Area K-9 Units Experience Water Aggression Training at Liberty Pool

Law enforcement K-9s and their handlers tested the waters of Liberty Pool on September 2.

All survived, although one trainer ended up with minor bruises on her arm from one of the dogs biting down hard on the thick, padded bite suit that is worn during training exercises and demonstrations.

Sgt. Matt Long, Pettis County Sherriff’s Office, thanked Sedalia Parks & Rec for allowing the sheriff’s office to use the pool, which is now closed to the public for the season, although the pool was still filled as of the day of K-9 training.

“We were able to bring our dogs out here and introduce them to an environment that they’re not normally  used to,” he said, adding that officers and their K-9 may encounter creeks, ponds or water-filled ditches, or any type of water situation so they don’t hesitate when they are in pursuit of a suspect.

Sgt. Long noted that Whiteman Air Force Base brought their dogs to Sedalia as well. “They have a whole new selection of dogs and half of them they brought today have never seen water,” he said.

Henry County also participated in the day’s activities as well.

Breeds that day included German Shepherds, Belgian Malinois and Vizsla.

Sgt. Long gave props to Whiteman for bringing their expertise and combining it with Pettis County’s. “They’ve been fantastic. We just kind of figure things out as we go.” And on Sept. 2, “the main focus is to just get the dogs in the water, and get them used to that different environment,” he said. “It gives us an opportunity to see what the dogs are going to do before we get in that situation. You can’t expect a dog to do something you that haven’t trained him.”

Although the water training at the pool is once a year, Sgt. Long pointed out that area K-9 units try to get together for other types of training at least once a month. “We rotate where we go,” he added.

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Staff Sgt. Nicole Meyer is a military working dog handler from WAFB. She was one of the dog handlers taking part in the water aggression training exercise at the pool that day.

Sgt. Meyer, originally from Northfield, Minnesota, has served in the US Air Force for 13 years. Currently she said she will “arm up” and patrol the base when she is on duty.

“As handlers, we feed off each other, we train together, we bounce ideas off each other, and it does help, because we do have newer handlers here. So we as older handlers, get to teach them and show them how to introduce them to the water, especially since three of our dogs have never seen the water,” she noted.

One difference with K-9s at Whiteman is that handler are assigned a dog, and they do not come home with them, like they do here in Sedalia and Pettis County. They reside in a kennel facility at the base. “We take care of everybody’s dogs,” Meyer said.

K-9s at Whiteman are assigned to handlers for anywhere from a couple months to a year. For Staff Sgt. Meyer, she has worked with her dog for two years.

K-9 handlers will eventually PCS (Permanent Change of Station) to other places around the globe, while the dogs typically will remain on that particular base.