I just got my dual purpose dog back home a couple weeks ago. He is only about 15 months old, mal. As soon as I got him back I was called out to do a vehicle sniff. It was dark out, and I noticed while running the dog that he seemed very distracted, watching shadows, passing cars, paying attention to everything except what he should have been. At the time I attributed this to a dog that just hadn't been exposed to the real life street side searches. But I have now done about 15 searches with the same results. He is not searching at all. He knows the odors, so that is not the issue. Same problem with tracking. If there is a cat or dog around...forget it...I just put him up. He is very dog aggressive. I spoke with the vendor and he recommended that we just swap him out for a different dog, which is ok with me, but in the mean time I will have the dog for a couple of months while a replacement is trained. Any tips or advice? I have worked two other single purpose narc dogs and have never had any of these issues. I'm also going to be ordering the TTD video, as foot step tracking is not going to cut it. Thanks in advance.

How long did you train with the dog before you brought him home? It sounds as if the dog was trained in a "laboratory" type environment and not exposed to actual situations. If the vendor is that quick in recommending a replacement, the problem existed long before you got the dog. Before you get the next dog, test, test test.

Unless you have an canine training staff, I'd suggest you exchange that dog.

dFrost

I trained with the dog for two weeks, the dogs are finsihed prior to the start of training. I think my main pitfall was not testing the dog well enough. I think I was just too excited about my first dual purpose dog, and wasnt using my head. Anyway I contacted other handlers who attended the training with me, and they havnt had any problems with their dogs, so I think I just got a dud. I think you may be right about the problem existing prior to me picking up the dog, but to the vendors credit they are very understanding, and seem to be mroe than willing to do what ever is needed to make us happy. Now that I really think about it there were some signs that the dog had some issues, during training, that I overlooked. I have seen about 10 or so of their dogs which have been on the road for years, and have impressed me. I was just wondering if there is anything I could do over the next couple of months to improve the dogs focus, especially on vehicle searches. If I put him in a controled environment he does well, but out on the street its a different story. His bite work is great, but that is not used nearly as much as the detection work. Any thoughts on what I can do to improve his focus so I can use him in the mean time? As it is now I will not use him for narcotics searches, as he is not reliable, and I could not testify to his reliability in court.

If the dog has what it takes, then yes, there would be training that could correct the problem. Since this is a vendor trained dog though, I would let them worry about the problem. Trade the dog in for one that doesn't have those problems. You'll know that because now you'll test it properly. Use your decoy, your training areas. Do a basic certification type test (USPCA for example). Since it's dual purpose I'd also do the same with drugs. Test using my drugs, my areas etc.

DFrost

David,

I think he has what it takes, I'm just unsure if it is just immaturity, or why it is that he gets so distracted. It's a done deal that I am trading out but its going to be a couple of months before the replacement is ready. I would like to continue working on him, at least to get him to where he will search when expected to. I enjoy working with him, and for as long as I have him I figure I might as well work on him. Should I go back to basics with him and work boxes to build him up, or what should I do? Odor recognition isn't the issue, he's just too distracted to focus on the task at hand. I did certify without a problem with him but certification is in a controlled environment.

I wouldn't go all the way back to basics since it isn't an odor or search related problem. I would go to areas with fewer distractions and then start adding distractions. My only concern, while he may well be a "certified" dog, he's not ready for the street. Remember bad case law affects all of us.

DFrost