# Met a police dog today



## Zeeva (Aug 10, 2010)

I saw the owner and the dog playing in the frisbee park so I took Smokey home and brought Zeeva back to play with him. I kept about 70 feet away and asked the police man if his dog was friendly and you know what he said? "NO! He bites people"!!! 

Really? Are police dogs trained to be like that? I was so confused. I told Zeeva lets go home and we did. Made me sad because I thought I'd get some good advice from him and have Zeeva make a new, good friend. 

So disappointed


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

It's not that uncommon for a serious, working-type GSD to be unsociable dogs. It's not likely he would want to be Zeeva's friend. Sorry. 

No police dog should bite a friendly civilian, however. 

Police dog handlers are not police dog trainers. Just because they're allowed to handle a dog doesn't mean they're dog whiz-kids or even halfway decent trainers.


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## DanielleOttoMom (May 11, 2010)

No offense maybe he didn't want to be bothered? Or maybe he didn't want you to pet him? Or maybe he doesnt like other people? Or maybe for liability reasons.... We all have the right to say no. I wouldn't be upset about it or take it heart.  I mean this nicely.

I Also agree with Emoore. (Well said Emily.)


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## Emoore (Oct 9, 2002)

I will say that if someone comes up to me with their dog and asks, "Is your dog friendly?" my answer is no. No offense, but he's not friendly to strange dogs.


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## DanielleOttoMom (May 11, 2010)

Emoore said:


> I will say that if someone comes up to me with their dog and asks, "Is your dog friendly?" my answer is no. No offense, but he's not friendly to strange dogs.


I say the same thing kinda. I just don't care for strangers pettting my dogs. I do tell them no with a smile. Or say there friendly I prefer you not to.....


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## Zeeva (Aug 10, 2010)

I say my dogs aren't friendly too if someone randomly wants to pet them. But a police dog? I guess he didn't wanna be bothered...no offense taken. just a lil disappointed...


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## BWilson (Mar 16, 2010)

Or maybe, since he didn't know you or your pup, he chose not to expose his dog to possible disease or a fight. I wouldn't take it personally.


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

You should ask Randy about things like that... he was a K9 handler.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

Zeeva said:


> I say my dogs aren't friendly too if *someone randomly wants to pet them*. But a police dog? I guess he didn't wanna be bothered...no offense taken. just a lil disappointed...


Why would you think a police K9 is any different than other GSD's? I would say most of them are friendly with people they know or when their handler lets them be social. Just like any other, but really as most of us know, having random strangers pet our dogs, the dogs usually aren't that into it. And letting strange dogs play together?? I'd never allow it!


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## Narny (Sep 8, 2010)

My husband was a K9 police officer for a few years way back in the day (15-20 years ago). When we started this whole dog search I wanted a fully trained gsd so we didnt have to go through puppy hood. I just wasnt prepared for it 2 years ago. Thats when my husband told me the facts about police dogs. 

He told me that while some police dogs are nice (raised in a family setting play with kids and people then go to work just like regular police officers do), many arent at least not well. Some are also to good at their job and are always on duty even when they arent. He said that many arent socialized with other dogs or people and because of the demanding job they have many police partners dont allow people to get to close to their dogs. He wasnt willing to risk getting a dog that was "trained" for police or military work.


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## PDFrogman (Mar 19, 2012)

I retired from the NYPD 9 years ago I spent 18 years assigned to the SCUBA team. THE K9 unit quarters were directly across the parking lot in our complex, so I got to know them very well. for training purposes we would take them out on launch, onto container ships staue of liberty etc. I even trained my girl CJ with them.

every dog was different, every handler was different. I can say in regards to NYPD they did a ton training, every day, every dog and and every handler.they are really good at what they do


make no bones about GSD's that are breed and trained to work in law enforcement can and are nasty and it becomes a liability if you the handler allow a person to approach the dog and the dog bites someone.
cut the officer some slack that dog isnt a pet


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

Wondering why a policeman is playing frisbee in a public park with a dog that bites. Yes, I know, maybe the dog doesn't bite and he didn't want to be bothered. So either he is stupid or inconsiderate... or both.


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## Manny (Feb 6, 2012)

The two I have met, and taken pics of, were friendly and nice but didnt behave well at all. If they listened, it was barely, if at all, and the two couldnt be together as they would fight with each other. I was told it was the alpha dog thing. I understand they have to be extremely high drive dogs to do what they do, but I expected a whole lot more.


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## Barb E (Jun 6, 2004)

Wonder if the policeman had a sense of humor, I mean biting people is the dog's job!


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## Stella's Mom (Mar 8, 2011)

make no bones about GSD's that are breed and trained to work in law enforcement can and are nasty and it becomes a liability if you the handler allow a person to approach the dog and the dog bites someone.
cut the officer some slack that dog isnt a pet[/QUOTE]


Exactly


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## Zeeva (Aug 10, 2010)

Narny said:


> My husband was a K9 police officer for a few years way back in the day (15-20 years ago). When we started this whole dog search I wanted a fully trained gsd so we didnt have to go through puppy hood. I just wasnt prepared for it 2 years ago. Thats when my husband told me the facts about police dogs.
> 
> He told me that while some police dogs are nice (raised in a family setting play with kids and people then go to work just like regular police officers do), many arent at least not well. Some are also to good at their job and are always on duty even when they arent. He said that many arent socialized with other dogs or people and because of the demanding job they have many police partners dont allow people to get to close to their dogs. He wasnt willing to risk getting a dog that was "trained" for police or military work.


This was a great post. Thank you for enlightening me


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## CassandGunnar (Jan 3, 2011)

PaddyD said:


> Wondering why a policeman is playing frisbee in a public park with a dog that bites. Yes, I know, maybe the dog doesn't bite and he didn't want to be bothered. So either he is stupid or inconsiderate... or both.


Agree 100% with this.
I don't know the area where this happened, but when I got assigned to our K9 unit, our Sheriff told us (we were the first 3 handlers in our agency) that we were expected to be ambassadors for the unit. Our funding for everything but wages was donated by several area service groups and the VFW/Legion posts.
Granted that all dogs/handlers are different and it also depends a lot on the area. NYPD or other larger agencies probably get more calls for K9 in one day than we did in a month, but one of the biggest things we did (I'm retired now) and the K9 teams still do are public demonstrations. I spent a fair amount of time at childrens safety camps, school demos, Sheriff's Citizen Service Acadamies and things like that. We had demonstrations at the local County Fair as well as working an info booth and demonstrations at the MN State Fair.
Having said that, it's true that not all of our handler/dog teams were cut out for that kind of work, but the majority of them better be able to handle it without being a bite risk. One of my partners was great at dealing with school kids and citizens at demonstrations, but if he had to do more than 1 or 2 "apprehensions", you could really tell he hated it. His whole demeanor was one of boredom. He wasn't averse to training, but the demos don't even have the intensity of a training scenario. As a handler, I was responsible, 24/7/365 for the actions of that dog, on duty and off.
I'm hoping that the handler was having a bad day and isn't normally like that, but I'm not stupid enough to believe that there aren't officers like that out there.
On the occasions that we went to a dog park or my partners were with me, off duty, running errands, etc. I took every precaution to make sure he was treated like any other pet. On lead where they had to be and a regular rolled leather collar. No ID, nothing to indicate he was a K9. It just made things easier.

Sorry you had a bad experience, but not all handlers are like that. Don't be afraid to approach the next person and strike up a conversation. A lot of the handlers I know will "talk dog" for as long as you want. (In fact, you might run away screaming )


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## KZoppa (Aug 14, 2010)

CassandGunnar said:


> Agree 100% with this.
> I don't know the area where this happened, but when I got assigned to our K9 unit, our Sheriff told us (we were the first 3 handlers in our agency) that we were expected to be ambassadors for the unit. Our funding for everything but wages was donated by several area service groups and the VFW/Legion posts.
> Granted that all dogs/handlers are different and it also depends a lot on the area. NYPD or other larger agencies probably get more calls for K9 in one day than we did in a month, but one of the biggest things we did (I'm retired now) and the K9 teams still do are public demonstrations. I spent a fair amount of time at childrens safety camps, school demos, Sheriff's Citizen Service Acadamies and things like that. We had demonstrations at the local County Fair as well as working an info booth and demonstrations at the MN State Fair.
> Having said that, it's true that not all of our handler/dog teams were cut out for that kind of work, but the majority of them better be able to handle it without being a bite risk. One of my partners was great at dealing with school kids and citizens at demonstrations, but if he had to do more than 1 or 2 "apprehensions", you could really tell he hated it. His whole demeanor was one of boredom. He wasn't averse to training, but the demos don't even have the intensity of a training scenario. As a handler, I was responsible, 24/7/365 for the actions of that dog, on duty and off.
> ...


 
Thanks Randy for enlightening info. K9 Demo's were one of the reasons I fell in love with GSDs. Getting to meet the dogs was awesome. I remember a BIG black and tan male. Toughest dog in the demonstration... until you met him. He rolled over for belly rubs from all the kids and was just a big love.


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## Chicagocanine (Aug 7, 2008)

I was wondering the same thing. Was this a public park? Was the dog off leash? If the dog bites OR if the handler does not want to be disturbed, why is he off leash in a public park (if that was the case)?


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## CassandGunnar (Jan 3, 2011)

Chicagocanine said:


> I was wondering the same thing. Was this a public park? Was the dog off leash? If the dog bites OR if the handler does not want to be disturbed, why is he off leash in a public park (if that was the case)?


I'm assuming he was on duty as well. I always tried to not do stuff like that in public parks, etc. We could go to our County Shop where our agility stuff was set up and let them run or train with them.
Just seems kind of odd to have an aggresive dog in a public park.


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## Zeeva (Aug 10, 2010)

CassandGunnar said:


> Agree 100% with this.
> I don't know the area where this happened, but when I got assigned to our K9 unit, our Sheriff told us (we were the first 3 handlers in our agency) that we were expected to be ambassadors for the unit. Our funding for everything but wages was donated by several area service groups and the VFW/Legion posts.
> Granted that all dogs/handlers are different and it also depends a lot on the area. NYPD or other larger agencies probably get more calls for K9 in one day than we did in a month, but one of the biggest things we did (I'm retired now) and the K9 teams still do are public demonstrations. I spent a fair amount of time at childrens safety camps, school demos, Sheriff's Citizen Service Acadamies and things like that. We had demonstrations at the local County Fair as well as working an info booth and demonstrations at the MN State Fair.
> Having said that, it's true that not all of our handler/dog teams were cut out for that kind of work, but the majority of them better be able to handle it without being a bite risk. One of my partners was great at dealing with school kids and citizens at demonstrations, but if he had to do more than 1 or 2  "apprehensions", you could really tell he hated it. His whole demeanor was one of boredom. He wasn't averse to training, but the demos don't even have the intensity of a training scenario. As a handler, I was responsible, 24/7/365 for the actions of that dog, on duty and off.
> ...


I was gonna search for you Randy  Thank you for your insight. This is how I felt police dogs should be but I totally understand that they are working dogs as well and may have a different side to them. Appreciate your comment very much. xxx


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## PDFrogman (Mar 19, 2012)

Zeeva said:


> I saw the owner and the dog playing in the frisbee park so I took Smokey home and brought Zeeva back to play with him. I kept about 70 feet away and asked the police man if his dog was friendly and you know what he said? "NO! He bites people"!!!
> 
> Really? Are police dogs trained to be like that? I was so confused. I told Zeeva lets go home and we did. Made me sad because I thought I'd get some good advice from him and have Zeeva make a new, good friend.
> 
> So disappointed


sorry I was a bit confused when I read this 
the way you wrote this I didn't perceive this as the policeman playing frisbee with his dog. maybe because I have never seen that done in the city. 
I assumed it was someone else and when you came back you met the K9 
sorry. 
the guys I knew in the unit were always personable and professional with public, guys who handled blood hounds and labs were more inclined to allow interaction with dogs, but most if not all the handlers with GSD's were very selective and cautious. I cant stress enough these dogs aren't pets


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