Service dog training “without painful means”: The amendment causes headaches for the police

Created: 01/19/2022, 02:00 p.m

By: Silke Reinbold-Jandretzki

Luggi can do it: the drug search dog, which belongs to the central emergency services in Murnau, rummages through objects from a station wagon during a police control operation in July 2021 at the end of the motorway in Eschenlohe.

© Very

Animal rights activists see a lot of progress, police representatives see problems and unanswered questions.

A new regulation is intended to protect dogs from painful punitive stimuli in education and training, among other things.

This also applies to police animals, which are based in Murnau, for example.

The head of the unit would like "more clarity so that we can work".

Murnau

– Some save lives, ensure security or help identify criminals; others track down missing people, corpses, drugs, explosives, fire accelerants or banknotes: police service dogs – Bavaria has around 400 on duty – do fabulous things. They are "an indispensable part of day-to-day work", emphasizes Peter Pytlik. But the state chairman of the police union complains about "uncertainty about how to act", caused by the changed animal welfare dog ordinance, which has been in effect since January 1st. This prohibits, among other things, “the use of spiked collars or other means that are painful for dogs in the training, education or training of dogs”. However, these are not defined in detail. Berlin's police recently temporarily stopped using their protection dogs.

Animal rights activist Lödermann supports the new regulation

Tessy Lödermann supports the amendment, which also applies to hunting dogs: Today, one is so good in this area that one can and must train all dogs without violence.

I'm all for it," says the well-known and committed animal rights activist from Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

Spiked collars were used in Bavaria

In Bavaria, depending on the nature of the dog, spiked collars were used: for many only in exceptional cases, "on others you have to put pressure several times without it causing pain," says Pytlik.

In general, spiked collars are "not necessary for the majority of service dogs and have only been used occasionally and only under the guidance and presence of an experienced service dog trainer".

Further use in individual cases was usually no longer necessary after the basic training.

Can not all dogs be used in protection work?

The principle of this method: The dog remembers the unpleasant feeling that a spiked collar causes. If he later bites a suspect in order to hold him down, the action can be ended immediately with a slight pull. Pytlik explains that this collar was "used selectively in a special training situation" when the service dog showed "disobedience". This is now forbidden. The result: It is to be expected that individual dogs can no longer be used in protection work. "It would no longer be possible to get used to stressful stimuli that can occur during use in accordance with animal welfare regulations," Pytlik emphasizes. Overall, this puts trainers, dog handlers and uninvolved third parties at risk. "Adequate training of our service dogs is made more difficult by the new regulation," complains Pytlik,who would like an exception for authorities that have service dogs.

The state of Lower Saxony is making a move to enforce an exception for service dogs

The state of Lower Saxony has made the corresponding initiative, which will soon be dealt with by the responsible specialist committees of the Bundesrat.

The German Animal Welfare Association positions itself against this.

Lödermann also speaks out against an extra sausage.

"There must be no exception for any dog," says the chairman of the district's animal protection association.

"I think that the police also have good dog trainers" - who work with their dogs on the basis of trust and reward, as well as animal welfare, among other things.

Spiked collars are "no longer up-to-date".

Ten Murnau police dogs are deployed nationwide

Michael Bayerlein emphasizes that the training of service dogs has changed significantly.

"Until 20 years ago, they were brought up very differently, completely different means of coercion were used," says the head of the Central Operations Services (ZED) in Murnau, a kind of police fire brigade with various units.

The ZED have ten animals in action nationwide, plus three are in training.

Today the police work a lot with rewards, with the classic treats, says Bayerlein, who, with a view to the new regulation, would like “a clear regulation” above all: Aids that are used to set brief but not painful stimuli are permitted.

Bayerlein asks: "What is painful, what is tolerable?"

The training of guard dogs is particularly affected

According to Bayerlein, the training, which runs centrally for Bavaria in the service dog school in Herzogau and on site and lasts one and a half to two years, depending on the animal, is not on hold at the moment. But you are in a kind of “limbo”: In Herzogau, you are currently examining to what extent training content, which generally applies uniformly, needs to be changed. The ZED boss sees problems with the amendment and points to the open question of alternative courses of action in sensitive situations: "You can't even pull hard on the normal collar anymore." The training of protection dogs, for example at demonstrations, football, is particularly affected - or ice hockey games do important work, "where an increased potential for violence on the part of the police opposite can be expected," says Bayerlein.With the exception of the personal search dog Marley, all of the animals in his ZED have completed this basic training, and the four-pawed Murnau forces also have specializations for sniffing out drugs or explosives and for alpine operations. Bayerlein also brings an exemption into play with a view to the amendment.

Spiked collars sometimes also for private dogs

By the way: Not only service dogs are familiar with spiked collars.

Rarely, but again and again, the animal shelter in Garmisch-Partenkirchen takes in a found dog with such an accessory.

If the owner picks him up, manager Lödermann finds the right words.