While some students were enjoying spring break visits to the beaches of Florida and South Texas, members of the Eta Gamma Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa at Coffeyville Community College were pursuing their new Honors Study Topic, “Frontiers and the Spirit of Exploration.”  The chapter selected theme seven from the Honors Program Guide which deals with health and medicine as frontiers.  Specifically, the CCC students are researching how new training techniques are allowing animals to enhance human life.

Members spent March 15 at the elementary school in Hillsdale, Kansas, both observing and working with the search and rescue dogs of Heather Duncan.  Assisting with the workshop were Heather’s daughter, Casey Wiswell, and fellow trainer Bob Ober.  The German Shepherds used for the various demonstrations and student interaction were Iko, Uno, Jenney, Jasmine, Rikka and Leon.  Heather explained that German Shepherds are excellent for service dogs because they have good temperaments, especially around children, are smart, loyal, and they have an undercoat that allows them to go into cold water.  They are also compact in structure which makes them good for a working dog.

In working with the dogs, the students were reminded that movement can mean prey so in avoiding aggression, cross your hands, turn your back and avoid making eye contact.  Dogs will respond to a fight or flight response in compromised situations and non-verbal communication is most important.  When their tail is in the air, their hair is standing up (hackles), teeth are showing and the ears are pinned back the dog is in attack position.  When their tail is between their legs, they are scared.  Dogs often do a chest check to determine dominance.  Heather reminded the group that a German Shepherd’s bite can be stronger than that of a pit bull as they will bite and let go, bite and let go.

Females are the leaders of a dog pack with one alpha female.  Males will hunt, eat and then regurgitate the food so the alpha female can eat.  Injury in the wild is a death sentence to a dog.

It is very important to match a service dog with a specific purpose.  If a dog is afraid of loud noises, he might be excellent for search and rescue.  Dogs that like a sniff and track may not be as good for fetching.

Heather emphasized to the group that it may take as long as two to three years to train a dog which works best if one dog is trained at a time receiving 100% of the attention.  A trainer might do something fun with one dog while doing obedience training with another; the dogs will be at different stages of development.  Once a dog is trained, then the handler can start with another one.  Heather shared that a dog selected and trained to provide protection can cost between $20,000 and $30,000 per year.  Many of the dogs do become pets and can cost as much as $2,600.  The dogs sold by Heather’s company, Vonhuglen Dale, are trained in search and rescue and are purchased by FIMA, the Military and even some individuals that are wanting personal protection from their family. Heather also commented that some of the smartest dogs are difficult to train because they think on their own and won’t listen to instruction.

In working with the dogs, the Eta Gamma members learned how to lay a track by alternating left and right feet and putting a treat in the heel portion of the track.  Dogs trained in this manner have been used to track Alzheimer patients that have wandered away from home.  If trained correctly, the dog’s nose should go into each track.  In addition to tracking, the dogs also participated in activities known as “watching the perpetrator,” “searching the blind,” and “clamping down on the sleeve.”  The Phi Theta Kappa members learned that water will actually hold scents better than concrete, some dogs are multi-lingual in their understanding of commands and that dogs can’t smell and eat at the same time.  Heather shared you do not have to be certified in Kansas to train dogs but that she is FIMA handler certified.  Heather’s dogs are trained for search and rescue, cadaver, police, protection, and therapy.  She and two of her dogs were volunteers for 911.  Because the dogs had difficulty dealing with the rubble, dogs are now trained in a simulated environment at Crisis City in Salina, Kansas.

The students will continue the exploration of their honors topic as they visit additional Kansas training sites.