Antwerp has just under 500,000 inhabitants and is best known because of its world seaport and diamond city.

Transcription

1 ! 1 Interview with Nino Interview by Axel Van der Borght Pictures : Nino Introduction: Antwerp has just under 500,000 inhabitants and is best known because of its world seaport and diamond city. Because of its geological location Antwerp is often called the port to enter Europe. Antwerp has for example one of the largest red light districts of Belgium, maybe even of Europe and is near the border with the Netherlands. According to studies of the university of Antwerp and Liège, tapwater in Antwerp contains the greatest concentration of cocaine in Europe! More than in the capital, Brussels, that is much bigger! The Antwerp police can count on about 2600 troops. Their k9-unit is much too small compared with the crime and the number of inhabitants : only four members with patroldogs and no snifferdogs. That opinion also shares one of their handlers, Nadir Firdous, aka Nino (33 years). As a young and highly motivated police officer, he wants to reverse the tide corps. And he is well on his way.

2 ! 2 We know Nino as a fine fellow colleague, but know each other better as amateurs of dogsport and share the same passion : the malinois. Nino is a talented handler who hopes that next season his patience and training work to cash in successful performance in the Belgian ring sport (NVBK). Why did you join the police? In 1999 I came to the then called the city police in Antwerp, now called the Local Police of Antwerp. ( note Axel : since 2000 the police in Belgium is reconstructed ) I chose a career with the police for the same reason so many young guys do: variety, excitement, adventure,... Little did I know then (laughs). Initially, I had no ambition at all to be dog handler. That's strange? Yes, I know. It is so that we never had a dog at home. A dog was not allowed in our house. Our family had a holy fear of dogs. Also with me that idea was hammered in. And yet I have always had a soft spot for dogs. We had a relative who bred Groenendaelers ( long black haired variety of the Belgian sheperd). He even worked as a policeman with own bred Groenendaelers. I always looked forward to going to visit them despite I had some fear of the dogs because we were always pointed out not too much to move and always be careful. We also had another uncle who was a policeman and other family member was an officer in the former Gendarmerie.( now Federal Police ) Maybe this unconsciously already given a push in the direction of the police to me. When did you finally get your first dog? After finishing school I moved from home to start living on my own. I could not wait to get my first dog. I was only 19 years and I had a rental house looking for a dog to keep. I chose a Golden Retriever. Based on DVD s, I trained him myself. The first choice to take a Golden Retriever is not an accident. I loved this breed just like German shepherds. But because of the fear I was given by my family, especially for large dogs, I did not dare to choose a GSD. Thanks to that Golden Retriever I started to have a great faith in dogs. The training and education of that dog went amazingly well. I did it all by myself. Then I met a girl who appeared to have a panic anxiety for dogs. Out of the love for that girl I rehoused my Golden retriever to a friend. But i have always regretted this decision. But on the other hand, this decision was a first step towards the k9-unit. Please explain? I did not manage to live without a dog. I felt an emptiness. But my girlfriend suggested a veto, "or a dog, or me!.

3 ! 3... And I chose a dog. But I decided to unexpectedly arrive at home with a puppy. An old trick, haha. That was the right decision because my girlfriend was immediately sold for that puppy. Did you train this puppy this time in a dogschool or club? Yes. I joined a ringclub of Saint Hubertus, called De Valk, ( The Falcon ) in my neighborhood. But with this dog, I actually did most of the training by myself. I did this based on DVDs, I bought from Leerburg in the United States. Thanks to these DVD s I soon realized I had a different view about training dogs compared to the classic way. I realize that it must seem strange for American collegues that I started with DVD s from the US because Belgium is the heart of dogsport, the Malinois and policedogs. Although Belgium has a long tradition in dogsport it is hard to find coaching in a club. I stayed a year and a half in that ringclub. By Johan Limbourg, the breeder of my first Malinois, and active in the Mondioring competition I became interested in Mondioring. I moved to a mondioclub called HC Wetteren. Are you also a decoy? After obtaining my license as decoy for Mondioring I ran a few trials. That ended when I switched to NVBK.( note Axel : NVBK is the biggest, most spectacular and hardest Belgian ringsport competition in Belgium, it is a dissident organization of the FCI. Many patrol doghandlers in Belgium trained their dogs in this program as a basis ) Do you compete? With my oldest dog patroldog I started in the Belgian Ring, Saint-Hubert, this is FCI. So then I moved to the Mondioring and I only have trialed three times in level. This dog is still my operational patroldog. With my youngest dog, Cody Casa De Sol, I train at the club of Hoboken where my good friend Bart Bellon helps train regularly as decoy or as a coach. The intention for Cody is to compete in the NVBK (Belgian ring) later this year. (note Axel : Bart Bellon is a worldfamous dogtrainer who was very successfull in Belgian ring and travels all around the world to host seminars for police and dogsport ) When you got the chance to join the k9-unit? There was a vacancy in the k9-unit of our policeforce. I applied for that place and could start on 1 January My dog, Enzo Of Joli Trocheaus was 18 months old. Meanwhile he is already 6 years. Already after a month I decided to go for the exemption test.

4 ! 4 What does that exemption test mean? Despite my inexperience, I realized I was already pretty far in training with my dog. So I decided to participate in a test that allows exemption to Part 1 of the training 'patrol dog handler' and skip directly to Part 2. How is that test organized? This test is conducted on a day by certified instructors from both local and federal police. The test includes a common obedience exercise with other dogs (heeling with leash), an individual obedience exercise (unleashed heeling in the presence of a helper), courage tests (biting exercises on an open staircase and height), the master defense, the interrupted attack ( stopped attack ) and independently shooting. This last exercise is done in a building, has three shots and is as an exclusion test. What is part 1 of the patrol dog training? This training is about 300 hours. This part includes basic obedience, bite work, familiarization with other dogs, searching etc. And part 2? This part lasts for hours. In this part is finding a suspect trained, both free and leashed. Also the alert is trained. This is not really a search exercise. It means than when a dog is on patrol he must alert when someone is hidden. Also tactical progressing in a building where people can hide who are possibly armed. This is performed with a drawn weapon. ( weapon in hand ) When we know there is a high risk of a suspect armed with a firearm this means that we try to freeze the situation because such situation is the area of special units.( Note Axel : the POSA or the SIE, both elite special units of the federal police in Belgium. ) And Part 2 also consists of tremendous courage tests. Because of this, the dogs often can do totally unlimited whatever they want in the protection work. They discover quickly to take advantage of the situation or the training to test the training. Each dog is trying to improve his situation indeed. I therefore wish to note that my dog was trained better when I started the program than at the end of the course. During the training there was rarely constructive work, and especially in the biting exercises, and I regret that deeply. Off course, I agree that a patrol dog must be tested and trained for extreme situation but it is of big importance to keep a level of control. Just like we are trained in shooting a firearm. You are rated regularly? Yes. Since two years there is a Ministerial decision which in effect provides that each dog handler is to offer two times a year at an accredited trainer/instructor for evaluation. In practice this means that our province splits 38 hours into two sessions.

5 ! 5 For each session there is a training of two days on location. And on the third day of the test or evaluation held. Do you think that a patrol dog need to know the stopped attack? I think it is important though. Imagine that a patrol dog,because of unforeseen circumstances escapes during action, you can recall him. How are you training at the police force? Every week there are provided four hours to train. (But) we are actually only training obedience during the service. Each of us does this individual. All the handler train the bitework at a club My colleagues train together at their own club and I am a member of a Belgian ringclub of the NVBK. And there are the monthly training organized by the police academy in our province. What means a good patrol dog handler to you? It must be someone who is very committed. Personally, I think even passionate to have this job. We have a professional product, and as a police officer we should be very proud to do this beautiful job at its best. I do think that a dog handler must not be a dog trainer, in principle, that can and cannot be expected. Not every cop has the talent or skills for a dog to train for professional purposes. that does not mean that this person cannot be a good patroldog handler. In that case, especially the decisive support of the team and the ability of the handler to read his dog is important. The handler must have a strong bond with his dog and what I miss most of the time with dog handlers, he needs to have confidence in his dog. Recently in Antwerp, as patroldog handlers work solo, without a colleage. Than it is imperative to have trust in the dog. Why one-man patrols? Well. That's been a proposal of my own. By working in solo patrols with only the dog the capacity of our unit is doubled. With only four dogs for such a big city we are far too few. I have to cope with this problem based on a concept from the Netherlands. As k9-unit we only support the teams in the field at the moment. I consider this job can perfectly delivered by a man with his patrol dog. Isn t that lonely on the road? (note Axel : in Belgium policemen normally work in a team of two, sometimes with three in hard neighborhoods or alone when it is not urgent and in a no dangerous area ) Yes. That's true. But obviously that feeling is very subjective. I myself will not notice because I am very focused. I think it is advantage as well. By working as a solo patrol, you are always more concentrated and can be faster at the appropriate time providing assistance to colleagues.

6 ! 6 I, for example, concentrate on radio communications between dispatching and the colleagues so I can response to it. This means I am already on my way to give colleagues back up before I am dispatched to do so. What is your definition of a patrol dog? A patrol dog should have a good base on which he can fall back on. And he needs to be tested in that basis prior. His courage, strength, stability, and his physical agility. I also like/prefer a certain sharpness but he must still be able to think. He definitely may not be over sharp. I know this is not obvious and therefore I think that one must select from bloodlines in the toughest programs that have proven themselves. For me, that is so in ring sport and KNPV. That said, I'll add that these dogs have their price and police forces usually dont have enough means. Thus, the police usually gets last choice and this means that the quality is generally less available than in principle needed. For me personally, I define a good patrol dog as a ring dog Plus. Specifically I mean: the dog must be able to handle more than the exercises in the ringsport but he needs to have strong basic requirements of that program. Now it is often the case that many dogs are patrol dogs which failed in ringsport. (But then I think that a dog that is not able to do certain exercises on the field, in the ring, can certainly not do it on the streets. ) Of course I know that some of those failed ring-dogs still can be very good for police work. Because some dogs from ringsport are sold, for example because they have too much drives and difficulty outing the bite. But such dogs,to be honest, the police usually can not handle. Those dogs are too much. You work closely with the Belgian worldfamous trainer Bart Bellon. Oddly enough, I know Bart through an American policeman, Kevin Sheldahl. He had let me know via that one of the best dogtrainers in protectionwork lives in Antwer. Bart is an expert in electronic dressage. I met Bart several times and followed a seminar. I was very impressed and asked Bart if he wanted to train me privately. Bart agreed. Meanwhile, I train about two years with Bart. He is for me an exceptionally gifted trainer who himself at the top of the ring sport has been, and also a gift for his philosophy across to others. I often call him the Phil Jackson from dogtraining. Bart can read a dog like no other, has a perfect timing and always thinks one step ahead. Bart is also a specialist in operant conditioning. Because I seat in the PC5 ( Belgian police cell that has national expertise on everything related to police dogs), I organized two free seminars with Bart Bellon to all instructors, both Dutch and French speakers. The reactions of my collegues were very positive. Bart gives seminars around the world to not only sports but also dog squads of police. How do you see the future of the k9unit in Antwerp? In the past Antwerp police had 15 to 20 dogs and there were a minimum of drug dogs. Their once was even a SAR-dog. We have a private kennel with up to 8 dogs.

7 ! 7 We are currently in transition and count only four handlers with patrol dogs. We have a new supervisor and he is definitely planning to built up the k9-unit in a professional manner. I am convinced the tide is currently turning. It is actually impossible to imagine a policeforce without k9-support in a big city as Antwerp. There will be plenty of work in the future! That is for sure,believe me. How do you see your own future with the police? Ambition? I'm lucky to be able to work with a professional. That is not possible for everyone within the police. The dog handlers are sometimes abandoned and must sometimes be helped in lesser amateur clubs. They dont have time for training a police dog. With the knowledge I currently get, I would like to help other colleagues with the training of their dog. I have a clear vision of modern dog training. This should be humane and effective. Very recently I took part in a n exam to become instructor and I was successful. There now waits for me a training in the near future. I know that trainers need to give an example with their dog. You cannot be credible if you don t prove anything with a dog ( note Axel : in the meantime Nino already succeeded in the first trainingpart and exam for instructor and ended on the first place ) Can you give some practical examples where your dog or the k9 unit really meant a difference? Many K9-handlers will recognize this example. Recently colleagues were in trouble with a person physically uncontrollable. A big man, I think around 120 kilograms. The man rebelled and tried, at one point, to grab the firearm of a colleague. I ordered my dog to attack because of the real threat. Within seconds the man was lying on the ground and surrendered immediately. I think this is a good example how a situation can get under control in very short notice. Fortunately, a biting action is not usually required, most of the time the bad guys already react different when I arrive and the dog barks. How does it works in your force when your assistance is requested? For example, a burglar alarm? Go you alone with your dog to work? We usually respond on its own initiative if the operator does not immediately send assistance. We do many searches for suspects in buildings, parks, etc. This saves a lot of manpower, a dog's nose during a service search is an immense advantage. For violent crimes, we act in the second line, with searches we take the lead. What misunderstandings do you think exist about the k9-unit? Some colleagues find that we have a beautiful job. And that is true but people do not see the efforts we make in our spare time, train, walking the dog, clean kennels, go to the vet, etc Every day I still spend a few hours with my dogs, after work. I haven t gone on a vacation since I have a patrol dog, it's not the type of dog your neighbor can go for a walk with and give him food. My dogs are in fact quite sharply with strangers. What would your ideal K9 unit should look and be organized? There must be sufficient capacity to provide continuity of service. Also important are various specializations.

8 ! 8 I know in the Netherlands the large K9-units train with an external trainer. This is important because for police work with a dog it is good to have a strong foundation. The experts from the sports still have a large baggage of experience for that matter. They usually trained dozens of dogs or helped training dogs and that makes those people more experienced. Policemen have, in a normal career, only two or maximum three dogs in their possession. This is not enough to adequately solve certain problems. And let's be honest, a trained top dog is not likely to get sold to the police in Belgium, and certainly not with the budget that the police spends in Belgium. You also have the responsibility and role model as police to the animals to train them in a humane way. Currently, I have the impression training dogs is still very "old school". What do you think about "dual purpose dogs? I myself am not pro. Some dogs will have the qualities to perform on both disciplines, but I fear it is really a stopgap because single purpose are expensive in training. Two for the price of one is more interesting for most police units. There are rarely budgets released to build a professional k9-unit. Dual-purpose dogs provides an alternative. But I repeat, one discipline is already difficult. Especially those of patrol dog. Which is sometimes underestimated, is my impression Collegues and amateurs of dogsport that are interested in Nino can have a look at his own Youtube Channel : ninowcw