K9 Course Flashcards
Alpha Roll Criteria
- Handler or third party aggression
- Severe canine aggression
Walking Odor
The canine alerts and walks away.
Importance of Rewards
The reward is the canine’s paycheck. The handler is the paymaster.
The reward must be:
- Delivered on time.
- In the correct amount for the work performed.
Critical Drives - H.A.R.P. ?
Hunt
Air Scent
Retrieve
Prey
US v Place
- Canine “sniff” is not a search under 4th Amendment.
- Canine sniff is “Sui Generis”.
- With reasonable suspicion, personal luggage can be detained for canine sniff.
- When answering a call for canine sniff, the handler needs to respond in a timely manner.
- Reasonableness of detention determined by facts of individual case.
On Leash Ritual: Method
- Allow the canine to take a break.
- Heel the canine to the perimeter of the search area.
- With the canine in a heel position, conduct a cursory search of the area.
- Begin the search.
Passive Indicaiton
sit, down, point
Retrieve
Drive to bring prey to the pack.
Hyperthermia: Corrective Measures
- Before transporting the canine to the veterinarian, cool the canine by:
- Spraying or submerging trunk and extremities in cool water, and
- Placing water-soaked towels or cold packs to the back of the head, neck, armpits and groin regions.
- While transporting the canine to the veterinarian:
- Keep the canine cool and air-conditioned.
- Check rectal temperature every 2 minutes.
- Stop cooling measures when rectal temperature has reached 103 F and dry the canine with towels.
Nonproductive Alert
The canine displayed an alert in an uncontrolled field environment where no tangible trained substances could be located.
Operant Conditioning Principles
- Principle of Reward/Praise: If an animal’s actions change its environment favorably it increases the chance that it will repeat that behavior.
- Principle of Correction: If an animal’s actions change its environment unfavorably it decreases the chance that it will repeat that behavior.
* Both theories are related and intermingled.
Tracking
Drive to follow ground disturbance odors.
Fight
Drive to measure physical prowess with rivals.
Trainability
Drive to follow the desires of the pack leader.
2 basic animal and human learning systems:
- Classical Conditioning
- Operant Conditioning
Indication
A trained behavior that pinpoints source.
Tracing
Post-alert behavior displayed by the canine while following the odor to source.
Control
Canine’s responsiveness to verbal commands and presentations during the search.
Sharpness
Tendency to react aggressively to stimuli.
Activity
Drive to move and act.
Rank
Drive to achieve higher rank in the pack.
Character Traits
Traits that diminish or enhance drive behavior.
Precautions for public contact
- Never leave any canine unattended with small children.
- Never perform any demonstration off leash.
- During any contacts with the public, always be aware of and control the canine’s head.
- Never allow the canine to jump on any person.
- Never leave the canine chained or tied to an object.
Frustration
Tendency to subconsciously react aggressively when restrained from stimuli.
Post
- Directional command to the handler to prevent the canine’s forward motion.
Components of a Command
- Command itself
- Tone of voice
- Method of enforcement
Hyperthermia: Physical Signs
- Refusal to work
- Heavy panting or gasping
- Hypersalivation
- Red mucous membranes, with a capillary refill time
under 2 seconds - Increased heart rate
- Rectal temperature above 104 F
- Lethargic or weak
- Stumbling (acting drunk)
- Vomiting, diarrhea, and/or lack of urine production
- Seizure and coma
Drafting
Drive to pull when restricted.
Operant Conditioning Definitions
- R+ (Positive Reinforcement) Something GOOD is introduced or given AFTER the behavior. So that the behavior increases. “FREE”
- P+ (Positive Punishment) Something ADVERSE is introduced AFTER the behavior. So behavior decreases or goes away. “PHOOEY”
- R- (Negative Reinforcement) Something ADVERSE is introduced BEFORE to get a behavior or to shape a behavior. “ESCAPE TRAINING”
- P- (Negative Punishment) Something that may be wanted or desired is withheld BEFORE the behavior, in order to shape or get a behavior. “NEIN”
Homing
Drive to return to pack or territory.
Off Leash Ritual: Method
- Allow the canine to take a break.
- Heel the canine to the perimeter of the search area and place him in a down position.
- Leave the canine and conduct a cursory search of the area.
- Return to the canine and begin the search.
Protection
Drive to defend pack members.
Pointing
Drive to passively indicate prey.
Hardness
Resiliency toward unpleasant experiences.
Prey
Drive to pursue, bite, and kill visual prey.
Air Scent
Drive to follow wind born odors.
Courage
Absence of fear toward objects or in situations.
Basic Rules - The Primary Rule
The Primary Responsibility of a detection canine handler is to do a safe and thorough search.
Drives
Subconcious impulses to react to stimuli.
- Genetic.
- Can be enhanced or diminished through training, but never created or eliminated.
- A dog will revert to his drives not training when placed under stress.
Survival
Flight - Drive to flee from real or imagined danger.
Self-defense - Drive to attack real or imagined danger.
Herding
Drive to circle and direct prey.
Rear Tension
- Directional command to the handler to apply rearward tension to the leash.
Tone of Voice
CCPPA
Command: Short monotone bark Correction: Low growling Permissive: High to low Praise: High, happy Agitation: Suspicious, whispering
Play
Drive for physical contact with pack members.
Alpha Roll: Procedures
- The canine is already in muzzle.
- When the canine exhibits overt aggression the handler:
- Forces the canine onto his back.
- Applies light pressure to the canine’s throat.
- Maintains direct eye contact.
- Issues low growling voice tones.
- Continues until the canine submits.
- Deescalates in proportion to the canine’s submission.
- Releases the canine with light praise.
Purpose of a Pre-Search Ritual
- Checking for Hazards
- Pre-Stimulating the canine
- Checking for wind currents
- Establishing a search pattern
Fixation
When the canine, by the “chaining” of unrelated stimuli with a reward or correction becomes patterned into an incorrect behavior.
Softness
Remembering unpleasant experiences.
Guard
Drive to defend territorial space from intruders.
Temperament
Attitude toward life.
Physical Canine Stress
- Panting
- Seeking shade or water
- Lethargic
- Loss of appetite
Alert
A change of body posture and increased respiration when the dog first encounters the odors he has been trained to detect.
Confidence
Environmentally conditioned acceptance of safety.
Fringe Indication
The canine prematurely indicates while tracing odor.
Praise: Amount
The amount of praise give is based on the canine’s:
- Hardness.
- Activity drive.
- Level of mental stress.
Generally speaking, praise is administered at a ratio of:
- 5 to 1
- 10 to 1 for a soft canine
Threshold Problem
The canine walks odor that is not at a quantity perviously experienced.
Hunt
Drive to pursue out-of-sight stimuli.
Conflict Training
Constantly changing training so that the canine does not become patterned into an incorrect response.
US v Stone
- A canine alert to the exterior of a vehicle establishes probable cause for search.
- A canine jumping through an open window or door without a command following an alert is not in violation of the 4th Amendment.
Areas of deployment
- Outside searches of vehicles.
- Consensual searches at vehicle stops (without probable cause).
- Drug interdiction in public areas.
- Searches relative to search warrant executions.
- Community relations demonstrations.
- Assistance of other law enforcement agencies in any of the above situations.
Systematic Searching: Elements
- 90 Degrees
- Left to right
- Low to high
- Natural holes and cracks
Modular Training
Short, simple lessons which work on one facet of a finished product.
Mental Canine Stress
- Ears down
- Head down
- Tail down
- Panting in cool conditions
- Loose stool
- Lethargic
- Loss of appetite
- Dilated pupils
Pack
Drive for emotional contact with pack members.
Aggressive indication
Scratch, bite
False Indication
The canine displayed a change in behavior that the handler interpreted as an alert and indication in a controlled training environment where it had been previously established that no trained odors were present.
Intent
A canine’s ability and desire to systematically hunt for a trained odor.
Types of sniffs
- Blanket
- Specific
4th Amendment regulates?
- Searches
- Seizures
Exterior Search Pattern
Practice pattern
US v Jacobs
- One canine per search.
- Use proper terminology.
- Do not use vague terms such as “interest”.
Sensory Threshold
Amount of stimuli required to engage a drive.
*May be high or low for each drive.