POLICE SERVICE K9 - Page 1

   Breeders could be breeding the off out of the police service K9. Recently i read about the service K9 that when off duty has to go to the kennel, and can't be around the family. Apparently the city that the K9 works for would be liable if it was to bite one of the officers children.
   I have always understood that the K9s around the country always were part of the family structure this seems to be changing. Can we breed to much "work" into a working K9?                                                  Happy Thanksgiving  Everybody.                 
 
  

    

Because the GSD is such a virsitale breed people have the tendency breed it to meet their personal desires. Sch, Ring, military, personal protection ect.ect ect. We have show lines that do not herd and working lines that don't show and a lot that do not do either. Some people want their GSD to be a pet and some protector, and some want to compete. But you can't have it all. We all want a dog that can read character of the man walking down the sidewalk and stop the bad ones and lick the good ones. The bummer is we can't do that and neither can the dog. That being said many many people want way different things in our wonderful breed. BUT so many people think if its not what I think it should be it is wrong. I owned and really nice high line male and he was pretty, smart good with kids loved people and Sch III but was not a protection dog. I have also owned a WL really hard dog that was civil. He was always looking for a fight, Sch III and I would never have him around kids and givin the chance he would bite someone. Then I have owned a some in between. My opinion is let people have what they want and this breed will still do what other breeds can't until the end of time.

Paul

To give a partial answer to the OPs question, the way most Police Dog Handlers
in the UK manage this is that their dog(s) - often they have two, a GSD + a spaniel -
live indoors with the family much of the time the Officer is off duty.  But when the
Handler is asleep (whichever period of night or day that is, depending on shifts
worked) he/she puts the dog(s) in an outside kennel provided for that purpose.

So the dogs interact with children, household comings and goings etc.  But the
Officer is the only one who exercises them off the property.

There also could be more behind what you see. there is alot of liability with children not that the dog will bite them but what if the child opens the front door and lets the dog out. is the dog the kind that will go circle their car? or run down the road looking for a fight or getting hit by a car.  My female is Super paitent with children but i NEVER leave my dogs unsupervised with children EVER period and i trust my dog completly but im sure if she hurt my dog enough she probably would bite and i just dont want to take the chance.  its a unnessisary risk in my eyes now they play all the time loose in the house but there is always a adult there to be sure nothing bad goes eather way. our 3 year old loves to House(out) the dogs and run around playing chase with the ball both my shepherds respect her and know its a game but some dogs like my mali see a ball and they will lay you out for the ball lol.

There are some very good points raised in the above posts.  Liability is a major concern, whether the dog bites some one  or is accidentally let loose.  I can tell you that if a pet bites some one it is generally not that big of a deal.  But if that same pet is also a Police K-9 then it is a huge problem.  Some PD's don't want "Lassie" for patrol dogs, patrol dogs have a dangerous job and apprehending violent criminals is no easy task at times.  When I select dogs I look for social dogs and I rate how social the dog is.  The social ness is one of a dozen or so ways I rate the dog.  I take into account the Handler's family situation and what dog will work for him.  I do not need overly friendly dogs, just social and stable enough to be clear headed and be able to work around other Officers.  I do however need dogs that will bite for real and engage a suspect with serious aggression.  If the dog doesn't like children or is to rough with children than it is the Handler's responsibility to supervise and control not only his dog but his kids as well.   If I have to choose between a dog that is super social with people but lacking in aggression or a super solid working dog that is less social, the working dog wins every time.  

For us a Patrol dog is not "proven" until he has had several apprehensions.  It is the handler's responsibility to care for the welfare of his family and his partner.  We have many handlers that have their dog live inside the house and is a big mush with kids.  We have some dogs that are not so social, it really depends on the situation.  I am concerned with how the dog performs on the street and whether or not it is going to tag another Officer in the middle of the night doing a building search.  Police K-9's can get jaded over time and not all K-9's are meant to be brought to the family picnic.  

paul the ideal dog sounds like it is inbetween those 2 extremes you talked about.

Slamdunc.. Good post.

destiny4u........The ideal dog is what you want or need. I do not show dogs anymore. It was fun and I am glad I did it, but will not do it again. Sch was a blast and I learned a lot. BUT I do not have the talent to be the at the top of the sport. ( I do not like to loose.) LOL  so I do not compete. What I do like is extreme and not for most. I own a business that I have to carry more cash then I can afford to loose and can not carry gun at most of the places I go. So I choose a dog. The dog does not need to be social he needs to be aggressive. He never needs to be friendly. I am the only one that ever needs to pet him or play with him. What is great in one GSD is no use to another. That is why I like the breed they are so VERSATILE.