Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
I was fascinated, not horrified, to see so many teeth. It took guts, steady nerves, and perfect
timing on the part of all three players: the dog, the handler, the decoy. I stayed well out of
the way, high from adrenaline and from inhaling old tobacco dust rich with nicotine.
“Figured you'd have some nerves and that would rattle Solo a bit,” Nancy Hook said in
her later e-mail to me. “It sounds like you did pretty darn good, though, and did well enough
to let Mike know Solo is reliable. I know you can learn a lot from those guys.”
Mike was judicious in his critique. Break it down, he said in an e-mail. Worry about one
building block at a time. Don't try to control everything. Let Solo initiate the game.
Of course I tried to control everything. I was a border collie in my prior life. Now I had
two sources saying the same thing: Let go. I read and reread Mike's and Nancy's e-mails. In-
stead of having one mentor—Nancy—I had two. I had an entirely different set of dogs to
watch. I had a big handful of experienced police K9 handlers and some not-so-experienced
K9 handlers to observe. Even with the attendant anxiety, the ambivalence, and my obvious
outlier status, it was a deep pleasure to begin again. I could spend part of my time hanging
back, studying. I was a student once more, known in the working-dog world as a “green”
handler. It would be easy being green. Except when I had to work Solo in front of Mike. Or
the other handlers. With their arms folded across their chests. Watching.
While I was at a huge disadvantage, I realized Solo had an advantage here that he didn't
have at the local kennel club. Law enforcement handlers don't expect their dogs to get along.
Most of their dogs have an edge. Every dog was on lead coming and going; each dog worked
separately. The warehouse rang with another warning I would become accustomed to: “Dog
in!” or “Dog out!”
For me, that warning was a comfort. A standardization of practice that would benefit me
greatly. Working Solo, I wouldn't have to keep my eyes peeled for a shorthaired pointer to
come bounding over off lead. Soon enough, Solo realized the same thing: With cops and
Crown Vics around, he started to ignore sharp barks and growls and dog-permeated air. I
didn't have to apologize for his personality. To the police K9 handlers, Solo wasn't a sociopath.
He didn't even qualify as a jackass.
Most important of all, Mike's training philosophy fit Solo's king-of-everything attitude to
a T. “Remember,” Mike wrote in his e-mail, “we are just anchors holding on to their leash.”
• • •
I've interviewed hundreds of suspects that have been confronted with a police service dog and they
simply say the same thing over and over again: that is, “Hey, I was willing to fight the police, but I
didn't want to fight that dog.”
—Terry Fleck, canine legal expert, 2012
