Eden Consulting Group

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© by R.S. Eden - K9 Officers Manual

In my years of training dogs, I have heard a continual increase in the interest expressed in the use of K9 for SWAT applications. In many proactive departments the use of the K9 team in SWAT situations has become an integral part of their operations. Sadly however, many more departments have tried incorporating dogs into their SWAT training only to have the programs fail miserably.

Why is there such a difference of reaction and opinion between so many agencies? Why do some agencies excel in their combined operations and others fail to such a degree that the administrators state they would never attempt combine K9 and SWAT again?

From an experienced K9 handlers point of view the answers are very simple. However to an administrator or tactical team member that has only a basic knowledge of how a dog works, these answers can be hard to comprehend.

Firstly, to dispel any misconceptions that anyone may have regarding SWAT and K9, the simple fact is that yes, K9 can be a very useful and integral part of any SWAT team. There are however, limitations. To be successful, every administrator, every K9 handler and every team member must be aware of those limitations.

Law enforcement agencies who make a decision to use their K9 teams in SWAT must be very careful about how they approach their programs. A good patrol dog team does not neccessarily make a good team for explosive door entries. One of the major reasons why K9 and SWAT programs fail is due to the improper choice of the team. Any good K9 handler will have a keen interest in working with SWAT. It is an exciting challenge which offers him a chance to become more diversified. Any dog handler I've ever met thrives on the action which comes from working the dog. Often times however, this can get in the way of making objective decisions as to whether the team is the right team for the job.

A few guidelines might be the easiest way to give a better insight into preparing for K9 applications in tactical situations.

• When evaluating your needs for a specialized team, set down a guideline of what you will expect the team to do. Once your goals are set, then carefully and thoroughly meet each one. Obtain as much assistance from experts who have experience in the field.
• Choose your K9 handler as you would any other team member. First and foremost, he must be trained as thoroughly as every other member in all aspects of tactical work. Do not choose a new K9 handler, or expect to put a fresh dog straight into SWAT. The better choice is an experienced K9 Officer with a seasoned dog. The handler chosen must know his own limitations as well as that of his dog, and know when not to apply the dog just as when and how to apply his dog. To use a dog when the situation makes it tactically unsound, simply to make use of the dog is an invitation to disaster. The handler must know when to back out of a situation and be allowed to do so. In all circumstances, the final decision to deploy the dog must always be left up to the handler.
• The proper choice of dog is vital to the success of any program. The temperament of the animal needs to be such that he will be under maximum control of the handler in any circumstances, with a minimum of direction. A seasoned dog who shows restraint and stability under gunfire, until directed into action by the handler makes an excellent candidate. The handler must be able to keep the dog silent, and in many circumstances control the dog through hand signals for specific movements, without ever having to worry about the animal voicing. The element of surprise which a dog can give is lost should the suspect hear the dog bark while the team is setting up. This control can come only from proper preparation and the choice of an appropriate team.
• Never, under any circumstances send your K9 teams to work in a serious situation with your SWAT team unless they have trained together. Using the K9 teams to secure the outer perimeter during a SWAT operation should be the only use of any team that has not trained as an integral part of the team.

The K9 team can be used for anything from outer perimeter security to explosive door entries. Your individual needs must be considered, and the risks evaluated to decide how you will set up your team. In some of the larger agencies, consideration might be given to training a dog team specifically for SWAT, where that is the only application of the dog. In reality, this would be the ideal situation, however most agencies are not afforded the budgets which would permit them to do so. In most cases a patrol dog is trained with the team and called upon when circumstances warrant.

An obvious consideration is that the risk of any K9 being killed during a SWAT operation is very high if he is being used for door entries. To lose any dog is a great loss, however to lose a dog that regularly works the streets as a patrol dog can be an even greater loss. The circumstances of each case must be evaluated and the risks considered and carefully weighed before deploying the K9 in any case. Under no circumstances is a dog a replacement for a simple waiting game on a barricaded gunman. Where circumstances without the dog do not warrant entry, neither do they warrant an entry simply because a K9 team is available. This is an unnecessary risk.

The uses of the dog in SWAT situations can be very diversified. Again, depending on the risks you want to take, the amount of training you want to do, and the type of uses you wish to put the dog to will dictate how, and to what extent you train. What follows are a few examples of K9 applications for SWAT. These examples start with applications which require a minimum of training and application and increase to a level where it would be desirable to have a team trained specifically for SWAT.

• During any SWAT situation your K9 teams can be used for outer perimeter containment should a suspect somehow manage to escape through the inner perimeter. A fleeing felon is an easy mark for a well trained team. At night the dog can often indicate to the handler that someone is on the move, even though the target is not visible to the handler. As the dog hears or smells the suspect the handler is alerted to possible target movement in circumstances where the suspect is trying to move out under the cover of darkness. If circumstances warrant the dogs application to check out the indication, the dog can be released to neutralize the subject.
• Where an armed suspect is barricaded in a building and negotiations are continuing, the use of any intervention by force is questionable as long negotiations are effective. However, one unique method of taking down a suspect is to train the dog to work silently with the handler into a position close to a door. The dog is trained repetitively to perform under these circumstances. Negotiators, during contact with the suspect agree to deliver small portions of food or coffee to the suspect. The food is placed into a small paper bag and place at the hinge side of the door, which forces the suspect to reach out and expose a large portion of himself. The dog team should have already worked their way into a position which is strategically close without the suspect knowing of their presence. As the suspect reaches out to retrieve the bag, the dog is sent on the attack backed up immediately by the handler and the take down team. Previous deliveries to the suspect prior to the actual take down delivery may decrease the suspects vigilance when retrieving the bag, and it may be beneficial to wait him out with a few normal deliveries prior to the take down delivery. Remember, circumstances must dictate whether a valuable animals life should be risked as opposed to simply waiting the offender out. If applying this application to a hostage situation, your intelligence must be able to tell you whether it is the hostage taker or a hostage that is retrieving the bag. Once the decision has been made, action by the dog must be swift, accurate, and sure. Any hesitation by the animal in any case is likely to result in violent repercussions, and has in one case that I know of, resulted in the death of a K9 handler. It should also be noted that any use of a dog which fails closes any doors which have already be opened through negotiation, and should be considered a last resort.
• A dog team should be considered where a subject is threatening suicide, and continually points a weapon at himself. The catch to these circumstances is that many of these subjects are passive. For this reason, the dog must be capable of taking down and disarming a passive suspect as effectively as an aggressive suspect. I do not recommend the use of what are commonly referred to as minimum force dogs for SWAT team applications. Such use of minimum force dogs has resulted in the loss of good animals and resulted in loss of life.
• A very effective way of using service dogs is to locate a gunman in a building. Backed up by SWAT, the handler puts his dog on line, and clears every possible hiding place a suspect could be. When the dog comes to a doorway and indicates on it, then the team is advised to secure that room. The search then continues with another team to ensure there are no more suspects, or that the suspect hasn't moved just prior to the first indication of the dog. This is an accurate method of detecting where in a building a suspect is concealed, and pinpoints the location for the team to work on. At this point the dog team takes up a position of rear security and containment and allows SWAT to do its job, now that the specific location of the suspect has been determined.
• The team can also be used on door entries. As the dog is not affected to a great degree by the use of CS or CN gas, he is a powerful tool under gas conditions. Once an area has been secured and the appropriate amount of chemical agent applied, the dog can be deployed into the area to locate and disarm the suspect. In experiments I have viewed the dog loses no effectiveness in his olfactory capabilities, and is very capable of searching for offenders in gas conditions. Experiments where the dog was put into CN or CS gas to search for hidden articles resulted in the dog being successful on every occasion with little or no side effects.

Training of a SWAT dog must include every member of the team. Each member must become familiar with the dog and be able to take over in case of an emergency. Just as the dog handler must be fully trained in SWAT tactics, every member of the team should be given a basic handlers course to enable them to work the dog and control him in the event that the handler is neutralized during an application. I have heard many arguments regarding the use of German commands as opposed to English commands for the training of patrol dogs as well as SWAT dogs. Some say that when the suspect hears the dog being commanded in English it warns the suspects that the dog is there. Some state that a suspect could confuse the dog by trying to command him if the dog uses English commands.

Personally, I recommend the use of the language in which the handler is most familiar. In most cases in North America, that will be English, Spanish, or French. A properly trained animal will not have to receive loud commands, and in fact should be signal trained to afford workability under strict conditions. In an emergency, a persons natural tendency is to revert to his natural language. If you train your partner to German commands, and you suddenly need to call him back under fire, it is likely that you will call out to him in English while you are under pressure. For this reason I strongly recommend that you use commands which are natural to you.

Familiarization to the sudden and sometimes odd movements of the team members is vital to the proper use of the dog. The way the members crouch and crawl can be considered an indication to the dog that these people are offenders. Ensure that the dog is trained in all circumstances, familiarizing him with each member and the movements, while the members are in normal clothes, and also while they are equipped with nomex hoods, and masks so this becomes a natural way of working to the dog. Have each member throw a ball for the dog during break times and ensure that each member plays with the dog during every training session so that he becomes familiar with each persons demeanor and scent characteristics. Every officer should take steps to become one of the dogs best friends. This familiarity will allow the dog to work with the team without any fear of him mistaking the actions of any of the team members as offensive during an operation.

These are only a very few of the basics that can be offered in this article. In no way should these routines be attempted without proper study, and training by authorities in the field. This article is meant only as an outline to some very basic applications, and is not complete in any form.

Remember also, that as a dog handler, you know the limitations of both yourself and your dog. Please, take the advice I give any street officer and every K9 officer I ever train. Never take on a task you don't feel that you or your partner are capable of handling.

First Published by R. Eden / K9 Academy for Law Enforcement For Police and Security News - August 20, 1989.