Furry furies furious about felons

What makes a dog a crime fighter? A local trainer tells all.

February 3, 2017

Bianca Pindral 3 minutes read

Eddie Coetzee, owner of K9 Excellence shows how he and his dog Dakota would walk a criminal – played by Elias Khotseng – to the police station after they have arrested him.

We’ve seen them on movie screens assisting the detectives of Crime Scene Investigation films. We’ve seen their tails among tall grass scouring the bush for criminals in Krugersdorp. We’ve even seen them attack a perpetrator and with a single call, leave him and return to their owner’s side.

The furry furies with the willpower of champion fighters – they are man’s best friend who also serve and protect.

But what lies behind their vicious eyes is actually the thought that what they are doing is just a game they play with their owners.

Before dogs were domesticated, their sole purpose was to be pack animals, who instinctively hunted to raise their young. Sometimes without even thinking too hard about it, they would play with their prey.

Nowadays however, we use their instinctive hunting skills and playful nature to our advantage. Eddie Coetzee, a dog trainer, believes any dog has the ability to protect its owner because of these two characteristics.

Working class or Protection dogs are trained in five phases which include mastering various tasks. They start with the owner establishing dominance over the dog.

The dog's personality usually makes a difference in its training. Although purebred dogs like the Belgian Malinois are perfect for the job because of their energy and perseverance, other breeds, like Diesel, who is a Boerbul, can also become trained protectors. — The dog’s personality usually makes a difference in its training. Although purebred dogs like the Belgian Malinois are perfect for the job because of their energy and perseverance, other breeds, like Diesel, who is a Boerbul, can also become trained protectors.

“We use a technique called the Blue Bull supporter voice and the dominant voice. The first is a high-pitched voice used to speak to the dog when he has done something right, and the latter is used to give an order to the dog. The dog also has to let go on a single command. This is to ensure the dog doesn’t rip criminals apart, but rather just catches them. We train our dogs to catch criminals, not to punish them.”

Next the trainer moves on to three ‘toys’ – the sausage and two sleeves. The trainers use the sausage to teach the dog to bite with its entire mouth.

“When a dog bites with its front teeth, it usually has its tail between its legs because he isn’t enjoying the experience. We want him to bite with the entire mouth and wag his tail. Then he is enjoying it.”

The trainer also fights with the dog to make sure he will not let go when he is biting a criminal. The same goes for the two sleeves – the dogs have to bite with their entire mouths.

Elias Khotseng, a dog trainer, braces for impact as Micheal, a protection K9 charges to bite his arm. Elias is wearing a protective sleeve, which is used in one of the phases of training dogs.

Then they move to the last phase which is the recall phase. The recall phase entails the owner letting loose his dog to attack a criminal, but the owner calls him back halfway and the dog must return to the owners’ side.

“The reason for this is that if we do make a mistake (like all humans do) about who the dog has to catch, the trainer can easily call the dog back without it biting the wrong person.”

The trainer always lets the dogs win by giving them the toy after they have bitten it. Thereafter the dog and trainer are both assessed and the course is complete. It takes about three weeks to teach these five phases, but there are many variables that might delay the process somewhat. The dogs’ personality usually makes a difference in their training.

Elias Khotseng, dog trainer fights Dakota, a protection dog, to show that the dog has completed the five phases of training and is ready for field work.

Usually purebred dogs like the Belgian Malinois are more likely to be aggressive fighters with the energy and perseverance to be a working protector. However, not only purebreds can become working dogs. Some cross breeds have the personalities to do the job effectively. “We have a mixed breed called Micheal. He doesn’t have the blood line, but he has it in him to be a protector.”

Eddie trains the dogs and security companies such as Drift Reaction’s Iron Fist unit hire them to catch criminals for them. Muldersdrift has a large rural area with rugged terrain and a lot of crime. To catch perpetrators in this area, trackers that can go everywhere and track using their noses, not their eyes are needed.

Eddie’s dogs have had many successes in catching criminals and his technique is obviously effective as his favourite dog, Dakota demonstrates the perfect balance between obedience, playfulness and drive.