More and more the dogs that work in enforcement are called "Tactical" dogs.I have had many people ask me what a tactical K-9 is. Unfortunately today many people that actually use Tactical dogs have limited knowledge of the true capabilities a dog possesses. Therefore, they believe that what they see, to be the limits of the K-9 abilities.

This is far from true. In the following I will list a few of the things a Tactical K-9 must be able to do under stress and I emphasize this must be done under stress. That means the handler must also be under stress. All to often this is not the case.

I am not going to list how to do these things because people who are untrained will attempt it and dogs need skilled handlers to excel.
*A tactical dog must have target discrimination. This means when the handler drops, the dog must be stable enough to move in
and out of the friendlies and take out the hostile target.
* He must upon deployment, be able to be redeployed on a secondary target.
* He must be both stable and functional in return gunfire.
* He must be able to be deployed by a handler that often cannot see his target.
* He must be able and functional to do snatch, grabs and holds while out of position.
* He must be able to sit tight while all hell is breaking lose around him.
* He must able to do scent discrimination while under extreme stress.
* The Tactical K-9 must be functional on all surfaces and in all weather conditions.
* He must able to use all his natural abilities around and in fire, water, smoke, return gun fire exchanges, out of position, ground level and sub terrain excersises.
* He must be stable enough to make a decision.

There is no such thing as a "fouled track". It is impossible to foul a track. There is such a thing as a dysfunctional team that cannot work scent under stress.

The use of the term "foul track" is a cop out. The majority of handler and trainers that believe a K-9 cannot make a decision are making a mistake here. Instead of actually working with a dog they fool the dog into working. They are only fooling themselves, because a dog is not really working unless he has been really worked.

The Tactical K-9 must be in constant and subtle open communication with his handler. It is like stepping into another world, another dimension. It is functional. It is correct. It is the world of total dog handler cooperation and communication.

I hope this helps clarify what a Tactical K-9 really is and I have only touched the tip of the iceberg.
©Mike McConnery/Baden K9 Incorporated,07/17/00

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