One dog story download5/15/2023 “You let them be a dog, just let them run around. “When you get your new dog, you give them no commands, no nothing,” said D’ornellas. ![]() Through his last seven years in the Army, he has served with four dogs. “So you have to learn from the other handlers and basically become your own handler.”īy understanding what works best for him as a handler, D’ornellas was able to better understand how he wanted to train each dog he worked with. “From the schoolhouse you only learn the basics,” said D’ornellas. This training serves to enhance the initial training that military working dog handlers receive at their Advanced Individual Training (AIT). We search roadways, warehouses, vehicles and open areas. “So on the training lanes, we hide explosives exactly how someone would if they were trying to cause damage. On their days off, the two of them are constantly training. With each passing day of the deployment together, Ddunn has the opportunity to feel more secure in his relationship with his handler, and in his own skills as a highly proficient explosives detector. “I am a dog person, and understand, especially his case, he didn't have the best of handlers.” “My favorite thing about this job is definitely the dogs,” said D’ornellas. After thinking about military police or firefighter, D’ornellas chose Army military working dog handler (MOS 31K) because it meant he would be able to work with dogs and give them the love and care they deserve. ![]() native, joined the military in 2016, he had a few options for his job, or military occupational speciality (MOS). But it was definitely worth it and now he's the best dog I’ve ever had.” Did we get into a little rough spot a couple times? Yes. I was there all day waiting for him to just be normal. “And I just sat there and waited till he stopped, which took another couple hours. “So I opened up his kennel and he showed his teeth,” explained D’ornellas. He was told ‘You can take this dog if he lets you in his kennel.’ Nobody wanted to get inside his kennel.”Īfter hearing about Ddunn and his personality challenges, D’ornellas drove to the kennel that was two hours away. “I met Ddunn when he was at a different kennel,” said D’ornellas. According to Whole Dog Journal, “the primary tool for compulsion trainers is positive punishment (the dog’s behavior makes something bad happen, like a jerk on the leash), often followed by a treat, a pat, and or verbal praise to keep up the dog’s enthusiasm for the training process.” For some dogs this works, but not for Ddunn. ![]() Compulsion training didn’t work for him and it had made him afraid and hostile. With his past handlers, love wasn’t the focus in his training. And they've given me a ‘good job’ for making him nicer.” This deployment, people (who guard the gate) remember him. “He wasn’t very friendly with people, very aggressive. ![]() “Ddunn was a different type of dog on his last deployment to Kosovo,” said D’ornellas. But something is different from last time. Like on his last, his job on this tour is to search for explosives on the vehicles that come through the gate. This is 6-year-old Ddunn’s second deployment to Camp Bondsteel. In that time, life changed greatly for Ddunn. Richard D’ornellas, 100th Military Police Canine Detachment out of Stuttgart, Germany, work hard to ensure the safety of everyone inside the entry-point gate at Camp Bondsteel, Kosovo.ĭ’ornellas and Ddunn have been working together for nine months. You see this loyalty, the devotion unlike any other.” – Robert Crais, #1 New York Times–bestselling authorĭdunn, a patrol and explosive detector Dutch Shepherd, was born in Texas at Lackland Air Force Base where he was raised to serve and protect.ĭdunn and his handler, U.S. CAMP BONDSTEEL, Kosovo - “The relationship between a military working dog and a military dog handler is about as close as a man and a dog can become.
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