Socializing your PSD with family and friends

Well… this is my first attempt at a blog.  Ultimately, my goal is to put these out at least once a month on a variety of different K9-related topics.  Side note, if there are any topics that you would like me to write about, just send me a message.  I can’t promise that I can answer all the questions I receive, but I’ll try to answer the ones I think most handlers can benefit from.

So here it goes… Today, I saw a question on a K9 handler Face Book page about socializing young children, spouse, and friends to your police service dog.  Did I mention it’s a patrol dog with apprehension work? 

This topic creates a lot of debate and often leads to heated conversations.  Here are my thoughts…and I have several of them.  How long have you been a K9 handler?  How long have you and your K9 partner worked together?  I’m going to get to more of my thoughts on this topic in a second but let me address these first.  EXPERIENCE MATTERS!  Your dog has the intelligence level of a 2-year-old.  Sorry to break the news to you.  They are not rational thinkers.  Their actions are all drive related.  But wait, I love that dog and he loves me.  NOPE!  What you think is love is pack drive and that’s ok.  Once you understand what makes your dog tick, your decisions about what to do and more importantly what not to do will make your life easier.  TRUST YOUR DOG TO BE A DOG!  Even the most even-tempered dog can quickly transition into a drive that can be dangerous to those around them.  Since we’re on the topic of drive, let me say this… As a handler, you must know how to bring drive up and bring drive down.  And you need to know what drive manipulators are. 

Here's my opinion.  Regardless of how experienced you are, establish a good working relationship with your dog.  You need to know your dog inside and out, like the back of your hand.  Then and only then would I start a SLOW AND SAFE introduction to your family, especially if you have small kids.  Remember, you can’t rationalize with your dog.  Nor, can you rationalize with your 2-year-old.  It’s hard to make your toddler understand that moving objects is a drive manipulator for prey drive.  Don’t think for a moment that your dog won’t humble you.  Every dog is different, just like people.  The intensity of each dog’s drives varies from dog to dog.

I joined my department’s K9 Unit in 2008.  My kids were 3 and 4 at the time.  I inherited a dog from another handler and what I inherited was damaged goods.  This dog was not to be trifled with.  Socializing him with my family was not an option.  It would have been the same as leaving a loaded gun on an end table.  BAD IDEA!  He and I only lasted 9 months before our department decided to part ways with him.  It’s a long story.  Trust me, it was the best thing for the dog and for my sanity.  Then, I got my second dog, K-9 Jack.  He was very different than my first dog, but still a very serious dog.  I did not socialize Jack with my kids for several years.  I wanted to wait until I could explain to my kids what they could and could not do around Jack.  But they needed to be reasonably old enough to understand it.  I waited a year to socialize him with my wife.  And I never socialized him with friends.  Why socialize your dog with your friends?  What purpose does it serve?  Are you going to tell them what they can and cannot do around your dog every time a new friend comes over?  Seems like a low return on investment to me. 

You may be reading this and saying to yourself, “I wouldn’t work a dog that I couldn’t socialize with my family”.  I get it.  I’m on my fourth dog and how I have socialized my dogs with my family has been different each time.  When we test and select dogs for purchase, we want dogs that possess the right drives for police work.  We also look at sociability because it is important, and it shouldn’t be ignored in your testing and selection process.  No one wants the dog that your family can’t socialize with.  Or they are a keep-separate from your personal dogs.  That blows and it isn’t fun.  But do you know what else isn’t fun, making a costly mistake that could have been avoided.  Bottom line, we purchase the best dog for the job.  If they are social during testing, great, that’s the icing on the cake. 

In 2018, I came back to the K9 Unit as the unit supervisor.  I finally got that perfect mix of dog, K9 Jake, who was all business at work, but at home was chill.  When I say chill, I mean Malinois chill.  But things were different in my life when I came back to the unit.  My kids were 13 and 14.  That makes a huge difference.  They were mature enough to understand the ground rules around Jake.  This is what I had always hoped for. Finally, I could enjoy my work dog with my family in a way that I didn’t with the two previous dogs.  Did I mention, having a dog that’s social makes life easier.  But even then, anytime I couldn’t supervise Jake with my family, he was put in the kennel.  Your dog should have their own place to decompress and just chill. When they come out of the kennel, it should have a reason and a purpose.  I believe that when a dog comes out of the kennel it should be to work, go pee and poop, and to be part of the family when you think it’s appropriate.  I always bring my dog inside when it’s either too hot or too cold, but he is crated.  They don’t just get to hang out on the couch all day.  They are working dogs and if you want them to perform like working dogs, they need to be treated like working dogs. 

K9 Jake got injured during a patrol certification and completely tore his rotator cuff and had to be retired at 5-years old.  Major bummer…. I had it so good.  He had several apprehensions, was street-worthy, and had great control.  That brings me to my fourth and yes it will be my final dog, K-9 Rogan.  He is a 98-pound Dutch Shepherd.  Here’s the pro… he’s as push-button of a dog there is.  Jack and Jake were also push-button, but Rogan is videogame push-button.  Here’s the con… he’s 98 pounds, pulls like a horse, and he isn’t like Jake.  Life is so much easier when you have that 65–70-pound dog.  He CAN be social but is a very sharp dog.  Sharpness refers to the amount of stimulus needed to get your dog in drive.  He needs very little of it, both at work and at home.  So, what does that mean for me at this stage of my career?  One kid is in college, the other a junior in high school that I barely see, and my wife works.  Well… it does make my life easier when there are less people around, but damnit I don’t want a dog that can’t be social.  I want what I previously had.  Oh, by the way, Jake and Rogan are keep-separates.  Jake wasn’t ready to retire and although both dogs are social with every other animal on the face of the earth (for the most part), they just don’t get along.  It’s a pack thing.  You haven’t lived until you have separated a fight between two working dogs.  So, I socialize Rogan the way HE needs to be socialized.  I don’t force the issue.  No two dogs are the same.  Each dog needs something different.  What works for one, sometimes doesn’t work for the other.  And that applies to training, not just home-life.  Don’t make the mistake of working your new dog the same way you did your previous dog.  It won’t work and you’ll get easily frustrated. 

Circling back to the question I saw on Face Book.  Take your time.  There shouldn’t be a rush to socialize your dog with your family, especially if you’re new to K9.  You’ll have plenty of time to do that down the road.  Socialization shouldn’t be different than your approach to training.  If you want to teach a dog a new behavior, you do it in increments, and ensure those increments are successful before moving onto the next one.  Same thing with the family.  Take it slow.  Be smart.  Be safe.  And always remember, TRUST A DOG TO BE A DOG!