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 © by R.S. Eden - K9 Officers Manual
Police Officers historically have had high stress levels in their careers. They are prone to heart attacks, high blood pressure, and premature deaths as a direct result of the job we do.
Our stresses within the job vary with each shift, and unlike the steady stresses that occur from financial burdens, home difficulties etc., our stress includes those problems, but is more complex. Through a period of a single shift, our stress levels may change on numerous occasions. Internal pressures from an NCO, being antagonized by a citizen you are writing a violation to, and the sudden tone alert on the radio all contribute to your mental state of mind and level of stress.
These stresses are often intermingled with long periods of boredom, usually taken up by hours of report writing, or general patrol.
When you enter a situation that you percieve as serious, such as the track of a fleeing suspect, your heart rate increases with the apprehension of the chase, if even to a slight degree. Your apprehension increases as your dog closes in on the suspect and your heart rate is further increased by your physical activi ty, such as running, and clearing fences.
In such a situation it is not difficult to see that at the successful completion of a track, your physical and emotional condition is being excercised to capacity. It is at this point that you must often confront an offender, or multiple suspects. Should a physical confrontation suddenly occur, or worse, a gunfight situation with one or more suspects, you must be able to mentally and physically handle the situation. If you are physi cally healthy and are able to work extended tracks with a minimum of effort, you have one less thing to worry about when confronta tion occurs.
Your training conditions you to mentally prepare yourself for potential problems, and again, if you have prepared yourself accordingly, your stress levels will be reduced. In turn, your ability to handle a situation is greatly improved. By maintaining a strong physical fitness level you are not only prepared to handle street situations, it is commonly known that excercise is a healthy form of stress reduction.
Just as you maintain a level of physical fitness, your capabilities and confidence will be enhanced by training programs that are designed to teach you conditioned responses. Your dog has the same potential to be affected by stress in his activities. This stress can cause premature aging and ill nesses. He may become irritable and to lack enthusiasm when working. Advanced phases of stress can be indicated by uncon trollable shaking, nervousness or anxiety in certain situations. When choosing your dog for law enforcement service, the major testing phases all include stress tests. From the time the dog was a few weeks old, there are a series of tests which can be done to indicate whether the dog has the ability to handle the pressures of police service, or whether he should be rejected. As your dog becomes more useful on the street, he will encounter situations where he is required to deal with violent suspects after working extended tracks. He will encounter more physical resistance, suspects who arm themselves with assortments of weapons such as knives, guns, crowbars and tire irons. In one case my service dog "Lance" was assaulted by a suspect with a board filled with nails. One nail pierced his front knee result ing in major surgery and 3 months of casting and physiotherapy before being returned to active duty. Yet he still managed to take down the offender.
Just as we must be prepared for our job on the street, we must also keep our K9 partners fit to handle the stresses of the street.
Choose a partner with excellent controllable temperment and raise him in a manner that will build his drive and confidence. Build his natural skills, and through the bonding process instill the basics of trust and control into the animal. As your dog matures, continue to test him for his ability to handle stress. Should you encounter a situation where your dog is incapable of handling stress, a new candidate should be sought. An animal which breaks down under stress will be unreliable in crucial situations.
Your dog responds to stress situations in a manner similar to humans. His heart rate increases, he becomes more agitated, and if there is too much stress for him to handle, he will break down.
Just as you react while enroute to a call, so does your partner. Over a period of time he has learned that when the speed of the patrol car increases, or when there is a burst of the siren, he is likely going to get to work. He will stand up in the car and show excitement by barking or pacing the rear of the car.
These external signs of excitement are accompanied by internal mental and physiological changes as well. The blood pressure and heart rate increase as the dog anticipates the coming action. The increased adrenalin and mental activity which causes these physiological changes are all factors which increase the dogs stress level.
To be able to effectively handle situations he then encounters, the dog must be able to handle the stress of the anticipated action as well as the stress of the tracks, obsta cles, and possible violent encounter with the suspect. Through out the incident he must remain confident and reliable.
Should you reach your destination and canine assistance is not required the dogs anticipation will remain high until he realizes he will not be used. From this point the adrenalin flow decreases, in turn decreasing the blood pressure and heart rate. I feel that in each circumstance where the dog is not used he feels some form of disappointment just as if you had offered to play "fetch" with him and after working him up into a playful mood you suddenly put the ball away and refuse to play.
Throughout each shift you and your partner may possibly encounter eight or ten calls where the resulting decision to use the dog or not varies with each call. Unlike working with a quarry where you can decide whether or not the dog gets his bite, you may go days with incomplete tracks, or calls where your partner is never needed to assist. Such are the circumstances of the job. Your partner must be capable of withstanding the pres sures of constant variation. Added to the normal everyday stress of individual calls are the instances as I described earlier where people in their ignorance intentionally tease the dog as they walk by the squad car. Add other such incidents and you have the potential for your partner to become "stressed out" due to his continual sudden changes in aggression and activity lev els.
During your partners years of service on the street you must be aware of the effects of stress and do your best to help him handle this stress. Failure to do so may result in an excel lent working dog becoming "burned out" two and possibly three years before his expected working life.
To ease the pressures of the job on your partner is actually an easy task. There are a few very simple things which you can do to decrease the stress on the dog and fulfill his desire to please you at the same time.
Firstly, after you have completed training and have hit the streets, your dog will require just as much rest as you will in between shifts. When you build his kennel at home ensure it is in a rather secluded area where he will not be able to be distracted by outside influences. He must be able to rest up sufficiently and know that he can remain relaxed within his domain without having to be prepared for anything. He needs time to be alone and relax without the interference from your children as well. Therefore if you are on the days where you are sleeping between nightshifts it may be preferable to bring the dog into your room to rest. This way you are ensured he will not be bothered and that he will be rested adequately for the following nightshift.
Secondly, maintain his health and ensure he is fed as regularly as clockwork. Shiftwork can play havoc with the dogs physiological functions just as easily as mans. Should his sleeping, feeding and activity patterns be irregular and sporadic you will be adding uneccesary stress onto his physical health.
Third on the list is to maintain his activity rate on the streets with some form of playtime after an incomplete call. His anxiety has built up while enroute various calls and he is very willing to work. You can fulfill his need to complete the task by playing with him after an incomplete call. A game of tug of war, fetching a ball, a short area search or track once in a while will do wonders to vent the dogs anxiety and fulfill his need to work. He will also learn that every incomplete call is not neccesarily a letdown. Ensure you keep the excercises simple and short so you are fulfilling his desire to complete the task without making him work too hard for it. We are using this as a type of cooling down excercise and we don't want to keep his stress level up or wear him down so he will be unable to work adequately on a difficult or lengthy call. On the contrary we are using this activity to keep his stress level down.
Finally, when on your days off ensure you spend ade quate amounts of time with your partner to maintain his skills and fulfill his desire to work for you. Excercises and playtime perform a very important role in your partners life. Both give him a sense of fulfillment and allows you both to keep your bond close. This activity is also a form of relaxation for the dog on his off days as a game of golf or a tennis match may be for you. On these off days he learns that he is among friends and that he does not need to prepare to combat someone who may possibly hurt him. This time off will do wonders to alleviate stress on your partner.
You are dedicated to your work with your dog and he is likewise dedicated to you. Follow the instruction given in this chapter and be aware of stress on your partner. It is something which you can understand and have the ability to do something about. Proper understanding and prevention can ensure a long comfortable working life for your partner. Should you encounter problems which are difficult to handle or understand, visit your veterenarian for assistance. He is always your closest and most reliable source of help.
Note: More advanced information on this subject during sessions instructed at the International Police K9 Conferences held annually in various locations throughout North America.
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