The Other end of the leash
The Mar-Ken International Police K9 Training Center
Simone Clements Leedeman
The Other end of the leash
The Mar-Ken International Police K9 Training Center
Simone Clements Leedeman
To my sister and my mom, who have supported me through everything, no matter what.
Left: Mar-Ken trainer Erik Emptage
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Creating this book was a challenging process that would not have been possible without the help of many. First, I would like to thank my teachers at Freestyle Academy, for granting me the opportunity to do such an amazing project like this. Additionally, I could not have created this book without the help of Ms. Sullivan, my English teacher from my freshman year, who took time out of her schedule to help me proofread. Finally, I would like to thank my sister and my mom for motivating me to work hard even when I struggled during this project.
Left: fence used to hide narcotics during training
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Table of Contents 9 - Preface
13 - History and Today
11 - Introduction
19 - It’s Not the Dog
Above: Rogue’s Paws
23 - A Tool for Good
26 - Works Cited
25 - Conclusion
27 - About the Author
Above: K9 patrol car
Preface
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hen I was first introduced to the idea of the Documentary project, I was overwhelmed with the amount of options I could choose from. As I went over various ideas, my mind drifted to my dog. I then realized the subject for my project would be on something that I have been fascinated by since I was young: dogs. Throughout my childhood, my family has owned several German Shepherds that were specifically trained for personal protection. Through these years, we were able to get these dogs and train them through the Mar-Ken International K9 Training Center. This training involved my twin sister and I participating at as young as 5 years old to help teach the dog to protect us. Another inspiration that influenced my decision to choose this topic was my dog. Three years ago, I was able to get my current German Shepherd through Mar-Ken. Since then, I have learned much more about working dogs and the responsibility that comes with owning a dog bred to work. Overall, the personal connection I have with this company inspired me to choose it as the subject for my documentary project. Because the Mar-Ken Training Center is located in Santa Cruz, one significant challenge I faced during this project was traveling from Mountain View to Santa Cruz to conduct interviews and take photos. Though this was time consuming, I found myself looking forward to every trip and the opportunity see these incredible dogs train. The purpose of this book is to educate the reader on not only the Mar-Ken Training Center, but also on the history and current issues surrounding police dogs and protection dogs. After reading this book, the reader will have an understanding on the important role that trainers, handlers and dogs have regarding law enforcement and protection.
Left: Photo of Mar-Ken International Training Center Logo
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Introduction
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t was December 30th, 2015, and rain relentlessly poured down, coating the asphalt of a parking lot in Henderson, Nevada as police cars surrounded a red SUV. Arturo Arenas-Alvarez, who had been suspected of shoplifting, emerged with his hands in the air, approaching the officers slowly to be questioned. Two other officers soon walked out of their vehicles, one holding the leash of his K9 partner, the Belgian Malinois pulling forward, eager to work. Seeing the dog, Arturo quickly began shouting in broken English, trying to warn the officers of something. Without thinking, the handler ignored his cries and quickly deployed the K9 to search the car, not realizing the mistake he had just made. In a matter of seconds, the piercing screams of Arturo’s 17-month-old daughter rang out, causing the officers to quickly realize what they had done. The K9 officer had bit the toddler, who suffered 9 punctures to her right arm, resulting in a $13,000, settlement because the handler had made the mistake of releasing the dog far too early (Golgowski). K9 officers and personal protection dogs are trained to be able to stop a criminal just as quickly as a gun or taser; if not handled properly, these dogs, like weapons, can bring about serious consequences, much like this incident. The Mar-Ken Training Center, located in Santa Cruz, California trains police K9’s as well as personal protection
dogs, teaches handlers to maintain control of the dog, and enforces the responsibility of handling and training a dog. Established in 1985, the name Mar-Ken stands for Marv’s kennel, inspired by the owner, Marv Gangloff, who served as a police officer for 20 years and trained dogs for 45 years. There are five total trainers involved with the training center: two law enforcement trainers help train police K9s and personal protection dogs. The other three are civilian trainers who help teach basic obedience training to three different classes, and work one-on-one with people and their dogs. Training K9s is not an easy job because it requires a lot of work, time, and includes numerous risks – from willingly volunteering to be bitten by a German Shepherd with only a sleeve to protect you, to the potential for an accident while the K9 is on duty. To illustrate the magnitude of these risks, California’s workers compensation system recorded 190 law enforcement officers reporting on-the-job injuries involving police dogs in 2016 (Kaste). The work the trainers have to do to keep an accident from occurring not only involves dedication and work from the dog, but also from the handler. This process creates a bond between the two. When training a dog for law enforcement or protection training, the handler or owner must be aware of the risks.
Left: K9 Officer Atlas biting sleeve on trainer Erik Emptage
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History and today
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raining police dogs and personal protection dogs is an occupation that dates back hundreds of years. It is generally assumed dogs were used to defend people against dangerous animals when they were first domesticated thousands of years ago. However, dogs were not introduced to the police force until many years later. According to K9 handler Ray Allen, the first recorded use of a police dog was in St. Malo, France during the early 14th century when they were used to guard dock installations; however, it was not until 1888 when the modern police dog was used, to track suspects by scent. Soon after, the use of dogs in the police force was introduced to the United States (Allen). Although it took some time for U.S. police to integrate the use of dogs as a tool for law enforcement, other forms of authority had already recognized dogs as a tool for surveillance. Depending on who is handling and training them, these dogs, similar to weapons, are a powerful tool that could be beneficial or detrimental. Before dogs were commonplace in police forces, they were used for more sinister means of tracking slaves during colonization in the 1840’s. In “The Canine Terror,” historians Charlton Yingling and Tyler Parry explain that dogs were used as “tools of surveillance and fear, helping to annihilate indigenous populations and solidify the expansion of American capitalism through slavery… Breeders honed dogs’ superhuman biological systems, maximizing their ability to smell, hear, outrun, outlast, signal, attack, and sometimes execute black victims.” This example, though disturbing, demonstrates how dogs have been used throughout history as a tool for people, even if the handler has negative intentions. Unfortunately, once police dogs were introduced to law enforcement in the US, people in power continued to
utilize dogs as a tool to defend segregation. An example of this occured in 1963, during the Civil Rights Movement. Activists in Birmingham, Alabama launched Project C, or the Birmingham Campaign, which included marches on City Hall and sit-ins to protest segregation laws. These demonstrations were met with violent attacks, including the use of high-pressure fire hoses and police dogs on men, women, and children. Though there have been many instances of dogs being used negatively, they have also been used as tools help people throughout history. In “Dogs in War, Police Work and on Patrol” (1955), Charles F. Sloane explains, “during the devastating ‘blitz’ attacks on London, in World War II, the dogs attached to the Metropolitan Police saved countless lives. Some of these dogs were especially trained to search through the rubble of demolished houses and buildings and to indicate to the Dog Master those places where humans were buried. One such dog is credited with saving more than forty lives by indicating that the person buried beneath the timber, stone, and earth was still alive, thus hurrying rescue workers to his aid. These dogs were able to detect persons buried beneath as much as thirty feet of earth.” Sloane also explains how incidents that previously posed a challenge for police could easily be solved through the use of police dogs as a tool for law enforcement. For example, “the headline ‘Crazed Man Shoots 8 Policemen and Wife Before Being Killed’, electrified the country on July 1, 1954. This incident, occurring in Indianapolis, need not have resulted in 8 policemen getting shot. A welltrained dog, thoroughly indoctrinated in the method of dislodging barricaded gunmen, whether sane or insane, would have quickly resulted in an unarmed, thoroughly cowed individual. When a well-trained dog is sent into such
Left: Rogue
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a situation the dog knows the dangers inherent in the job he is about to take on. He takes advantage of cover, he is stealthy in his approach, and a streak of lightning when the time comes to act. Good dog trainers are unanimous in their opinion that these dogs can properly perform this difficult task, adding to the prestige of the police department and avoiding injury to the police officers” (Sloane). The history of police dogs and protection dogs has become relevant today because in many cases, dogs are being used as tools by people who are handling and training them improperly. The neglectful and careless treatment of dogs causes unnecessarily dangerous incidents, especially regarding K9 officers who risk causing an accident and putting innocent people in jeopardy. Unfortunately, the incident involving Mr. Arenas-Alvarez’s toddler was not the only recent K9 attack on an innocent person. An article by the Washington Post covered another incident from December when a body camera captured a video of a Minnesota K9 handler who had lost control of a police dog and attacked an innocent woman taking out her garbage, resulting in multiple injuries and a lawsuit (Swenson). Alternatively, there have also been multiple recorded incidents of personal protection dogs attacking strangers as well as dogs attacking their very owners. An example of this occured in October 2014, when a 7 year-old boy from Wisconsin was killed by a Rottweiler who had been trained as a guard dog (“Rottweiler that killed Wisconsin boy”). The history of police dogs has created many problems because while handlers have misused dogs, they have also utilized them as a beneficial aid to law enforcement. This has become important today because many incidents occur due to the actions of the handler.
“Good dog trainers are unanimous in their opinion that these dogs can properly perform this difficult task, adding to the prestige of the police department and avoiding injury to the police officers” -Sloane
Left: Patrol Cars Right: [Left to Right] Willie (trainer), Wes (handler), Marv (trainer), Erik (trainer)
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It’s Not the Dog
Gustav with bite sleeve
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ue to their history of being used as a weapon, it is not uncommon to see headlines today blaming a dog for an attack, which adds to the negative reputation and stigma police dogs and personal protection dogs have developed over time. This negative reputation has created many misconceptions trainers and handlers involved with MarKen have had to encounter. The way K9s and protection dogs are portrayed in the media after an attack adds to the misconception that these dogs are aggressive and out of control. According to Marv Gangloff, “people think they’re just crazy psycho dogs and they’re not, if somebody didn’t tell you it was a police dog or a personal protection dog, you’d never know.” Wes Hansen, a current police officer and K9 handler for the Santa Cruz PD that trains with MarKen training center, also explains “there’s a misconception that they are really just aggressive and mean dogs, and that we train them and there’s a lot of yelling and kind of abusive behavior with the dogs, and that’s not the case. Everything is positive reinforcement, everything is a game, these dogs love what they do.” Both Gangloff’s and Hansen’s perspectives help combat the stigma against working dogs by giving insight into the perspective of people who have actual experience working with them. Misconceptions and stigma surrounding police dogs and personal protection dogs are often caused by blaming the dog for the actions of the handler in incidents throughout history and today. To prevent this from occurring, the Mar-Ken Training Center emphasizes that “it’s not the dog, it’s the handler.” This value enforces responsibility in the owner/handler before blaming the dog. There is a clear line between proper use and improper use of police dogs and protection dogs in how they are handled and trained,
and often an attack may occur when someone crosses that line. For example, the incident involving Mr. ArenasAlvarez’s toddler, where the officer had clearly deployed the K9 too quickly, not thinking to check if anyone had been in the car, shows how the handler was responsible for the actions of the dog. Furthermore, the woman in Minnesota was attacked because the handler had the K9 on a 20 foot leash and failed to look around a corner. In his many years of working with dogs, Marv believes that “It’s always the person, even with personal protection or a police dog, they deploy them at the wrong times… 90% of the time it’s an improper deployment by whoever is deploying the dog.” The idea that a dog is a tool much like a weapon, indicates that it is up to the handler to use this tool correctly and ethically to avoid an incident. To solve these problems, the Mar-Ken training center makes sure that the handler/owner understands the dog and how to efficiently work with it in order to avoid any possible accident. For K9 handlers, once they are individually matched with a dog, they are required to go through a tenweek training course to be certified to
work on the street in the state of California. Once they complete ten weeks, handlers have to train 16 hours a month for the rest of the dogs service time. In this time, they work
Left: Rip getting pet by Marv and Erik
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with trainers to keep the dogs training updated to eliminate the possibility of an incident, for both the dog and handler. This training includes finding hidden narcotics, obedience, tracking and bite work. Melissa Gangloff, Marv’s daughter and trainer for Mar-Ken training center, explains that when training to prevent an accident they would “have the dog run through a group of people and then find the bad guy.” This practice would prevent a situation where the dog may get confused and attack the wrong person. When asked how he avoids an incident, Officer Hansen explains “a lot of it is knowing your dog, and understanding when it’s appropriate to use the dog and when it’s not appropriate to use it. As a handler, you want to be able to use the dog in every single call, because you just want to do that, but sometimes you have to take a step back and realize when it’s not the right time for that. I’m going to get my dog hurt or both of us hurt, so you have to really weigh the pros and cons of when you are gonna deploy the dog. As a handler, when doing a track or working with a dog, your only focus is the dog. You have other officers watching what’s going on around you. That’s one of the harder things of being a handler. As a police officer, you want to be looking around and understanding what’s going on, but you have to trust your partners to be doing that so you can pay attention to what the dog is doing so that you don’t get a situation where the dog bites the wrong person or you miss somebody.” Incidents involving personal protection dogs attacking people or their owners often occur because of many factors involving misuse of the dog. In order to understand these incidents, we must understand why dogs attack in the first place. Sean Wensley, Senior Veterinary Surgeon at the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA), explains that dogs can be aggressive when they feel threatened. “The motivation for lots of dog bites is fear,” he says. “Others are territorial - if they’re guarding something that they highly Left: Rogue
value, or defending their favourite resting place, their bed... Or if they’ve learned to defend, say, a dog bowl - that can result in aggression” (Seales). Along with aggression due to being territorial, fear often plays a role in many incidents. In dog training, the dog should never fear the handler, because if not dealt with properly, that fear can result in an accident.
“As a handler, you want to be able to use the dog in every single call, because you just want to do that, but sometimes you have to take a step back and realize when it’s not the right time for that. I’m going to get my dog hurt or both of us hurt, so you have to really weigh the pros and cons of when you are gonna deploy the dog.” - Hansen To avoid accidents involving personal protection dogs, Mar-Ken has created a list of steps to successfully bond with the dog when a person first gets a protection dog. This list includes instructions on basics such as crate training, as well as strict rules to not allow the dog on the bed or furniture to avoid future problems with training and behavior, due to the dog becoming territorial. Along with this list, owners are given a sheet of paper explaining what they are signing up for when choosing to get a dog with a high prey drive, introducing both the upsides and downsides of owning a dog that is bred to work. These steps help the owner understand how to properly work with the dog and prevent overall misuse of protection dogs.
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a tool for good
T
he Mar-Ken training center teaches handlers and owners how to properly use K9s and protection dogs as helpful tools for people. To achieve this goal, trainers ensure that handlers and owners avoid common mistakes that cause many incidents today. When handled and trained properly, dogs have proven to be extremely useful non-lethal tools to the police force. Charles Heal, an expert on non-lethal weapons, explains that “A dog is the only non-lethal weapon I can change my mind about after I deploy it… The suspect sees me and puts his hands up, I can call it back... Dogs are also the only one with target-acquisition radar: suspect moves, dog does, too.” K9 training from qualified organizations such as Mar-Ken training center have become crucial today because police dogs offer an alternative, non-lethal method of controlling a dangerous situation. Unlike a gun, there is no threat of someone trying to steal a dog and use it against an officer. According to former K9 handler Charles Mesloh, who now teaches Criminal Justice at Northern Michigan University, “You get a lot more suspects surrendering without any incident at all… The same suspect that rips off his shirt and asks for more cops to come to the scene so they can have a battle royale, immediately will surrender when the police dog gets there” (Kaste). Marv agrees when he explains, “dogs are a real asset to police departments because you can take a dog and search a building in 20 minutes, where it would take 5 cops 2 hours to search it. I think that’s where it saves time, and they’re a real deterrent to crime to people that see the dog” (Gangloff ). In many situations, the K9 does not even have to be released in order to cause a suspect to surrender, making the dogs a very effective tool for law enforcement, and making
training that much more important. When a dog is handled properly, it becomes an incredible and effective tool for people and law enforcement. An important example of this can be seen when Osama Bin Laden was taken down. Many do not realize that one of the most crucial parts that caused the mission to be successful was the fact that the Navy SEALs used a dog, a Belgian Malinois named Cairo, as a tool to take down the founder of al-Qaeda. Marv has also had many successes throughout his time as a handler and a trainer, one of his most prominent successes occurred in 1985, when his dog found a four year old who had been missing for 12 hours. In other words, when put in the right position, dogs can even rise to the level of hero.
“The same suspect that rips off his shirt and asks for more cops to come to the scene so they can have a battle royale, immediately will surrender when the police dog gets there” -Kaste
Left: Training Equipment Right: K9 Officer Luna with bite sleeve
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Conclusion
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he Mar-Ken Training Center gives qualified training to both handlers and dogs, something that is often hard to find. K9 officers and protection dogs are trained to be able to stop a criminal just as quickly as a gun or taser, and Mar-Ken ensures they are completely under control at all times. Incidents throughout history and today cause many people to blame K9s and personal protection dogs for the actions of their handlers, often accumulating a negative reputation and misconceptions. Many people are persuaded by how the media portrays K9s and protection dogs after an attack. When he comes across people like this, Wes “would explain to them exactly how we do training, or invite them to come on a ride along or come to a training. This field is like anything else: there are good trainers, and there are bad trainers. I’m not gonna say that there aren’t trainers that don’t teach bad techniques, but Marv has been doing this for 40 years, and he knows what works” (Hansen). The next time you read an article on an attack, remember the information from this book and remember that police dogs and protection dogs are tools, much like weapons, that are controlled by the actions of the handler. The Mar-Ken International K9 Training Center teaches handlers and owners the responsibility of being in control of these dogs, and how to handle them efficiently.
Left: Gustav with bite sleeve
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Works Cited Allen, Ray. “Police Dog History.” K9Handler.Com/, 7 Nov. 2013, k9handler.com/police-dog-history/. Accessed 28 Mar. 2018. “The Birmingham Campaign.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/black-culture/explore/civil-rights movement-birmingham-campaign/#.Wrp985PwZZg. Accessed 27 Mar. 2018. Charles F. Sloane, Dogs in War, Police Work and on Patrol, 46 J. Crim. L. Criminology & Police Sci. 385 (1955-1956) scholarlycommons.law.northwestern.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=https://www.google.com/&ht tpsredir=1&ar ticle=4393&context=jclc. Accessed 8 May. 2018. Gangloff, Marv. Personal Interview. 8 March 2018. ---. Personal Interview. 28 March 2018. Gangloff, Melissa. Personal Interview. 18 March 2018. Golgowski, Nina. “‘There’s An Infant In The Car!’ Says Cop As Police Dog Bites Toddler.” The Huffington Post, TheHuffingtonPost.com, 30 Dec. 2015, www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/k9-attacks-toddler_ us_56840804e4b06fa68881a474. Accessed 27 Mar. 2018. Hansen, Wes. Personal Interview. 28 March 2018. “Rottweiler That Killed Wisconsin Boy, 7, Was Trained as Guard Dog.” Twin Cities, Twin Cities, 25 Oct. 2015, www. twincities.com/2014/11/02/rottweiler-that-killed-wisconsin-boy-7-was-trained-as-guard-dog/. Accessed 27 Mar. 2018. Seales, Rebecca. “Why Do Dogs Attack Their Owners?” BBC News, BBC, 20 Dec. 2017, www.bbc.com/news/ world-42424407. Accessed 27 Mar. 2018. Swenson, Kyle. “Body Cam Captures Police Dog Attacking Innocent Woman Taking out Her Garbage.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 8 Dec. 2017, www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/12/08/body-cam- captures-police-dog-attacking-innocent-woman-taking-out-her-garbage/?utm_term=.e113ff910024. Accessed 27 Mar. 2018. Wilkinson, Alec. “Non-Lethal Force.” The New Yorker, The New Yorker, 2 June 2008, www.newyorker.com/ magazine/2008/06/02/non-lethal-force. Accessed 27 Mar. 2018. Yingling, Charlton, and Tyler Parry. “The Canine Terror.” Jacobin, Jacobin, www.jacobinmag.com/2016/05/dogs bloodhounds-slavery-police-brutality-racism/. Accessed 27 Mar. 2018. 26
About the Author
Simone Clements Leedeman is a junior who currently attends Freestyle Academy and Mountain View High School. At school, she enjoys her Digital Media class, where she learns how to use programs such as Pro Tools and Adobe Dreamweaver to create music and websites. She loves animals, specifically dogs, and hopes to one day have a successful career producing music or working with dogs.
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The Other end of the leash
The Mar-Ken International Police K9 Training Center
Simone Clements Leedeman