Page 87 - K9News_Issue13_October2020_download_Neat

Bob Haynes looks at
ermanns
Dob
Dobermanns
as
as
POLICE DOGS
POLICE DOGS
During my time as a Police Dog Handler
and Instructor the breed of preference was
always the German Shepherd Dog. However
the Doberman has been used as a Police and
Military dog.
Perhaps it may be worthwhile exploring the
history of the Doberman in relation to their
use as Service dogs.
The breed was developed in Germany in the
late 1800s. They developed into very much a
working breed and have been used successfully
all over the world as Police and Military dogs.
They are an intelligent breed with great learning
ability. They have the capacity to learn quickly
and remain focussed.
During World War II they were very much the
breed of choice for much of the American
military, being used extensively in the Pacific
Theatre. During the Vietnam war they were
deployed as both mine detection, search, and
guard dogs.
Here in the U.K. they were used as Police dogs
during the 1960 - 1980 period. They were not
used more extensively for a number of reasons:
The Doberman is a very fast thinking dog and
therein lies a potential problem. For many
Police dog handlers they were found to be very
challenging. Whereas the average G.S.D. is an
excellent “Foot soldier” who will repeat tasks he
has been trained to do without question, many
Dobermans would be thinking ahead of the
handler and almost questioning the way a task
should be completed.
K9 NEWS DIGITAL / OCTOBER 2020
The short coat and lack of undercoat of the
Doberman was found to be a disadvantage in
extremes of weather.
In the days before Police dog breeding schemes
most Police dogs were gifted to Police Forces.
As the Doberman is a numerically smaller breed
in the U.K. than the G.S.D. it meant that fewer of
the breed were available for evaluation.
The Doberman tends to be a slower maturing
breed than the G.S.D. which meant that the
actual effective working life of the Doberman
was shorter than that of the G.S.D.
It was found that the Doberman, being a very
loyal dog that likes to bond with an owner/
handler, they did not, if the need arose, take well
to being re-handled.
The combination of these various points meant
that the Doberman fell from favour with U.K.
Police Forces. The last one that I can remember
was with Staffordshire Police in the early 1980s.
There may well be others that have been used
successfully on an individual basis, perhaps as
a preference of an individual handler.
Regardless of their lack of use as Service
dogs, the Doberman remains, in my opinion,
an excellent working dog who can be an ideal
family companion but will always need physical
and mental stimulation to keep him at his best.
Bob Haynes
(Delta One Canines)
87