It's Not a Sport It's A Job

By Rodney Spicer

Police Service Dog’s basic foundation training comes from several different working dog sports from around the world. Schutzhund, IPO, KNPV, Belgium Ring, French Ring, Mondio Ring, CVV. These are the main working recognized dog sport’s foundation training of Police Service Dogs today.

When I first became involved in working dogs I realized soon after that I need to know my dogs history such as, who are the parents, where is he from, is he titled and is he working lines or show lines. These are some of the most common questions at working dog clubs today and public demonstrations.

Schutzhund is a sport that originated in Germany.

Schutzhund is a German word that means “protection dog”.

The three main titles in Schutzhund are Schutzhund 1, Schutzhund 2 and Schutzhund 3. With Schutzhund 1 being entry level and Schutzhund 3 being the most advanced.

There are three phases in obtaining a Schutzhund title, tracking, obedience and protection.

In tracking a track layer will make a trail generally on a freshly plowed field or through vegetation. The track will be anywhere from a few hundred yards to several hundred yards depending on the title to be obtained. The dog must follow the trail with a deep nose while the handler is at the end of a long line 30’ behind the dog. The dog will encounter small articles such as leather, wood and carpet and indicate them to the handler and Judge. The team must achieve the minimum passing score of seventy points out of a possible one hundred.

 

Obedience in Schutzhund 1 consists of  on and off leash heeling through a group of people, gun fire, right turn, left turn, about turn,  sit, heel, down, recall, retrieve of dumb bell and send out. Schutzhund 3 obedience is the same except performed off leash, sit, down and stand commands are given while the handler is in motion. The dog will retrieve a dumb bell over a 1-meter hurdle and a six-foot A frame wall. The team must achieve a minimum passing score of seventy points with the maximum of 100.

 

Protection in Schutzhund 1 consist of the dog running around a blind and then being directed by the handler to another blind where the helper is standing wearing a sleeve. The dog must immediately alert the handler by barking at the helper. The handler will retrieve the dog and have the helper step out of the blind. The helper will be searched by the handler while the dog is lying down. The helper will escape and the dog must stop the helper by grabbing his arm only. The dog will be given the command to let go and the helper will re-attack. The helper will give the dog two soft stick hits and stand still. The handler will retrieve the dog and go down field for a courage test. Schutzhund 3 protection has two helpers and the dog will have to run a pattern of five blinds directed by the handler with the helper being in the sixth blind standing still and wearing a sleeve. The handler will recall the dog to his side and have the helper step out of the blind. The rest of the exercise is very similar as Schutzhund 1 with the exception of the second helper who will come out from a blind to attack the handler. The helper is then transported to the judge. In all three levels of protection the team must receive a minimum passing score of eighty points with a maximum of one hundred points.

 

Obedience and protection take place on a field the size of a football field or slightly smaller. The equipment a helper uses is an arm sleeve and soft padded stick.

IPO is a sport.

IPO comes from the International Working Dog Organization and is almost identical to Schutzhund with titles of IPO 1, IPO 2 and IPO 3.

The following are countries and titles:

Italy Brevetto 1, 2, 3

Yugoslavia CAB 1, 2, 3,

Hungary SZL 1,2,3,

CZECH Republic CVV 1,2,3,

Denmark BHP1,2,3,

Netherlands VH 1,2,3, these are all Schutzhund  titles and have all the same phases tracking, obedience and protection.

The equipment used is also the same. The helper wears an arm sleeve and has a soft padded stick. The judges are very critical about the grip of the dog and want to see a full deep grip. All trials take place at a training field or stadium.

KNPV is a sport.

Koninklijke Nederlandse Politiehond Vereniging which means Royal Dutch Police Dog Association.

The KNPV working dog titles/certifications are Police dog 1 (PH1) Police Dog 2 (PH2) and object guard.

The obedience exercises in KNPV are heeling on and off leash, right turn, left turn, sit, down, recall, object retrieve, swim across a canal and return on command, heel beside a bicycle, food refusal, gun fire.

The KNPV obstacles are a 1meter-hedge jump, 2.25-meter ditch jump and a 1.75-meter wall jump.

KNPV protection consist of an object guard, search for person in woods, call off, transport of prisoner, long attack in which the dog is struck with a stick before the attack, recall from long attack, attack with gun fire and a long attack to stop a person fleeing on a bicycle.

There is no tracking in KNPV. KNPV trials/certifications only take place in the Netherlands.

The Decoy’s wear bite suits and have reed sticks. The judges are not critical of the fullness of the grips. All certifications take place at a training field and/or stadium. The team performs one exercise or scenario at a time.

Belgium Ring is a sport.

The main three titles are CAT 3, CAT 2, CAT 1. CAT 3 is the entry level with CAT 1 being the advanced level.

The obedience exercises are some of the most demanding in all working dog sports. The decoy is in a bite suit distracting the dog the entire routine.

Obedience consist of  heeling on and off leash, food refusal, down, sit, stand up, retrieve of an object, scent discrimination and a send away.

The Belgium Ring obstacles are a 2-meter wall, a fixed hedge jump, jump over a large pit and jump over a large hedge with a pit.

The Belgium Protection exercises are guarding of an object, handler attack, guarding of the handler, gun fire, search with transport, call off, search of training field with guard & bark and a muzzle exercise.

There is no tracking in Belgium Ring.

The equipment used is bite suits, bamboo clatter sticks and muzzles. Also the dog can only bite the forearm and on the legs from the knee down. The judges are very critical of the grip and want to see a full deep grip. All trials and exercises are at a training field and done simultaneous. A routine can last over thirty minutes.

French Ring is a sport.

The main three titles in French Ring are Ring 1, Ring 2, ring 3. Ring 1 is the entry-level tile with ring 3 being the most advanced.

The obedience exercises are on and off leash and consist of heel with a muzzle, right turn, left turn, sit, down, stand, scent discrimination, food refusal, send away, object retrieve and recall.

The French Ring obstacles are long jump over a ditch 4.5 meters long, hurdle 1.2 meters tall, wall jump 2.3 meters tall. 

There is no tracking in French Ring.

French Ring protection consist of courage test, fleeing apprehension, courage test with gun fire, call off, handler protection, search of training field with guard & bark and an object guard.

The judges are not critical of the fullness of the grip. The trial takes place on a training field. The equipment used is a bite suit, muzzle and bamboo clatter sticks. All exercises are conducted simultaneous and a routine can take thirty minutes.

Mondio Ring is a sport. 

Mondio Ring was created as a sport where teams from Schutzhund, KNPV, Belgium Ring and French Ring could compete and is recognized in all major working dog countries.

The three main Mondio Ring titles are  MR 1, MR 2, MR 3. Mondio Ring 1 is the entry level with Mondio Ring 3 being the most advanced. All levels are off leash with no collar.

Mondio Ring obedience is determined by the judge and consist of heeling off leash, sit, down, stand, scent discrimination, send out, retrieve, right turn, left turn also during obedience one or two decoys wearing bite suites distract the dog by throwing balls, running in circles around the dog making noises, there is food on the field and when the dog is in a down the decoys throw food to the dog who must ignore all these distractions.

Mondio Ring obedience is the most demanding of all working dog sports.

There is no tracking.

Mondio Ring obstacles are a hurdle, wall jump 2.1 meters tall and a long jump 3.5 meters.

Mondio Ring protection consist of courage test, fleeing apprehension, handler protection, search of training field with guard & bark, call off and an object guard.

The equipment used by the decoys are bite suits, bamboo clatter sticks and other accessories.

The trials take place at a training field and the judge is not critical of the fullness of the grips. There are seventeen exercises in a Mondio Ring routine and are run simultaneous and could last as long as thirty minutes.

Police K9 is not a sport it is a job and I can assure you this that at 2:00 am on your way to an open door no one is going to run out of a blind cracking a whip and start to run waiving a sleeve in the air.

Police K9’s search for articles such as weapons, clothing, purses and wallets. These article searches are not on a training field they are in a back yard of a house, alley, woods, freeway, parking lot or under a house.

Police k9 obedience is on and off leash and in all environments with all distractions.

Narcotic and explosive detection searches can be in the neatest of areas or the most cluttered of areas. The search can be in a car or in a junkyard, there can be animals and barking dogs in the area even ones in heat.

In an area search the team may have to go through the thickest of brush in the middle of the night maybe even through poison oak in the rain.

In a building search the k9 may have to go through a crawl space under the house in the dark and then be hoisted into the attic to make sure it is clear. The k9 may even have to enter a house simultaneous with a light sound diversionary device and gas.

Handler protection is real. There are no bad guys wearing a sleeve and waiving a soft padded stick saying hey, hey. They have real guns, knives, bats and anything else that can cause you and the k9 harm and when the bad guy grabs the handler or k9 he means it and will do whatever possible to get away.

The police k9 may go from a pursuit that ends in a block long yard to yard search to then go to the local elementary school where one hundred children are waiting and yelling out your k9’s name and wanting to pet him some more.

Police k9 is not a sport it’s a job that only accepts the best candidates that have true courage and desire. The training is not like cheese pizza and is extremely challenging, demanding and rewarding.

I hope this article gives you a better understanding of your k9’s background and where the foundation training started and what it entailed to where he is today and why he is riding in the front seat with his name on the car.

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