The use of dogs for security jobs outside the military is a recent development. It indicates that local government units and private business companies have now become security conscious. Most likely, this is a response to the terrorism we witnessed in the 9/11 attack in the
GLIMPSE OF DOGS IN WAR
Recently, the dogs of AFP K9 drew national attention for effectively locating the arms cache hidden by the Ampatuans five feet deep under slabs of concrete. Further back in time, the support of K9 Tracking dogs of the Philippine Army in locating the lairs of the Abu Sayaf Group in Zamboanga del Norte ultimately led to the rescue of Gracia Burnham.
LTC Philip S Lapinid (2004) of the Philippine Army in his article, Dogs of War, traced the historical events in which canines were used in war. In the
The American forces started to use canines during the Seminole War in 1835. About fifty years later the German Army established the first Military K9 School in
LTC Lapinid’s study brings us as far back as the
WHY DOGS ?
An internet search yielded the following advantages of dogs over humans.
Olfactory Sensitivity. At ideal conditions, a dog can smell a living object several meters away. This is because a dog is endowed with an olfactory bulb roughly forty times bigger than that in humans. Dogs have also about 125 to 220 million smell-sensitive receptors while humans are endowed with around 5 million. The bloodhound exceeds this standard with nearly 300 million receptors. With its wet nose, a dog can determine the direction of the air current containing the odor. Dogs can discriminate odors at very minute concentrations. Even at nearly 100 million times lower levels of concentration, we humans lose to our best animal friend.
Hearing Beyond Human Auditory Spectrum. Aside from its superb sense of hearing and sight, a dog can detect sounds far beyond the upper limit of the human auditory spectrum. The frequency range of dog hearing is approximately 40 Hz to 60,000 Hz. In addition, dogs have ear mobility allowing them to rapidly pinpoint the exact location of a sound. They can also distinguish their master’s voice among other voices, even at a distance of 1 mile.
Superior Night Vision. Though dogs are considered color blind, they are not night blind. They seldom trip over something at night. Dogs’ visual discrimination for moving objects is also very tremendous.
No complaints, No vices. Dogs do not demand salary increase, retirement benefits, over night differentials, over time pay and other allowances except for meals, vitamins and vaccinations. Dogs do not exhibit human weaknesses like shirking from responsibilities, getting drunk, sleeping on post, malingering and conspiring with the pilferer. (Lapinid, 2004)
TIPS FOR CANINE PROVIDERS
Since, it is apparent from history that it is the military that has the greater experience in the use of canine for security purposes, it will be to the best interest of a private investor or a Local Government Unit to ally with a K9 unit in the military. It will be a good source of best practices.
Public security consciousness has also increased. There is now a tendency for customers to patronize establishments with robust security, part of which is the deployment of bomb- sniffing canines. With this public trust, K9 providers must ensure quality in their service. It is to the best interest of canine providers to band themselves together and undertake exchanges in terms of information, lessons learned, training resources and even friendly competitions There are a number of canine organizations in the country like the Philippine Federation of Specialized Canine Providers Inc., a counterpart of PADPAO (Philippine Association of Detective and Protective Agency Operators), an organization of security agencies.
The following may also be useful guides for other providers and security managers:
ü K9 Service Provider Must Possess a License to Operate. Like other security agencies, K9 providers are required to obtain a license from Civil Security Group (CSG) of Philippine National Police. As of now, it is the only government agency regulating the use of K9 dogs. CSG is now requiring a separate LTO for canines which means security agency’s LTO does not cover the canine services they offer.
ü Post efficient dogs. Many K9 teams rendering duty are without accreditation from different canine private and government organizations. The efficiency of canines should be tested regularly. Like humans, they need to have regular retraining, otherwise dogs’ skill shall diminish.
ü Train and License K9 Handlers. Handlers should be certified with skills they obtained from accredited K9 Training Schools. At the minimum, they should at least be equipped with Basic Handler’s Course. The PNP also conducts training for K9 handlers. After completing the training, they will be evaluated and issued licenses as dog handlers.
ü Documentation of resources, activities and evaluation reports. A good track record shall show that a provider should have a kennel with complete facility to house and train their dogs. The number of deployable dogs is also important. These must be more than the number of dogs committed to its clients, to have a reserve force as relievers. Dogs must be also vaccinated regularly for parvo and anti- rabies and dewormed every three months. As with dogs, there must be extra handlers available anytime.
ü Tag your dogs. Take whole pictures of your dogs, not only their distinct physical features. A micro chip in your dog shall be added protection. It is better to tag the dogs that are rendering duty to every client company.
ü Have in your training staff a bomb technician that has authorized access to explosives Training aids are very important. It is even used by trained dogs to upgrade and regularly test its skills. The dogs must be able to detect different bomb components as well as different substances used for the main charge and booster. Synthetic components are used to replace the actual one. Sometimes, about 5 grams per component are used. It is good to have dogs trained not only for small amount of odor but also for actual bombs (big odor). As experienced, some dogs are good in locating small amounts but unable to find big amounts or actual bombs. It is paramount to orient the dogs to different components as well as to varied sizes of explosives. It is also important to be updated with the latest bomb ingredients based on captured evidences. Terrorists now use uncommon explosives to avoid detection such as picric acid. .
ü Present The People Behind Your K9 provider. It is also important to let clients know the people running the K9 agency to foster trust and confidence among prospective clients. Are they purely civilian enthusiasts or former military personnel with an extensive background in security or a harmonious blend of these two groups? The company must show they are good business partners in that they are capable of formulating robust K9 security plans, conduct security survey inspections and can give updates and trends on security matters.
Visit our website at http://www.dogtagk9.com/ or contact Jun, at +639189342893, info@dogtagk9.com
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