Police Department Needs HELP

That is a real bummer that rose didn't work out, I was hoping she was going to be the one for the job!!

I know you already have a couple tips to look at for dogs, but I found some that might have some possibility on petfinder.

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et=5472974&adTarget=&SessionID=441635da17e95c5b-app2&display=&review=1&row=0&tmpl=&stat=>http://www.petfinder.com/pet.cgi?action=2&et=5472974&adTarget=&SessionID=441635da17e95c5b-app2&display=&review=1&row=0&tmpl=&stat= et=5807798&adTarget=&SessionID=44162cef3def746e-app5&display=&review=1&row=75&tmpl=&stat=>http://www.petfinder.com/pet.cgi?action=2&et=5807798&adTarget=&SessionID=44162cef3def746e-app5&display=&review=1&row=75&tmpl=&stat= et=5860865&adTarget=&SessionID=44162cef3def746e-app5&display=&review=1&row=100&tmpl=&stat=>http://www.petfinder.com/pet.cgi?action=2&et=5860865&adTarget=&SessionID=44162cef3def746e-app5&display=&review=1&row=100&tmpl=&stat= et=5004033&adTarget=&SessionID=441632915080a108-app3&display=&review=1&row=0&tmpl=&stat=>http://www.petfinder.com/pet.cgi?action=2&et=5004033&adTarget=&SessionID=441632915080a108-app3&display=&review=1&row=0&tmpl=&stat=

Mic, I'm sorry to hear Rose wasn't "the one".  You have to do what's best for the p.d., though.  You're a good soul to take this task on.

Thanks for the support everyone.  It did not occur to me at the beginning of this task that finding the right dog was going to be such an undertaking.  I am sure the he will come along soon enough.
 
Barngirl, thanks for the leads!

I sent out emails to several of the leads.  Thanks again.  I should be hearing back from a bunch of places of the next few days.

I just got a call back from the New England GSD Rescue, and they won't consider working with us because we are outside the New Englad area.  How silly is that...

Mic--Two more---

[linkhttp://www.gillsgermanshepherds.com/main.htm]http://www.gillsgermanshepherds.com/main.htm[/link]

[linkhttp://www.dogshope.com/]http://www.dogshope.com/[/link]

The first one looks good, they breed them for work. But, the site also says that she may be able to help find the right dog for you.   The second is a GSD rescue, both are in Ohio. 

Willowchow, that first site has some good looking dogs!!!!! WOW!!!!

Mic, this GSD rescue always has a ton of dogs available, but I don't know if they would adopt a dog out to do police work.  It might be worth checking out.  They are located in Rochester, NY.
 
http://www.brightstargsd.org/

Hey Mic... Kind of off topic... but kind of on...

Is it true that when you are raising a pup (like from 10 weeks of age) that you should allow the puppy to bite you and draw blood and tug your pants leg and shake them like they are killing your pants... That sort of stuff without correction?
This is of course for protection work...

I've only ever dealt with bomb dogs and as puppies we always teach them big time manners! And to be tugger motivated! But they are not allowed to jump on us pounce on us or stuff like that without correction.

We encourage them to bite, but on puppy sleeves, bite builders or potato sacks.  I would never encourage a puppy to draw blood on me.  I wouldn't correct him if he did though.  We encourage them to be very "doggy".  I want a mouthy, rough and tumble dog.  We start them on a puppy tug at about 4-5 weeks of age.  Most good workers come out knowing how to do this.  Manners come much later.

That's really interesting. Mainly b/c I've always heard that the younger you start the better their manners are, and every working dog I've met has had impeccible manners (well, Binky was severely dog aggressive, but that happens with drivey dogs) and is very tolerant of manipulation and even affectionate displays (though none of them have shown much interest in me. They want to be with their handlers). At Petsmart, we bathed service dogs of any kind for free, and got quite a few assistance dogs, police dogs, and search and rescue dogs. They were always my favorite. Especially the gorgeous Mals the police use.

Thats really interesting to me...

I know someone here that trains dogs for protection work... He has a puppy right now that I would gladly strangle if left alone with it for any length of time... [sm=lol.gif]He actually encourages it to attack him and visitors to the house... Little turd took a big ole bite out of my ankle... Drew blood removed skin... And this person said that was good. It seems so screwed up to me but he's trained a few of them and they come out well. They are truely meant for work though no person in their right mind would have one as a pet.

It just caught me off guard because while we don't use clickers with the other dogs we certainly don't use shocks... (He does)  And they are trained from the first day in their foster home to mind the rules! And trained for things like looseleash walking and sit.

I just thought I'd double check with another person and see what the idea behind that sort of upbringing is.

Is your friend training for police or protection work?  They are very different. 
 
When a dog bites someone doing patrol work I want them to bite down with there back teeth, and hold tight.  Blood isn't necessarily drawn.  Drawing blood is a bad bite (some are because of the struggle), and I don't encourage my dogs to make bad bites.  For the pup to draw blood he has to get you with his front teeth or K9's and that is bad news.  Not sure why you friend would want to encourage that. 
 
Starting pups on there basic obedience to young can effect there drive.  I want to develop that drive before I do anything else with the dog.
 
The manners are easy to teach.  They can learn those pretty much when ever.  Especially using an e-collar.  It only takes about 30 days to teach sit, down, stay, come, heel, out, to 100% compliance off leash.
 
People training personal protection dogs often have sloppy practices.  The specific bite is less important, and I have heard of all sorts of crazy methods for teaching a dog to protect. 

They are personal protection dogs... That must explain all the differences not only between my dogs (TSA), but between your type of dogs also! 

I have a couple of questions...
 
What kind of personality are you looking for in the dog?
 
What are some questions I should ask a rescue or person if they have a Shepherd that could possibly be what you're looking for?
 
Is there a size requirement? I'm guessing a decent 55 pounds and up...?
 
Is there an age you need? 1 yr.. 2yr... At what age are they too old to start training for police work? Are you looking for a young pup?