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steps to turning a puppy into a badass military working dog
1. Breeding Procurement
The Department of Defense acquires puppies from breeders overseas as well
as in the United States, but many now come from DoD’s own military working
dog breeding program at Lackland Air Force base in San Antonio, Texas.
Established in 1998, the DoD’s state of the art whelping facility has
dedicated “puppy development specialists” who take care of them
until they are about 8-10 weeks old.
2. Fostering Program
If you live within two hours of Lackland and meet certain requirements you
could qualify to foster a future K9 hero. The foster program allows
the dogs to have a normal puppyhood by being exposed to different environments
and become socially sound. Volunteer foster families take great pride in
raising the puppies, like the one pictured above. See if you qualify to foster
a puppy by clicking here
3. Selection Evaluation
The dog will return to Lackland when he or she is around 7 months old and
go through puppy training. In the same way civilians must be screened by
military recruiters to see if they are a fit for the armed services, the
puppies are evaluated to see if they display the attributes needed of military
working dogs. If they don't get selected to move on they may still qualify
to be used at another agency or they will be adopted out.
4. Dog Training School
The few dogs selected go to Dog Training School, the military working dog
boot camp. The dog trainers at DTS are experienced handlers from all military
branches, and for many it’s a dream job to get assigned there. The entire
mission of DTS is to train and certify dogs in the fundamentals of being
an MWD. Each dog is different but typically they will be at DTS anywhere
from 4 - 7 months. The head trainers will then assess the dog's ability in
detection and patrol work. Even here dogs can fail and wash out of the program.
Some wash outs become training dogs for brand new handlers going through
basic handlers course. The dogs who pass earn the coveted title of military
working dog — but they are still not mission-ready.
5. Base assignment
Each newly-minted MWD will get orders to a kennels at a U.S. military base
around the world. Normally, a MWD will work his or her entire career at one
base.
6. Handler assigned
Every kennel in the military has a kennel master in charge of all operations
of the unit. Once a new MWD arrives the kennel master will assign a handler.
Now the MWD has finally been partnered with their first MWD handler, and
the real training begins.
7. Obedience Training
Simply because a handler and MWD are assigned to each other does not mean
they can function as a team yet by any means. The dog needs to learn to trust
and respect the handler, and that starts with obedience training — the
foundation of all good MWD teams. Handlers give basic obedience commands
followed by lots of praise, and the team starts to create trust, mutual respect,
and an overall bond.
8. Patrol Training
MWD’s have an innate drive to pursue (and bite) bad guys. Once a dog
team has established a foundation of trust, allowing the MWD to do patrol
training helps strengthen that trust while also creating in the MWD a sense
of protection over the handler, and it keeps the MWD’s morale high.
9. Detection Training
While a few MWD's won't be certified in patrol, every MWD must be certified
in detection as it is the primary mission of an MWD team. A dog's nose can
detect up to 10,000 – 100,000 times better than a human’s, they
just need guidance on how to properly maximize their gifted olfactory skills.
While each MWD is trained to detect either explosives or narcotics by the
time they graduate DTS, handlers must train with them to learn each dog’s
specific behavior when they pick up a scent.
10. Train, Train, Train
Every single day dog teams must train. Whether it's patrol work, detection,
or simple obedience they must develop an unbreakable bond in which they fully
trust one another with their lives. In order for a dog team to work
efficiently they must both be good, not one or the other. In the same way
an infantryman must know his weapon inside and out and maintain it every
single day, a handler must train, groom, and know everything about his or
her MWD. Once the kennel master feels confident the team can work effectively
together, an official MWD team certification is scheduled.
11. Dog team
certification
To be certified as an official MWD team and granted authority to operate
as one, the kennel master puts together a real-life detection training scenario
that involves all of the odors the MWD is trained to detect. The commanding
officer of the unit must be present and personally witness the MWD team
successfully locate every odor. Once complete, they become an official military
working dog team. And any handler will tell you that handling a military
working dog is not only a tremendous responsibility but also a lifetime
honor.
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