Can you get reject police dogs as pets?

[Deleted]

Do you want my dog :-)

[juris11]

www.sunderlandecho.com/news/crime/nervous-reject-police-dogs-need-a-new-home-1-4450138

I guess so, per Google. But I'm not sure how you find them in your area, or how often dogs get rejected.

But wouldn't it be easier to just like buy a German Shepherd?

[starlily]

I've never heard of this. There seem to be a lot of purebred GSDs at the shelters out here though.

[chessie]

May 23, 2012 10:01:59 GMT -5 swizzlestx said:

May 23, 2012 9:59:21 GMT -5 @septimus said:

Do you want my dog :-)

He's insisting that our next dog be FULLY trained before it gets to us.

Apparently, our constantly barking, shitting in the house, hates people/other dogs/kids, current dog isn't good enough for him!

Either way you have to pay for these dogs. They are not very cheap. The police dogs are very disciplined and need a strict routine. Find a reputable breeder and see if they have an older puppy or dog that is trained, many times they do.

[honeybee]

The pure bred shepherds that don't cut training at EXPENSIVE animals, most often bought overseas and are returned to the breeder if they fail training. At least according to my fiance the cop.

You can always adopt a dog elsewhere and send it to a trainer or take classes. However, your H should also know that if a fully trained dog starts to live with an untrained one both bad and good habits will rub off from the older dog.

[womet]

May 23, 2012 10:01:59 GMT -5 swizzlestx said:

May 23, 2012 9:59:21 GMT -5 @septimus said:

Do you want my dog :-)

He's insisting that our next dog be FULLY trained before it gets to us.

Apparently, our constantly barking, shitting in the house, hates people/other dogs/kids, current dog isn't good enough for him!

My dog was trained before we got him and we've been dealing with all of the issues you describe above. :N:

[starlily]

Yeah, the local police dogs are trained and purchased overseas, so even if one didn't work out, I don't see them being given away without a high premium.

[honeybee]

And not for nothing has your husband ever met a police dog? They are ridiculous high energy, high play drive dogs. We briefly watched an officer's canine while he was on vacation. I love dogs. This dog never shut the heck up the whole time we had him. He also never stopped moving unless asleep.

[honeybee]

May 23, 2012 10:09:26 GMT -5 swizzlestx said:

May 23, 2012 10:07:53 GMT -5 honeybee said:

And not for nothing has your husband ever met a police dog? They are ridiculous high energy, high play drive dogs. We briefly watched an officer's canine while he was on vacation. I love dogs. This dog never shut the heck up the whole time we had him. He also never stopped moving unless asleep.

Nope. I have b/c I used to work at a concert venue that they'd use for training.

FWIW, there's like a 2% chance this would ever happen.

I think he just wants a German Shepherd, which is far more doable than a police dog!

Ah, well that I totally support. I love my shep mix

[dirtyred]

A friend's son trains police dogs for a living.

First, this dog would be VERY expensive, even if it was a "reject." We're talking around $5000 or more.

Second, dogs that have been chosen for police work are very alpha and require STRONG discipline and a lot of work every day to let them know who the boss is. Without it, you're going to run into all those regular dog problems, plus it will be harder to correct because you've let the dog think he's the boss.

Unless your DH is very experienced and is willing to put in the time and money, not a good idea.

[froggy76]

I'm not sure about police dogs, but my H had a seeing eye dog reject growing up (a german shepherd). However, DH and his parents trained him for the seeing eye program and would have had to give him up if he passed. I think they were happy he failed

[LoveTrains]

The thing with all dogs is that they need constant reinforcement. A dog can be "trained" before you get him, but if you don't keep up stuff like NILIF then all that training will go out the window as you continually reinforce their bad habits.

My dog has been a total asshole this week, and I know its because I have been lazy and not walking him and he is bored. And he has been barking and crying for food because I have rewarded him with more food when he does this. So I am sucking it up and going tough on him now.

[Deleted]

You can get a trained German Shepherd without getting a "police" trained German Shepherd through a reputable breeder who offers that kind of program.

Anyways, when I was a kid a dog showed up on our porch in the middle of a blizzard. My mom put ads out until, months later, someone finally claimed him. He was a German Shepherd that had been retired from the force. I guess the guy felt bad about taking him away from little kids and he decided to let us keep him with visiting rights. He was the best dog ever, but I liked him mostly because I was five and everytime someone raised their voice at me he would get in front of me and bark and growl at them. Poor Max, I miss him!

[Deleted]

My greyhound came fully trained from rescue and rarely barks. They're the perfect big dog for an apartment, lazy, pretty minimal exercise, rarely barks, and you still get to dress them in ridiculous clothes.

[Deleted]

I think some police dogs (and sometimes military dogs) are available for adoption. However, 99% of the time they are adopted by trainers or members of the police/military.

My dad looked into this a little bit, but the wait time (sometimes several years) wasn't worth it. The public is pretty much last in line to adopt.

[Deleted]

May 23, 2012 10:28:20 GMT -5 swizzlestx said:

May 23, 2012 10:26:53 GMT -5 @ameliapond said:

My greyhound came fully trained from rescue and rarely barks. They're the perfect big dog for an apartment, lazy, pretty minimal exercise, rarely barks, and you still get to dress them in ridiculous clothes.

I've always wanted a retired greyhound racer. Sadly, DH isn't a fan. I think they're (especially Pel!) adorable.

Bummer, the exercise requirement for working breeds was too much for us. Most need some sort of off leash running daily to be happy. Greys are great because they love to sleep, a 30min walk twice a day poops Pel out. He was exhausted on Monday because of our picnic outing on Sunday for 4 hours!

[minniebee]

May 23, 2012 10:13:18 GMT -5 dirtyred said:

First, this dog would be VERY expensive, even if it was a "reject." We're talking around $5000 or more.

This. Most police dogs come from eastern Europe, I know the police dogs in my city come from the Czech Republic. They are not cheap - sometimes $10K or more per dog (we're involved in the K-9 Unit Foundation, which raises money for the police to purchase, train and care for the police dogs). Demand has gone up a ton since 9-11 and prices for well-bred dogs capable of police/military work have skyrocketed due to increased demand. Even if there is a "reject", it wouldn't be a cheap dog, and the chance that a dog would be adopted to a member of the public wouldn't be very great.

There are lots of options for training, though. Putting any dog through a training program would cost less than getting a police dog. And if you really want a GSD, there have to be good breeders of those around if you do some research. I would suggest starting with the German Shepherd Dog Club of America at www.gsdca.org, they could help you find a local club that could refer you to reputable breeders in your area. Or, find one to adopt. I live in MN, and there are always tons of GSDs in rescues and shelters here. Check petfinder.com

[phunluvin82]

May 23, 2012 10:10:00 GMT -5 gravytrain225 said:

I know nothing about it, but my uncle trains seeing eye dogs. The ones that don't make it, he has kept. They are very well trained.

My H had a trained seeing eye dog growing up. He didn't make the cut due to mild hip dysplasia and he was supposedly the most well trained dog ever. The whole family STILL talks about what a great dog he was.

His aunt worked with the training program though, and got DH's fam to the top of what was supposedly a 2 year waiting list for the rejected dogs. He was a black lab.

[heygrey]

it's so expensive now :-( i looked into it recently because my parents adopted a retired german shepherd police dog in '85? just before i was born. she was shot in the line of duty and the bullet grazed her skull, leaving her deaf in one ear. she was free to my parents since they were friends with her policeman, he was getting a new police dog and couldn't keep her. he visited her a lot though, it wasn't like he abandoned her, and he picked my parents because they had acreage for her to play, no other dogs, and at the time no kids. i just assumed it was the same now, her police (wo)man can keep or rehome, but no... it's a huge process and really expensive.

[CloudBee]

Yes, a friend has one. Email me if you want more info.

[dexteroni]

May 23, 2012 10:16:23 GMT -5 LoveTrains said:

The thing with all dogs is that they need constant reinforcement. A dog can be "trained" before you get him, but if you don't keep up stuff like NILIF then all that training will go out the window as you continually reinforce their bad habits.

This, 100%. The dog's owners are a huge part of their training. You have to be willing to do the work, and it doesn't sound like your DH is.

If you do get a second dog, it would be a good idea for all four of you to go to training class together. Going to training class is as much for the owner to learn to teach the dog as it is for the dog to learn.

[dexteroni]

May 23, 2012 11:26:04 GMT -5 swizzlestx said:

Really? Nowhere did I say he was unwilling to continue with training. Nor do you know if we take our current dog to training, have in the past, or plan to in the future.

No, but you said he wants a dog to come pre-trained, so it's certainly reasonable to presume that he doesn't want to do the training himself. And you said that your dog is behaving poorly and that it's at least partly due to a lack of discipline or enforcing or whatever, I forget the exact word you used. So it sounds like someone needs a refresher, whether it's her or you guys or both.

Anyway, you don't need to get defensive; I'm only going based on you've written here. And reading back through the replies, I see I'm not the only one who made a similar inference. Sorry if it struck a nerve.

[mrssandro]

See picture to left. His mama was a rejected from the police academy for being too nice. He is exactly like his mama. She was KU with 13 puppies when she was adopted. Smart dog but too gentle to be a police dog.

[mrssandro]

May 23, 2012 10:01:59 GMT -5 swizzlestx said:

May 23, 2012 9:59:21 GMT -5 @septimus said:

Do you want my dog :-)

He's insisting that our next dog be FULLY trained before it gets to us.

Apparently, our constantly barking, shitting in the house, hates people/other dogs/kids, current dog isn't good enough for him!

Most dog don't shit in the house. They do mark their territory though. Drives me nuts. Dogs don't really come pre trained. Also, unless you have a mute dog they bark. It takes lots of dedication and training to get them to stop barking. Unless you go to a shelter and find a good fit and get a older dog. So this thought process that a dog that is a police dog drop out is going to be fully trained isn't really correct.

[luvmagoldn]

You can also get dogs who flunked out of seeing eye school. Guiding Eyes for the Blind has regional groups/websites you can check out.

[Wines Not Whines]

May 23, 2012 10:13:34 GMT -5 froggy76 said:

I'm not sure about police dogs, but my H had a seeing eye dog reject growing up (a german shepherd). However, DH and his parents trained him for the seeing eye program and would have had to give him up if he passed. I think they were happy he failed

DH's cousin has a failed seeing-eye dog, too. There's a program where people raise the dogs as puppies and keep them in their home while the dogs go through training. I believe the seeing-eye program pays for all of the dog's expenses during this time. Then if they fail the tests, the family gets first dibs on keeping the dog.

[steph96]

Our dog was about 6 months old when we adopted her. I guess her foster parents trained her while she was living with them. Other than her aggression, she is great. She doesn't bark unless something is really wrong, knows basic commands, has never peed/pooped inside, is crate trained, and is just plain awesome. You might look into adopting an older dog from foster parents.

[dexteroni]

May 23, 2012 13:07:35 GMT -5 @fivedogs said:

So if your husband wants a low-investment dog, get a lazy one.

This is excellent advice! I recommend an adult basset hound. Dexter is the most chill, well behaved dog I've ever met, and even though he's a beagle/basset mix, his personality is 100% basset. And he was house trained when we got him, and knew the basic commands. I realize we got lucky, but there are tons of trained, well-behaved dogs in shelters.

[WOT?*]

www.dutchshepherdrescue.org/adoption.html

answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20080401005745AAUX6E5

[Deleted]

I hadn't heard this but I have heard that you can get rejected guide dogs so I suppose its possible. Though I imagine the wait for a already near perfectly trained dog is a long one.