The SWAT Dog Network
		Serious Dogs for Serious Badguys
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When you think of SWAT you imagine brave, fearless, daring and courageous individuals who search out the badest of the bad. SWAT teams are usually the best trained and best equipped unit any agency has at their disposal. Even with all the state of the art training equipment a SWAT team has, there is one tool in a SWAT teams arsenal that most SWAT member are skeptical, apprehensive and down right afraid of. That tool is, "man's best friend," a Police Service Dog.

The skepticism, apprehensiveness and down right fear of the police service dog (P.S.D.) is no fault of the SWAT team members. The blame rests on the lack of education and training a SWAT team receives on the use of a P.S.D. in a SWAT operation.

This is why I designed S.K.I.D.D.S. which stands for SWAT & K-9's Interacting During Deployment School. S.K.I.D.D.S. will educate a SWAT team and its supervisors on the many different aspects of how a P.S.D. functions. S.K.I.D.D.S. will also educate the K-9 team on how their departments SWAT team operates.

It has been my experience that the biggest fear of any individual who is doing a search with a P.S.D. is what happens if they get bit by the dog? The most popular response to that question from a majority of SWAT members and patrol personnel is "shoot the dog." They are not aware that almost anyone can quickly and safely remove the dog from a bite, That's right I said anyone.”

As long as a person follows a few simple rules and goes through the proper training anyone can take a dog off a bite.

APPROACH & CONTACT

I know what I am about to say sounds absurd but, if you are the one being bit by a P. S. D. you need to remain as calm and quiet as possible. Everyone's first reaction, including myself, is to yell and scream and try to shake the dog off the bite. This is the worst thing you can do. All this does is excite the dog more. You must realize that dogs to not think or reason like we do. This means they can not distinguish who is a good guy and who is a bad guy.

If the K-9 handler is no where to be found or is injured and can not assist you in taking the dog off the bite there are a few simple rules to follow to get the dog to release. The next time you see your departments K-9 handler or assist on a search, ask the handler what is the dogs release command. This way you will know the correct command to give to the dog.

When you approach a person who is being bit by a P.S.D. it is very important you also stay calm. Your instinct will be to rush in and try to get the dog off. If you rush towards the dog, some dogs might have a tendency to play “keep away.” The dogs will release their bite and bite somewhere else because they know someone is going to try and get them off the bite. When you come within approximately 10 - 15 feet you should be walking.

Something else which sounds foolish but is also necessary is to talk to the dog in a calm voice as you approach. This way the dog will sense he is doing the right thing and not try to keep away. If you yell and scream at him as you approach this might have the same effect on the dog as rushing in.

When you arrive you want to make sure the person being bit is on his feet and if possible have the person lean against a tree or wall. It might be harder for an inexperienced person to get the dog to release a bite when the person is on the ground. As you pet the dog feel around his neck for a collar. Depending on what type of collar the dog has will determine which technique to use. Both are very similar but have slight modifications.

FUR SAVER COLLAR

If the dog has a traditional fur saver collar you want to position the collar high up the neck behind the base of the ears and find the “live ring.” In order to keep the following techniques standard I would use the following rule. When using your right hand stand on the dogs right side. If you choose to use your left hand stand on the dogs left side. This will become clearer when I discuss the flanking techniques. For the purpose of this article I will use my right hand. Once you have determined the location of the live ring place your hand under the collar, palm up. You want to have the collar come to rest around the palm and web of your hand.

PINCH COLLAR

If your dog has a pinch collar you will probably not be able to move the collar around with a great deal of easy like you can with the fur saver. You will need to find the live ring of the pinch collar which will be located on the “triangle” portion of the collar. Once you have determined the location of the live ring place your hand deep into the triangle, palm up. You want to have the collar come to rest around the palm and web of your hand.

RELEASE TECHNIQUE

Once you have placed your hand deep under the collar, palm up, you tighten the collar around the dog's neck by twisting the collar. This twisting procedure applies to both the saver and pinch collar. As you twist the collar you give whatever is your dogs "out" command in a forceful tone.

Your natural reaction as you twist the collar and give the out command will be to pull the dog off the bite and towards you as he is still biting. By trying to pull the dog off the bite the dog will think of this as a game of tug war. This is the worse possible thing you could do. This will cause more damage to the area that was bitten.

This is also going to sound ridiculous but as you twist and give the out command you want to push the dogs mouth into the area where the dog is biting. By doing this you are making the dog gag which will make him release his hold quicker. If possible you want to have the dogs front feet off the ground.

Once the dog releases the bite you want to take a few steps back away from the person being bit. It is very important you immediately undue the twisting motion around the collar and let the dog breathe. You should also keep the dog facing the person his was biting for a short time and do not immediately turn the dog away.

UPWARD PULL TECHNIQUE

Another technique that should work on your dog is called the upward pull technique. You follow the same procedure as mentioned in the above approach and contact. No matter which collar your dog is wearing, you find the live ring and tighten the collar around the dogs neck by pulling the live ring upward. At the same time you push the dogs mouth into the area the dog is biting and give the out command. If possible you want to have the dogs front feet off the ground.

Once the dog releases the bite you want to take a few steps back away from the person being bitten. It is very important you immediately release the pressure on the live ring. The best way to do this is to put the dogs front feet back on the ground. You should also keep the dog facing the person he was biting for a short time and do not immediately turn the dog away.

FLANKING

When the above outing procedures do not work there is a technique called flanking. This is why I mentioned before if you use your right hand to twist the collar you should get into the habit of standing on the dogs right side.

As you twist the collar or pull the live ring in an upward motion with your right hand be sure you are standing on right side of the dog. While keeping your right arm inflexible and straight you reach down with your left hand and flank or pinch the dog in the soft area between the rear leg and stomach along the left side of the dog. At the same time you give the dog the out command.

The flanking technique cause the dog to transfer his attention from the person his is biting to the discomfort of the flanking. The dog should release his hold of the person he is biting and direct his attention towards the discomfort of the flanking. Be aware that most dogs will turn their head towards the discomfort. This is why you do not want to leave your left hand down there. Once you have flanked the dog quickly move your hand away from the dog. By keeping your right and inflexible and straight you will keep the dog from coming back at you. This flanking or pinching motion is a very quick movement. Think of it like plucking a guitar string.

NO COLLAR

Now that you have all this great information, what do you do if the dog you come into contact with does not have a collar? One thing you can do is grab the dogs fur behind the head and neck with one hand and put a “C” clamp under the dogs neck with your other hand. As you are doing this, like in the above release techniques, you want to push the dogs mouth into the area that is being bit and give the proper out command. Now you have to be careful not to “C” clamp the dogs throat and crush the wind pipe. What you are trying to do is apply pressure to the dogs carotid artery and restrict the blood flow.

Another release technique which is very similar to the “C” clamp is to grab the fur around both sides of the neck, press against the carotid artery, push the dogs mouth into the area being bite and give the proper out command.

If you happen to have a leash handy you can always make the leash into a combination collar and leash. While you are standing on the right side of the dog hold the leash in your right hand. Put the bolt end of the leash under the dogs neck and grab it with your left hand. Now that the bolt end is in your left hand and the looped end is in your right hand wrap the leash around the dogs neck and insert the bolt through the loop and tighten. You want to be sure the leash is high on the neck. While you give the proper out command make sure you push the dogs mouth towards the area being bitten. This is very similar to the upward pull techniques.

All the above techniques have been used on the streets for years and are proven to work. You should always maintain the ability to have your dog release his bite from a distance with only a verbal command.

The reason why I do not recommend you out the dog verbally from a distance is you do not have physical control over the dog once he releases his bite. By tactically outing the dog you always have control over the dog once he releases.

The key to all of this is education, training and communication between you and your K-9 handler. Take a few minutes and talk to them about how they get their dog to release a bite. Ask them to show you how they do it then ask if you can try it yourself. You will be astonished how easy it is.

This article written and copyrighted by Brad Smith. All rights are reserved, and this article may not be duplicated in any manner without written permission from the author.