News: Mick and Marty - Part 4, week 7
Release Date: Tuesday, November 23 2010, 11:02 AM
National AFP Canine recruits began their first evening shift this week as part of a curriculum designed to replicate as many different operational scenarios as possible during the 11 week course.
The week’s evening training sessions have introduced the canines to another target odour and more difficult search scenarios including vehicle and high searches.
The handlers and canines have been working hard to learn to detect odours that have been placed higher off the ground, between the handlers’ knee and waist height, and odours that may have more complex concealment.
The dogs have also begun training on the advanced agility course at the National AFP Canine training facility.
Instructor David McCambridge said the dogs are required to become accustomed to a variety of different work situations.
“They’ve worked on the second agility course that we have here at National AFP Canine tonight,” he said.
“That encompasses different obstacles of slightly different architectural designs, different steepness of some of the ramps and different heights of jumps to get the dogs used to working on different types of environments.”
Federal Agent Mick Simmons said the evening shifts require some adjustment for the dogs.
“Marty and I kicked off work tonight at 6.00 pm, it’s now just after 12 midnight and we’re still hanging in there,” he said.
“It is harder for them, they’re fed a lot earlier and they’re left in their kennel for the majority of the day, so at this stage he’s doing ok.”
Instructor Jayson Mesman said the change from working during the day to working at night is deliberately challenging, but that Mick and Marty were working well.
“It is their first exposure to night shift so that change in environment and change in circumstances is really affecting both of them, but we need them to work through it,” he said.
“Overall, both Mick and Marty are doing quite well.”
You can follow Mick and Marty on their journey as they train to join the ranks of the National AFP Canine Unit.