The deployments, particularly the apprenhension at the end of the pursuit and then the ensuing track were excellant. It was a good display of the benefits of having working canines. Cudos all around.

DFrost

It is our Dogs favorite show, I didn't know dogs watched TV but she actually watches this show, (ears perked up and attentively watching the TV). I just wish they would stop playing with Kongs (just kidding), the last episode the handler threw it and our dog started looking off the sides of the TV and looking all over the living room trying to find it. It was pretty funny, I wish I had a picture!

I wasn't as impressed with the last segment. The dog used by the officer that broke his wrist displayed some real problems. The dog had ample opportunity to engage the suspect, but never really was committed to it. The EDD dog that was used would have been disqualified because of it's penchant to pick up items. The handler even commented at one point something to the effect: "everythings a toy".

I think the overall tenant of the show is very good and does in fact, display working canine in a good light. I realize I can become more critical than many. I also understand a dog can have good days and bad days. That episode however did show a dog that at best is inconsistent, at worst, displaying some problems that need some immediate attention.

DFrost

In this series we are showing all of our K9's in every area they are expected to work no matter if it's their strongest or weakest area of K9 work(apprehension , tracking ,building search , article search , drug or bomb detection).

Apprehension work is Buzz's weakest area . On the episode it was stated by our head trainer that Buzz is our best Drug detection dog. His handler even talks about Buzz's strengths and apprehension work wasn't mentioned. His handler is aware of his dog's strengths and weaknesses and knows how to work with it. This is his 2nd K9 the first, a very strong dog in all areas , he worked for 4 or 5 years .

Buzz's scent work is awesome . The dog's strong at tracking , building search , article search and awesome at drug detection .

I agree the apprehension was not impressive at all but when looking at this K9's complete package it was determined he would be an asset to the K9 unit and he has proven that finding lots of dope , evidence and badguys .

I also agree K9 Sully searching the car was not having a good day . His handler is a training maniac and I'm sure once he saw that happen in front of the camera he worked to correct it. I think that's an issue that pops up with him from time to time but I don't think he's had a problem with that when certifying.

For me knowing that other K9 Handlers would be watching this I wish we would have used our biggest , baddest and strongest dogs in the area being filmed. But it was descided from the beginning this was going to be an honest representation of what we do .

I'm sweating what I will see in my segments on the show . I won't see what they caught on tape til it airs but I'm sure I'll find plenty wrong with what I did and I'll be my worst critic .

One thing I have to point out that I've noticed on the show is depth persception . On all the felony stops or suspect confrontations it looks like they were right on top of them and I was there on some and they were no where near as close to them as they appearred on TV.

Jim, I hope you don't take offense to my comments, it's not my intention. Being a police canine trainer however, I'm viewing a one-time performance and making my comments. I'm sure I'd also be very nervous if my program was put on display such as yours is now. As I've said before, I still think the program is portraying the use of police canines in a good light.

DFrost