Hello everyone. Im heading up tp Lackland check out the dogs they have available for LEO's. I am currently with a small PD (8 officers) and we are going to start a K9 program, with a dual purpose dog. I have handled a Narc dog (lab) but I have no experience with the patrol dog. Have any of you recieved dogs from Lackland? If so what should I expect when I get there, I have never been to the base before. I was hoping to take our trainer with me, but due to some health problems he cant make it, so I will be SOL. Im going to try and take someone I can use as a decoy for some muzzled testing. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

http://www.wood.army.mil/MPBULLETIN/pdfs/Sep03pdfs/Parker,Emery,Chandler-Lackland.pdf

I was unaware that Lackland started brokering dogs to civilian departments.
Maybe I am incorrect here though.

Are you taking a course there to learn how to handle the dog as well? I would be nervous as heck to be going there with no experience in a patrol dog to pick on out....yikes.

Personally, unless you have someone that is experienced in picking out dogs for patrol work, I believe you are making a mistake. Dogs they have available, while certainly some are trainable, were eliminated from their training for a reason. Just a thought.

DFrost

Congratulations on starting a K9 unit in your department. I haven't been to Lackland for years (and years) but from what I hear, it is a closed installation now so you will need a sponsor from the base in order to get on base. The dogs that wash out of training go back for more training and then if they still fail they are sent on to other homes. I agree with David, they were washed out for a reason but remember there are many other options out there. Good luck and stay safe.

P.S. Welcome to the forum! This is a great place to be to learn about training dogs.

Edited by Sandra Vernlund (06/03/2008 08:59 PM)
Edit reason: Add PS

dogs that are washed out/retired from MWD training are first offered to their handlers, then LE, then for civilian adoption. i'm with david on this one, esp if looking for a dual-purpose dog for LE: take someone who can really evaluate dogs with you!!

Yeah, the department that Iworked with previously was an ISD PD, two of the three dogs we had came from Lackland "washouts". One is a Mal, and is a great dog, a little on the aggresive side, we didnt use her for patrol work, just detection. The other is a lab, good dog, could be better with the right handler. The dog I had was not from Lackland. I have the appointment with Barbara Stadts, she heads up the adoption prgram for LEO's, on Thursday. I guess what I will do is head up there and check out the dogs. My primary concern is finding a dog with good drive that I can get certified in Narcs. Then from there I will work on the Patrol aspect. The trainer we use down here gave me a selection test that he uses, so I will be administering that to the dogs I think show promise. I will be giving him updates on the dogs that I see, so that he can point me in the right direction. I know its not the ideal situation, but we will see how it goes. As far as learning to handle the Patrol dog, yes we will be attending training for that, after we get the narcotics certification out of the way. Thanks for the input. Here is the link for Lacklands site for LEO's

http://www.lackland.af.mil/shared/media/document/AFD-080317-048.pdf

I could be wrong, I will ask when I get to Lackland, but from what I understand the dogs have multiple handlers. Not sure how that works out, as I was told they wash out dogs that are handler aggressive. Seems that it would be difficult to keep a dog from being handler aggressive if it doesnt have a bond with one person. Other reasons that I understand they wash them out is for health reasons (cancer, hips, etc...), they simply take too long on a certain portion of their training program. On the website I provided in the prior post they have their statement of work, which details their standards of purchasing a dog, which are pretty high. I get the impression that they only use the cream of the cream of the crop, they dont have time to deal wit ha dog that is having an alret problem, or an Aus problem.

David and Vinson,

Thank you for the insight into this, I learned something new today....which is GREAT as usual...

Good luck Vinson, and I agree with David's advice as well. Let us know how it turns out.

Well, I tested 5 dogs, and came home with a two year old GSD. From what I can tell, he has a good base in bite work, he takes a sleeve well, he should have a good hold on narcotics, I will find out this Saturday when I do some training with him. The reason he was eliminated from the program was due to stamina issues, so I will have to monitor him on that. From what I have seen thus far he seems to have plenty of energy. He just turned two so he is young and shows quite a bit of potential. I noticed when he keeps his nose in the dirt when searching for a toy, so he should make a good tracking dog, he doesnt rely on his sight too much.