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Thread: K9 equipment question for dog handlers

  1. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Lon View Post
    Yep. He’s gonna be a big one. Pics don’t do him Justice. He’s got huge paws. @85-90 lbs at 14 months. He and his handler came to firearms training tonight to get some gunshot experience.
    Slight tangent. I know that exposing the dog to the sounds of gunfire in training is absolutely necessary. It’s part of training a working dog that might be around gunfire during the course of its job. I still feel terrible about it. During our last qualification, we had some uniformed guys from another agency shooting with us. One of them was a K9 handler who recently got a new dog. As I was about to give the line commands to start the first stage of the rifle qualification, I looked over to the side and saw he was standing there with the dog. I quickly realized he wanted the dog exposed to the noise. I mouthed “you sure?” and he nodded. All I could think of was the one time during firearms instructor school that I forgot to put on my ear pro and got to hear 24 11.5” 5.56 ARs fire at once. I was quite thankful the drill was a single shot from the low ready. I can only imagine what that qualification sounded like to a dog’s ears.
    My posts only represent my personal opinion and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or official policies of any employer, past or present. Obvious spelling errors are likely the result of an iPhone keyboard.

  2. #12
    Regarding eye pro:
    Our work is SAR, not LE but here are a few general observations. Eye pro when the dog has to have great sense of where his feet and body are is pretty tough to manage. It works well on open snow, not so good in forests with lots of down wood and logs to maneuver over.
    Very valuable during loading/unloading from helicopters. Also good for transport in open rigs like UTVs if for any length of time, especially if it's dusty. Don't know if either is relevant to your use or not.
    Our dogs all tolerate Rex Specs better than Doggles. This is particularly true for dogs with a narrower snout.

    ETA: dog eye pro is pretty easy to dislodge. I don't think you'd want it on if there is potential for a fight with a suspect.

  3. #13
    Site Supporter KevH's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by WobblyPossum View Post
    Slight tangent. I know that exposing the dog to the sounds of gunfire in training is absolutely necessary. It’s part of training a working dog that might be around gunfire during the course of its job. I still feel terrible about it. During our last qualification, we had some uniformed guys from another agency shooting with us. One of them was a K9 handler who recently got a new dog. As I was about to give the line commands to start the first stage of the rifle qualification, I looked over to the side and saw he was standing there with the dog. I quickly realized he wanted the dog exposed to the noise. I mouthed “you sure?” and he nodded. All I could think of was the one time during firearms instructor school that I forgot to put on my ear pro and got to hear 24 11.5” 5.56 ARs fire at once. I was quite thankful the drill was a single shot from the low ready. I can only imagine what that qualification sounded like to a dog’s ears.
    We use a .22 starter pistol for that in a very open area to desensitize the dog to the sound. Then work our way up very slowly to pistol and finally with the handler firing his or her pistol. We usually use cotton balls in the dog's ears to muffle the sound.

    Taking a green dog up to the range with rifles being fired and no ear protection is a great way to for the handler to get bit (I've seen it happen) or to traumatize the dog to the sound.

  4. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by KevH View Post
    We use a .22 starter pistol for that in a very open area to desensitize the dog to the sound. Then work our way up very slowly to pistol and finally with the handler firing his or her pistol. We usually use cotton balls in the dog's ears to muffle the sound.

    Taking a green dog up to the range with rifles being fired and no ear protection is a great way to for the handler to get bit (I've seen it happen) or to traumatize the dog to the sound.
    I never asked where in the training process the dog was in regards to experience with gunfire. I hope this wasn’t the first thing they did. Like the program you described, I’m hoping they slowly worked the dog up to hearing rifles at close range and didn’t just start it off there.
    My posts only represent my personal opinion and do not necessarily reflect the opinions or official policies of any employer, past or present. Obvious spelling errors are likely the result of an iPhone keyboard.

  5. #15
    Site Supporter Lon's Avatar
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    Dayton, Ohio
    Quote Originally Posted by WobblyPossum View Post
    I never asked where in the training process the dog was in regards to experience with gunfire. I hope this wasn’t the first thing they did. Like the program you described, I’m hoping they slowly worked the dog up to hearing rifles at close range and didn’t just start it off there.
    And I don’t know where exactly they were. I don’t believe it was the first time.
    Formerly known as xpd54.
    The opinions expressed in this post are my own and do not reflect the opinions or policies of my employer.
    www.gunsnobbery.wordpress.com

  6. #16
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    I carefully exposed my guy to gunfire....

    But he was crated in the car for most of it.

    Despite familiarization with gunfire (including 11.5 .556) he won't go out around the 4th of July. 11.5 rifles, no problem. Fireworks, He just doesn't want to deal with...

    And Koda is a very good looking doggo. If I was in the market for a GSD the answer would be "Czech please". I prefer Mals and dutchies, but Czech GSDs as a general rule are GTG.

    pat

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