A Hammond Police K-9 officer is on administrative leave this week after the YouTube video was posted by a citizen who saw him striking a K-9 dog and lifting the dog by the leash off the ground repeatedly. The officer lifts the German Shepard by the leash and appears to be striking the dog with another leash in the stomach area.
I cannot discern what the dog did wrong except possible tug at the leash.
Hammond Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr. issued a statement:
“Anybody who loves dogs as much as I do is always saddened and shocked anytime you hear of a dog’s abuse. When you find out it happened with an employee of yours, it makes it that much more shocking and disturbing. Please know that the Hammond PD does not condone that type of behavior of any of it’s officers, nor is it tolerated in this administration.”
What will be interesting is if the officer will contest the claim that this is abuse. The law allows for dogs to receive physical punishment. That is not considered abuse. The officer could challenge the claim that this is abuse as a legal matter. People routinely spank dogs and even kick dogs or yank their chains in acts of discipline. Spike and electric collars are often used. That could lead to a serious objection to discipline. While I share the mayor’s view, it could make for a difficult legal challenge.
Sorry, forgot two things that I wanted to point out. 1) A prong collar can be worn inside out which provides protection for your dog’s neck which can be very useful if you live in areas with aggressive ferals or have a dog like mine which needs a collar that won’t break if things get hairy. My rule of thumb is: does my dog need me to correct or can it self-correct? and will the collar still be useful after training is finished? 2) My original comment was not meant to turn into a prong vs choke debate, I apologize for getting off track, K-9’s are a useful and important part of any police department, the way they are trained is almost always on the edge of abuse if not completely unacceptable. A police dog can be trained without using shock collars, hanging or any of the rest and some departments across the country do use training methods that work based on the dog enjoying his job and not the dog being afraid to not do his job. That’s what we need to address as a community, it’s not the kind of collar they use to teach the dog it’s the style and method they use overall and the kind of screening they do on these officers before handing them a leashed partner.
I said nothing about a trainer that “requires” it. I would not consider that a reputable trainer. Most training aids quite easily turn into crutches quite easily, no one should need any type of non-flat collar after their dog is trained anyway. As that is the whole purpose of training a dog. However, just to make a point here is something from the Humane Society’s website which several vets I’ve gone to have also told me verbally. Personally, I use the collar which has the least amount of potential to cause severe injury as well as using flats unless I need something that can allow the dog to self correct which is actually how a prong collar is most effective. Choke chain
As the name implies, this collar is made of metal links and is designed to control your dog by tightening around your dog’s neck. It is supposed to sit high up on the dog’s neck just behind her ears.
Unlike the martingale collar, there is no way to control how much the choke chain tightens, so it’s possible to choke or strangle your dog. It can also cause other problems, too, such as injuries to the trachea and esophagus, injuries to blood vessels in the eyes, neck sprains, nerve damage, fainting, transient paralysis, and even death.
It is best for your dog if you avoid using a choke chain. More humane collars and good obedience training should make it unnecessary to resort to this aversive collar.
If you insist on using one, consult an experienced trainer to learn how to properly size, fit, and use it. And never leave a choke chain on your dog as her regular collar; the chain could catch on something and choke your dog!
Prong or pinch
The prong or pinch collar is similar in style to the martingale. The control loop that the leash is attached to is made of chain. The loop that fits around your dog’s neck is made of a series of fang-shaped metal links, or prongs, with blunted points. When the control loop is pulled, the prongs pinch the loose skin of your dog’s neck.
Like the choke chain, the prong collar must be properly fitted. The size of the prong links should be appropriate for the size of your dog. The collar should sit high up on your dog’s neck, just behind his ears. The fit should be snug, so the prong links can’t shift to the front of your dog’s neck where they might pinch your dog’s trachea.
More humane collars and good obedience training should make it unnecessary to resort to this aversive collar. If you insist on using one, consult an experienced trainer to learn how to properly size, fit, and use it. http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/dogs/tips/collars.html
I have seen it as well, it’s why I honestly believe no one should use any “training” aid without instruction by a professional of good repute who truly cares about the animal in question regardless of species. I use a prong collar because I’ve had training with it, I also wore a prong collar before ever using one on a dog, I tend to operate under the assumption that if I would not let it be used on me, I won’t use it on my furry family members. http://naturaldogtraining.com/ is Behan’s site, it’s a bit lacking on actual info though. http://www.preydrivedogtraining.com/ is another one by a man I’m not familiar with but it seems to be the same general premise. I’ll search through my vast assortment of notebooks and see if I can find the in depth information for you, the principle of drive based training being not just prey drive but the other things that canines as a whole need to be balanced and connected to their “pack”. Unfortunately it’s been awhile since I read the book and it was found in a very dusty section of a library in a town I’ve since moved away from so I don’t actually have a copy of it handy. I do believe it’s Natural Dog Training by Kevin Behan, don’t take that to the bank though.
Ayawamat – I refused to take my dog to a trainer who required a prong collar for my Chow Chow. I found a much better trainer who allowed my to use a standard choke collar. Each to their own.
As long as you monitor the “trainer” to be sure he or she is not torturing your dog with the device.
1) Cesar Milan does not deserve any credit for the methods he re-packaged to make money off of. Behan is a much better source of “dog training” methods. 2) Pinch/prong collars are actually safer than choke chains because they are limited slip and do not bind. They should be fitted by a professional of good repute when first obtained though to make sure that the handler understands the correct way to put them on, take them off and adjust them. 3) Nothing will be truly done to correct or change the way police officers handle their dogs. It’s the way they’ve always done it so why should they try something new. The methods used in the training of Personal/Property protection, military and police dogs revolves around Leerburg style “training” which works, it’s just very very close to the edge of what is legal and what isn’t. There are many people out there that believe using drive based training would be more effective and safer for dogs and handlers, it’s never really made it into military or police kennels though. And before anyone gets upset about my Cesar comment, I sent him a video of my late dog, Liwanu. The reply was basically that he was too dangerous he needed to be put down as there was no helping him. I found drive based training and with it, Liwanu improved drastically so yes, I meant it. Cesar only worried/worries about his appearance and the gains he can make.
I tried to look up “drive based training.” There was nothing on it. Do you mean reward based training? I don’t like the prong collars, because, like the choke chains, I have seen them used as torture devices.
Sometimes K9’s turn on the abusive officers, who then have to explain why they emptied their service weapons on the dogs… and sometimes, they are confronted with overwhelming evidence of abuse injuries inflicted on the dogs before they decided they weren’t going to take it anymore. But when thugs with badges try to set up a police state, they are going to learn TOO LATE that men REMEMBER, and that an abused CITIZEN with NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE will GET his REVENGE. This is why bad cops are so afraid of USC18sec242, USC42sec1983, and, of course, THE SECOND AMENDMENT
The dog did not look like he was doing anything wrong but if you notice before he hurts the dog which by the way protects his sorry ass, the officer looks up to see if the other officer is watching him before he starts beating on the dog. He did it for no reason just to get off on hurting the dog. The officer should be punish with some lashings.
Even if the other officer didn’t like it and reported him, nothing would be done. As you may have seen others report, this is standard practice in K9 units. See my website, http://www.stoplynching.com
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That officer needs to lose weight! And stop abusing that dog.