POLICE DOCS.

Colonist, Volume LII, Issue 12806, 30 May 1910, Page 4

POLICE DOCS.

A very interesting congress has taken place lv Brussels in connection With tho competitions for dogs trained tor the defence of their master «xi- his, property, and for police dog-.. Thirty-seven different "clubs met together to consider the various items set down in a preliminary pvogrammo the delegates numbering over one hundred without counting the police torce M the many breeders and others interested in the. subject. Most of t-© clubs were Belgian, but ecvera .were French.- It was netted with regiet that, although England is now at lart becoming alto to the value of ! police dogs, no one was present to Gilat Britain on a matter that has already received full «w|W*2& £ Germany, France, ftnd Holland, as well as Belgium. „ , Th* programme under discussion^ a s divided iufd twd tf*™-^j££% nvivatelv trained for ihe deience oi fheir mLter and his P«s%g that for police dogs. In tho i° rnl « r section dogs of all kinds are used and fhe matter «f training is individual and cco^ing io th. owners' personal fdea Belgtum has au tonenytaole notoriety U the matter of crime (probably dxie to its lax punishments and _ solitary pedestrian in a lonely, unfreciuented -neighbourhood has otteu "poo!- chance fen in « s \~f thist Sy so m-ln-y men whose ocouiSed^^i^^unlfa^ c mp-titivo trials are now numerous S i with their good prizes and the high sums for which trained dogs are. &T- ---.Id <*reatly encourage tne °b ceding of suitable' dogs Mny men in Brussels keep a dog solely as ; a doence, for going to ancTfrom *oi^and Ze^lZ e ViT^Z-m\^m S police dogs, of whom is required a more subtfe into ligence must for their own safeS learn certain lessons in common For instance, they must refuse o accept food from' any one, although their master may not be present to restrain them. Another item settled mi tho programme was the height of the jumps required of the dogs Both deence and police dogs must be able to jump a fence hoarding at least "**}& with a maximum ordinarily of -It though some dogs can ]iimp nearly IU feet With a ditch of over 7ft to take first, the he*lge m-st be ,-t least dlt high, and the animals which jump at the word of command must come bacK over the obstacle the instant they are called. The dog's capability of guarding his master's property is always tested by means of an individual dressed like, an "apache," the point to be aimed at being that the dog will only attack him when he actually touches the property. ■