Re: K9 Training

This idiot certainly doesn't deserve to get his job back, he deserves to be in prison for cruelty to animals! And if these practices are "common training methods," then maybe MOST of these so-called "trainers" belong in prison too!

I taught Tas, my German Shepherd/Border Collie mix, the "drop" command VERY easily, using nothing more than patience, repetition and more repetition. It's at the point now, at just over 2 years of age, where Tas will drop ANYTHING the moment I tell him to, every single time, even if it's a highly prized food item or a treasured toy! Of course I always reward him with love and praise anytime he carries out an important command.

He also learned to never EVER pick up anything he finds and eat it; we worked long and hard on that one, all because I once lost a dog to a poisoner when I was very young. I've taught all my dogs ever since then to never EVER pick up anything they find and eat it, but show it to "Daddy," instead! Teaching him that was part of teaching him the "drop" command, and he learned quickly and easily. He's gotten so good now that you could leave a piece of real bacon on the ground, and Tas would smell it, look at me and whine...but he will NOT touch it, unless and until I give him the okay. THAT is good training in action!

Dogs WANT to please us! There's absolutely no need (and there's certainly no excuse!) for a trainer brutalising a dog in this way. Not only should this imbecile NOT get his job back, but he should be brought up on charges of extreme cruelty to animals, and ALL K9 trainers should be governed by tighter anti-cruelty laws to make sure they don't do anything like this ever again!

There are MUCH better ways to train a dog, even if you WANT him to be aggressive, as police K9s often have to be in their work.

Brutalising a dog will only teach it to fear you, not to work for you. Any "trainer" should know that!

Re: K9 Training

This idiot certainly doesn't deserve to get his job back, he deserves to be in prison for cruelty to animals! And if these practices are "common training methods," then maybe MOST of these so-called "trainers" belong in prison too!

I taught Tas, my German Shepherd/Border Collie mix, the "drop" command VERY easily, using nothing more than patience, repetition and more repetition. It's at the point now, at just over 2 years of age, where Tas will drop ANYTHING the moment I tell him to, every single time, even if it's a highly prized food item or a treasured toy! Of course I always reward him with love and praise anytime he carries out an important command.

He also learned to never EVER pick up anything he finds and eat it; we worked long and hard on that one, all because I once lost a dog to a poisoner when I was very young. I've taught all my dogs ever since then to never EVER pick up anything they find and eat it, but show it to "Daddy," instead! Teaching him that was part of teaching him the "drop" command, and he learned quickly and easily. He's gotten so good now that you could leave a piece of real bacon on the ground, and Tas would smell it, look at me and whine...but he will NOT touch it, unless and until I give him the okay. THAT is good training in action!

Dogs WANT to please us! There's absolutely no need (and there's certainly no excuse!) for a trainer brutalising a dog in this way. Not only should this imbecile NOT get his job back, but he should be brought up on charges of extreme cruelty to animals, and ALL K9 trainers should be governed by tighter anti-cruelty laws to make sure they don't do anything like this ever again!

There are MUCH better ways to train a dog, even if you WANT him to be aggressive, as police K9s often have to be in their work.

Brutalising a dog will only teach it to fear you, not to work for you. Any "trainer" should know that!

Re: K9 Training

PS I've seen the video in question, and while he doesn't seem to be kicking the dog very hard, the plain and simple fact of the matter is that he shouldn't be kicking the dog in the first place, least of all while it's hanging by its leash! This kind of treatment is UNACCEPTABLE, and if this is "normal," then maybe we should think about jailing ALL such so-called "trainers!'

Re: K9 Training

I know for a fact the some police k-9 cops ruin their dogs! They have little patience when it comes to dog behavior or training. K-9 Dogs are matched with the officer ALREADY TRAINED! To use "methods" like in the article shows nothing but an angry, embarrassed handler that doesn't practice with his dog. Dogs that are selected for police programs are normally clear minded, solid character and temperament. These dogs know the rules of the game and just need to practice. The "out" command is a very important command for obvious reasons. I will say, you are not going to get a dog in such high drive to out with a clicker and food. no way! When you want a dog to perform under drive, you must train pieces of the end result. Like I said, these dogs come trained already.

Re: K9 Training

What a total idiot -- such a crime to know that these types of things go on -- especially with people who are supposed to 'serve and protect.

Re: K9 Training

What most people and unfortunalty some trainers seem to think, are that protection dogs need to be aggressive to begin with. There is nothing further from the truth! The best protection dogs are ones that you have no reserve about cutting him loose in a nursery school! When we evaluate a dog for protection training, the first thing we look at is whether or not the dog is social! Dogs are supposed to guard, or bite from command not suspicion. It's just another command like sit, or down.What good is a protection dog that lunges or aggresses on anyone that comes into your home? These dogs are dangerous at best.My dobe will lick you to death if you come over the house, but when he is in drive, and working, best to stay in your car. In fact, drive away!

Re: K9 Training

This man does not deserve to wear the uniform of a police officer. A dog can be trained in a humanely manner & obey on command without being hung up on a leash & kicked. Showing love & affection while training these dogs does wonders when you need them to protect you, because they love you they will protect you on command. A great many K9 Police officers take their dogs home at the end of their shift & they are treated like a family member, loved & respected . This man has no regard for life in any form. Their were alot of people trying to cover up his abuse that he showed to this dog, he should be prosecuted for what he did.

Re: K9 Training

This is one of the most disturbing things I have read in a long time, especially when you read the full article (see the link in the blog) and learn how the department tried sweep this "incident" under the rug. EVERYONE involved -- from the police officer who (in my opinion) is guilty of criminal behavior, to the supervisor who tried to cover this up until it became public and he couldn't, to the department which is now trying to disguise and hide the facts -- should be put under state investigation IMMEDIATELY! To add to the disturbing nature of this, such criminally abusive behavior is apparently "common practice" when training police dogs -- at least according to the department and officers involved. Should the officer get his job back? NO! Should the department be investigated and subject to some "spring cleaning"? YES! Should any of us ever sit back and let this sort of cruelty go by unnoticed or unreported? NEVER! The only person who appears to have acted with any common sense and compassion in this case is the officer who recorded and reported the abuse. Good for him! If there's any justice here, I say we promote the officer who reported the abuse, clean out the department, and imprison the animal-abusing "peace" officer. Protect and serve -- yeah, right.

Re: K9 Training

I wanted to see the video of the abuse -- just in case people were exaggerating. They aren't. To see for yourself, you can watch the video of the abuse and just how bad it was, it's at this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwD_f5QICnI

WARNING: Not for the faint of heart. It makes me ill, sad, and angry!

Re: K9 Training

I wanted to see the video of the abuse -- just in case people were exaggerating. They aren't. To see for yourself, you can watch the video of the abuse and just how bad it was, it's at this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwD_f5QICnI

WARNING: Not for the faint of heart. It makes me ill, sad, and angry!

Re: K9 Training

I have a great deal of experience with training working breed dogs to be excellent companion animals, most of whom will also act as protectors if needed through their natural desire to defend home and pack. Of course, actual working dogs usually require different training methods/conditions than companion animals do; a perfect illustration of this are sheep dog breeds like Border Collies, Shelties and so on, where the dogs often spend a good 80 to 90% of their youth bonding with the flock itself rather than the shepherd. Still, while working and/or living conditions for such working dogs can be quite different, the simple fact of the matter is that ALL successful and humane training methods have a great deal in common, regardless of whether you're training a companion dog, a protection dog, or a stock dog!

It all comes down to one very simple thing; POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT! This means working with the dog in patient and repetitive training sessions, where the trainer ALWAYS rewards the dog for positive responses and/or progress made, and only disciplines the dog (when it's unresponsive, distracted, won't concentrate/commit to the training session, etc) with NON-physical methods, such as banishment to its crate or some other such "punishment by separation."

It's of paramount importance that you end any such training session on a "high note." If, for instance, you're encountering difficulty getting the dog to respond to a particular command or behaviour, JUST DROP IT! That's right, just forget about that particular problem for the time being; set it aside 'till the next session, replacing it with a different command/behaviour, one which the dog has already displayed complete mastery of. As soon as the dog has obeyed the alternate command, the trainer should lavish it with attention and praise, and end the session RIGHT THEN AND THERE!

(This is PRECISELY where this so-called "trainer" went wrong; when Ricoh wouldn't drop the piece of firehose, he should have IMMEDIATELY moved on to another command which Ricoh had already mastered, distracting the dog from the toy with the promise of excitement, emotional fulfillment, attention and praise. These methods are virtually infallible, by which I mean that they will almost ALWAYS produce the desired result; the reason for this is quite simply that they work WITH the dogs natural motivation and inclination, and with its inherent desire for our approval.)

When you end a training session this way, the dog always comes away with a very positive attitude (both towards the trainer AND the session) thus preventing fear, anger, aggression or frustration issues on the part of the dog; furthermore, this helps the trainer feel good about the dog and the session too. By ending every training session on such a high note, you impress upon the dog the fact that you're VERY happy with it, which only creates even MORE positive reinforcement; when the next training session starts, the dog will remember that feeling very clearly, and will be even happier and more ready, willing and eager to work very hard for you.

Given enough time, patience and repetition, even the least intelligent dog can be successfully trained to perform any number of tasks quite well if you follow the very simple methods outlined above; I am speaking from direct personal experience in this matter, both from working with a very good trainer, and from training several dogs myself.

Dogs want only to please us, and will do their very best to do so; even so, virtually ALL higly-intelligent/highly-motivated working-breed dogs have a mind of their own, and will sometimes (or even often!) see how far they can push you, whether by deliberately disobeying or otherwise "acting up." If you (as a trainer) respond to this attempt with anger and/or violence, that is YOUR FAILURE, not the dog's! Anybody who doesn't know these very simple things about dogs does NOT deserve to call themselves a trainer, and certainly shouldn't be permitted to train and/or work with dogs. It really is that simple.

This so-called "trainer" has a great deal to learn about getting the most out of his canine partner, but I would not be inclined to give him another chance; if he is already such a COMPLETE FAILURE AS A TRAINER that he must resort to brutalising a dog that won't obey him, then he doesn't DESERVE a second chance, PERIOD! As for his allegation that this is a "normal training method," if there's even a grain of truth to his story, then the entire unit should be FIRED, and replaced by more patient and enlightened trainers, people who can get a dog to give its all willingly and voluntarily, and all without such violent "training methods."

Seriously, people...they're dogs...it's not rocket science! Any dog that is sufficiently well-treated, well-loved and patiently trained, will always respond in precisely the desired fashion.

Re: K9 Training

PS I do use one "physical punishment," on my dog, if you can even call it that; whenever my dog starts pushing the boundaries and acting up, basically "seeing how far he can push me," or, "how much he can get away with," I elicit a complete submission posture by commanding "sit," then "down," then "ALL the way down," then resting my foot gently on his chest once he has willingly exposed his soft underbelly and throat areas to me.

The whole point of this exercise is to forcefully remind him (but without doing him any harm in the process!) that he is NOT the "Alpha," but the "Beta." I am the "Alpha," and this exercise always makes that point CRYSTAL CLEAR to him! If you don't believe me, try it out for yourself the next time your dog starts getting a little out of control, and you'll immediately see a dramatic improvement in their over-all behaviour and obedience!

Upon completion of the submission posture/resting of my foot on his chest, I will remove my foot, leaving him lying there in complete stillness; then I'll do a very slow count of 5 before releasing him from the "total submission posture." In a nutshell, what I'm doing there is working with his natural "pack mentality," and reinforcing his pack status in a very clear way. This removes any doubt on his part as to precisely where he stands in the "pack hierarchy," which always serves to put an end to any rebelliousfractious behaviour on his part; he always works that much harder after such a total submission/domination exercise, because he wants very much to please me and earn my praise again.

And that is the ONLY "physical punishment" my dog ever receives...and boy, does it EVER WORK!

Re: K9 Training

Here's another one.



Sergeant Allen Cockfield of the Miami-Dade Police Department was recently charged with felony animal cruelty charges for allegedly kicking his K-9 partner Duke to death during an obedience training exercise.. The reason, according to an anonymous witness: Duke barked when he wasn't supposed to, so Cockfield hoisted the four-year-old German shepherd by the leash around his neck and repeatedly kicked him in a fit of rage until he lost consciousness. Duke reportedly died later at a veterinary clinic from injuries sustained during the attack.

Following the incident, the Miami-Dade Police Department suspended Cockfield from duty without pay, and opened an internal affairs investigation of his violent actions. After his arrest, Cockfield was released on bail. Miami-Dade police told reporters that Cockfield, a veteran of the force with 27 years experience, is a model officer with a file full of commendations and no history of disciplinary problems. However, with more than two decades of K-9 training under his belt, it is possible that this is just the first time this loose cannon got caught or reported for abusing an animal.
Duke had a heart attack from his brain being deprived of blood basically. Other officers tried to help but Duke was DOA. They have testified to the effect of Cockfield being arrested. No one wants to see Mr. Cockfield get away with this. I don't want him to take a plead deal in return for his pension and benefits when he gets out of jail. Those are our tax dollars. He deserves Nothing.




Sergeant Allen Cockfield's trial is scheduled to begin on September 24th. Tel: (305) 547-0664

Please call or write to the state attorney asking her to push for the maximum with NO plea deals that will allow this man to get his pension and retirement benefits. Duke gets no benefits, never did.
Write to Katherine Fernandez-Rundle, Felony Prosecutions & Administration, E.R.
Graham Building
1350 N.W. 12 Ave.
Miami, Florida
33136




Sergeant Allen Cockfield's trial is scheduled to begin on September 24th. Please write or call prosecuting attorney Isis Perez before then and politely ask that she seek the maximum penalty in the case against Cockfield.

Isis Perez
Public Corruption Unit
1350 N.W. 12th Avenue
Miami, FL 33136-2111

Tel: (305) 547-0664



http://ga0.org/indefenseofanimals/notice-description.tcl?newsletter_id=10493728Update 2: 12/12/07 FYI Vicks got 23 months for his dog abuse. Lets hope Sgt. Cockfield gets more than just this slap on the hand. I will let you know Dec. 17 what the outcome of the continuence is for him.

Update: the trial has been postponed until Dec. 17th., 2007 at which time I believe it will be continued again due to the Holidays that will follow.
Cockfield has been terminated due to his arrest and until he is sentenced, assuming he will be found guilty, he will not be able to ever get his job back. He will never work with animals again. Thats a given. The other officers did not stand there doing nothing, this is the reporters words. Their words were it happened so fast that Duke was down before anyone could get to him. He was immediately scooped into a cruiser and taken to the Emergency hospital but he could not be revived. HE was already Gone.
6 of the ten officers there were close enough to witness the entire thing and turned Cockfield in, which is never done to a superior officer. These officers should be commended for their ability to see what is really important. The truth, no matter what the cost. They are all sickened by Dukes demise.


Origional:
Police Officer Accused of Killing K-9 Partner
"Take Action" to ask State Attorney to seek maximum sentence

Sergeant Allen Cockfield of the Miami-Dade Police Department was recently charged with felony animal cruelty charges for allegedly kicking his K-9 partner Duke to death during an obedience training exercise.. The reason, according to an anonymous witness: Duke barked when he wasn't supposed to, so Cockfield hoisted the four-year-old German shepherd by the leash around his neck and repeatedly kicked him in a fit of rage until he lost consciousness. Duke reportedly died later at a veterinary clinic from injuries sustained during the attack.

Following the incident, the Miami-Dade Police Department suspended Cockfield from duty without pay, and opened an internal affairs investigation of his violent actions. After his arrest, Cockfield was released on bail. Miami-Dade police told reporters that Cockfield, a veteran of the force with 27 years experience, is a model officer with a file full of commendations and no history of disciplinary problems. However, with more than two decades of K-9 training under his belt, it is possible that this is just the first time this loose cannon got caught or reported for abusing an animal.
Duke had a heart attack from his brain being deprived of blood basically. Other officers tried to help but Duke was DOA. They have testified to the effect of Cockfield being arrested. No one wants to see Mr. Cockfield get away with this. I don't want him to take a plead deal in return for his pension and benefits when he gets out of jail. Those are our tax dollars. He deserves Nothing.




Sergeant Allen Cockfield's trial is scheduled to begin on September 24th. Tel: (305) 547-0664

Please call or write to the state attorney asking her to push for the maximum with NO plea deals that will allow this man to get his pension and retirement benefits. Duke gets no benefits, never did.
Write to Katherine Fernandez-Rundle, Felony Prosecutions & Administration, E.R.
Graham Building
1350 N.W. 12 Ave.
Miami, Florida
33136




Sergeant Allen Cockfield's trial is scheduled to begin on September 24th. Please write or call prosecuting attorney Isis Perez before then and politely ask that she seek the maximum penalty in the case against Cockfield.

Isis Perez
Public Corruption Unit
1350 N.W. 12th Avenue
Miami, FL 33136-2111

Tel: (305) 547-0664



http://ga0.org/indefenseofanimals/notice-description.tcl?newsletter_id=10493728We the undersigned want to see Allen Cockfield prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for his horrific crime in Miami Dade County if and when he is found guilty. We Don't want to see him given the opportunity for a Plea deal giving him a lighter sentence or any type of deal that would allow him to receive his pension or any benefits from the Department of Miami Dade Police. Furthermore, he should never be allowed back on the Dept. in any capacity or be employed in the county of Miami Dade. if for some reason he is not found guilty of this witnessed crime.
We feel Duke was his partner and therefore this is a type of manslaughter.
PLease don't let this slip through the cracks.