Not just a day in the park for these police dogs
PNG / Vancouver police Const. Richard Wong watches six-year-old police dog Knight clear a hurdle on the new VPD Dog Squad training course in Strathcona Park. Photograph by: Bill Keay, Vancouver Sun
Jumping through windows and leaping over fences are all in a day’s work for this member of the Vancouver police department.
However, he might bark or growl in the process.
Jet, an 85-pound German shepherd police dog, tracks the scent of criminals on the run.
“When he’s not working, he’s a pushover,” said Jet’s handler, Const. Rich Horner.
Jet was on hand to demonstrate the VPD Dog Squad’s new obstacle course on Monday. The course will be used to train three new pups joining the force this fall, said Sgt. Scott Hogg at a press conference at Strathcona Park.
Built by a team of BCIT construction students, the course includes elements a dog might face in the line of duty, Sgt. Hogg said.
With the pending retirement of three members from the 18-dog squad, the course has arrived just in time to help train their replacements during a three-month program, he added.
The course, which is an “integral” part of training, will be moved to the new VPD facilities on Graveley Street, Sgt. Hogg said. To complete the course, the dogs jumped up onto four-foot-high blocks, ran up and down steep planks and leaped through holes in wooden boards.
“Jumping a hurdle is like simulating going over a fence,” said Sgt. Hogg. “Previously, we had to go outside to different areas in different municipalities to get this done.”
The Vancouver Police Foundation donated $100,000 to the BCIT Centre for Rehabilitation Engineering and Technology, which designed and built the course. It was specially engineered to help police dogs train safely, said Dr. Silvia Raschke, head of the research team.
Her research tracks the dogs’ movements to find ways to minimize injuries. “It’s sports medicine for dogs,” she said. Her next project will study the effects of bulletproof vests on police dogs’ movements.
Jet’s handler, Const. Horner, said the course helps build up a dog’s confidence. However, at seven-years-old, Jet doesn’t jump over obstacles as easily as he used to, he added. Sore backs and hips can plague older canines on the force, he said. “This is great for a puppy, but not as good for older dogs,” Const. Horner said.
