Was a call-off/recall ever part of the schutzhund routine? - Page 2

Here are a few instances where I was able to stop the police dogs during actual calls.  This can be rather tricky as the impulse and drive response are often heightened by the sounds of screaming, yelling, sirens, gunshots, etc.   There is no warm-up or build-up to the exercise.  The handler must make the decision in sometimes fractions of a second.

Many formal recalls for testing are conducted with the handler and decoy in a stationary position.  It is important to train the dog to recall while all parties involved are running, with screaming, yelling, sirens, etc in an attempt to mimic actual encounters.  On a side note, from a tactical approach, the hander should never run directly behind the canine, much less stand.  He should be taught to immediately angle away and then begin his pursuit after the dog if needed. 

The hardest recalls are from an attacking decoy or suspect, with the proximity clause favoring less likely to recall.  I can’t recall calling a dog off an attacking suspect, they were either in flight or not moving.

The first call is where two guys steal a car and are pulling out of the used car lot, when the other handler I am working with spots the activity.  Never a good idea to leave the flags and balloons from a used car sale on the vehicle you're stealing, especially at 3am.  After a chase of only a few miles, they bail out and take off on foot.  I begin a foot pursuit and press the remote release that opens the K-9’s door.  He is taught to always come to me, and he quickly locates me and starts running beside me.  He is sent after the suspects, but stops when something closer gets his attention.  It’s another officer who saw me and is coming to assist.  Now the dog is going after the officer.  The dog is called off, but tackles the officer as he attempts to breaks off before the bite.  The two suspects steal another car, literally within minutes of bailing out of the first one.  We catch them a few miles away as they walk through an industrial part.  In this incident, the dog is stopped to protect an innocent person, aka the officer.  This was the most common reason why I had to stop the dog once sent, with most being to protect the officer from the dog.  This link is part of the narrative to the actual call.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/r1eingayl9jhoic/Bojar%20call%20off.doc?dl=0

Second scenario is where a guy is doing burglary at a business.  I think he was stealing honda generators.  The first officer arrives and the guy takes off on foot into a wooded area that opens up into a field.  I get the call and just a few minutes later the K-9 is in harness and we are on the track.  The suspect jumps up and takes off.  I drop line and send the police dog to stop his flight.  Before the dog can overtake the suspect, he runs across a busy highway.  The dog is maybe 10 yards behind.  My fear was the dog would be struck in traffic.  Under this incident, the dog is stopped to protect himself from being injured.  I had to do that a few times over my career.  The K-9 located the suspect a few minutes later in the woods. 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/2qc0v1mfzyu7ohx/Andor%20call%20off.doc?dl=0

Third scenario is where I need to stop the police dog because the suspect has given up.  I didn’t have this happen much to me.  On this call, I am working a part-time job.  This is where an officer works as a police officer, but he is paid by a private citizen or organization.  Wears the same uniform, drives the same police car, but someone other than the government is paying for the officer.  This shopping center hired me and other officer to work to make their customers feel safe.  While giving the K-9 a break, I hear gunshots just inside the woodline from where we are parked.  Then I hear screaming, then one more gunshot, and then no more screaming.  Seconds later a guy exits the woods, puts something in his back pocket and starts running from me.  I end up sending the dog to stop the suspect, but when he checks his shoulder he sees the dog is about to overtake him, he gives up.  The dog stops short and the guy goes into custody without trouble.  I cant find the narrative, but I located a letter a supervisor wrote about the incident. 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/futnyy2qv93pjek/Cisco%20calloff.tif?dl=0

I hope all three events show the importance of being able to maintain control over the dog.  As I said before, there were times when I was unable to avoid the bite once the dog was sent.  It would be interesting to see the exercise introduced into the IGP.  What better way to instill confidence in the general public than to see the handler exercising control of the dog, in a bite, then no bite scenario.

 

i haven't heard about recall during attack exercise in schutzhund. but i also cannot pretend to know much or have plenty of experience in dog's sports. only one, last my dog was titled in SchH and i did it rather due to curiosity and boredom. if i would be lucky enough to find suitable for me dog, i for sure wouldn't take him again to sport field. philosophy and perception there way to much disconnected and alienated from real usage and even from breed itself.
recall is very usable and truly in some cases can be handy and even dog's life saver.
but look at present stock of hysterical prey overdriven dogs, positioned as working type, and project this on of how many of them will pass to title, if such exercise would be implemented into IPO.
b.t.w. i remember to seen that video you've mentioned, where dog send to long attack and ran toward the judge.

Valk here is the video.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1O1bK-lM_4

Looks to be a female.  

I see the judge was actually amused by that one !

I watched the video again and I never heard the handler yelling, no.  Maybe my son’s hearing is better than mine.   I did notice some positive things about the dog.  First, I noticed shortly after she transitions to ‘ears up’ she draws all her feet together in preparation for launch.  She is almost deaf at ears up, as most dogs tune out the environment and get tunnel vision on their target at this point.  As I mentioned before, this is a point when the dog is harder to call off when sent for the bite.  Mother nature has designed her as a predator and this helps her calculate and anticipate her prey’s counter measures by narrowing her focus. 

Once she turns the attention to the decoy, it appears she again atempts to bring all four legs under her for launch but is now past the execution point.  While under direct attack she goes past the decoy and is at her most vulnerable as her rear is now exposed.  This is the moment where flight instincts are at their greatest.  She has her fortress in front of her and pivots to bring her battle weapons in to play.  Good sign.  The chest drop is instinctive and further enhances her ability to defend herself.  The decoy continues his assault and she begins to move forward and into the sleeve.  I also noticed this was not an exploration bite, like testing the waters.  If the water feels good she will then offer a better grip, but she gives a convincing grip right away.   Good thing to see anytime when a dog is under duress.  When testing 12-14 week old puppies under stress while preforming bitework, this quality immediately gets flagged for their potential.  

Not bad for a female who probably operates most of the time on the aseptic fields of training and trials.  There were many alternative behaviors, with flight being at the forefront, which she could have elected to display.  Considering I doubt she gets exposed to being attacked from her rear in training, she did an admirable job of withstanding the threat and asserting herself on the field.

Hund, I wonder if the judge was aware that the dog was preparing to launch at him?  And kudos to the decoy for his work.   

 

Found a video of the famous Jucan von Peroh doing the same thing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQCRm5YPc0U

emorig
it was different video, taken on some sort major trial and from greater distance.
but too, dog went toward the judge and have been intercepted by decoy. was no interruption of attack by handler.

"after she transitions to ‘ears up’ "

have you seen the dogs, who never do this?

Dexor
looks like dog was confused by absence of sleeve.

Oh he definitely saw it coming. Probably a grin of relief ! Or a smile for the distraction by the decoy ...