My name is MA1 Hollingsworth,
and today I'm going to go over the loadout
that a military working dog handler would have.
Eric Mouyal: K-9 handlers will go out on patrol duty,
and they act as a deterrence.
They may be called to assist with narcotics detection,
if we get a bomb threat.
Just provide some detection, do a sweep.
So we use them for whatever the mission set requires.
Hollingsworth: So, today, we'll go over some equipment
that you're going to see out in the field
as a military working dog handler.
And then, second, some of the medical equipment
that we also have to make sure that our dogs are safe
in case of an emergency happens.
One of the first things we're going to have is a muzzle.
So, for the military working dog,
whether that's downrange or stateside,
we're going to use this to make sure
that the dog is safely able to be cared for
in case of an emergency
and traveling to and from a location.
Each military working dog has their primary reward.
Most of the time, it's either a Kong
or a Kong with a rope.
It's used to reinforce desired behaviors.
So when they do a good job, whether that's obedience tasks,
patrol, or when they find a source of odor,
then we reward them with this reward object,
which is the Kong.
Another reward object is a PVC pipe.
This is the tug reward object.
So, different objects,
they make it to where I can manipulate the reward
in different ways to shape behaviors.
With a Kong with a rope,
at certain areas I may be only able to grab it
and at a certain manipulation.
But for this I can grab and guide them
in different directions and shape behaviors that way.
So, for our tool kit,
the other thing that we'll use is different-size leashes.
So you'll have leashes ranging
from 30 feet, 6 feet, 15, 10.
And then our standard 6-foot leash.
When I go inside of a building,
I can work a little bit closer.
It's going to be more advantageous
for me to work on a 6-foot leash.
We have a retractable leash.
We also have these for our military working dogs as well.
If used properly, you can, again,
be at a distance and have your dog
work independently further away from you.
It can all vary.
And if it's easier for me to have it tethered
while I have my weapon and I'm surveilling the area,
I can also use the retractable in my tool kit
if it's going to help me make sure
that my dog can work independently,
and I can also assist in a different manner.
Another variation, you can use a bungee.
For this, I could attach it to my body
and make it to where the dog is next to me.
So, say if I need to do tactical movements
or I'm in a tight area and I need to have two hands
to be working in a different area,
then I can use my two hands on something else,
rather than having it dedicated
to holding on to the leash for my dog.
We deploy to various different locations.
Sometimes whether it's extremely cold
or if we have extremely hot,
we want to make sure that our dogs' paws are taken care of.
So we can put these little shoes on them
and make sure that their paws are taken care of.
Especially for hot seasons and they're on asphalt
or a rough period that could scrape up their paws.
Next, we have their collar.
So different variations, different clasps.
This just goes around their neck,
and this is what the leash is going to be tethered to.
There's two different types.
Specifically, say, if they had the variation
with the handle, then you could grab the dog,
and it's more of a tactical area
where I can use that in my tool kit
if I need to grab the dog quickly,
instead of going underneath.
Next tool we have in our tool kit is our choke chains.
So, say if I have my dog attached to the flat collar,
I might want that to mean something differently
than when the dog is on the choke chain.
You would use it as a tool
to communicate desired or undesired behaviors.
So, say if my dog was not responding to a specific command,
I could communicate with a very light leash tension
via the choke chain.
So, another piece of gear that we might have
is going to be our harnesses.
So various different styles.
Again, this allows us to have more tactical maneuverability.
We can use the handles during different situations
to, again, manipulate our dog.
If it works, it's also something we use as a training tool.
So say if I'm trying to do drive-building activities
with my dog, I can use this as something
to make it to where the pressure
and the tension is more on their body
instead of manipulating their head in a specific way.
Other gear that we have in our bag
is going to be these doggles.
This is going to be used to protect the dog's face or eyes.
Say if the dog's on a helicopter
or different things like that, they might be used.
The other thing that we're going to have in our bag
is going to be our water.
So, we always make sure that we have water for our dogs.
They're going to be working for us,
so we want to make sure that they're taken care of.
We have various different bottles that we can use.
And then also our water bowls
that we can have to pop it down, pour the water in,
and ensure that they're taken care of after working all day.
This right here is just, again, just a normal plastic bowl.
You can take this apart, put the water in there,
easily take apart and clean.
And that's it for this bag.
So, this is going to be our basic medical equipment
that we carry for our military working dog.
Inside, one of the first things you're going to find
is our thermometer for our dog.
It's very important that we understand
our military working dog's ideal working temperature,
to see if it's either lower or higher than normal,
because that's going to give us a strong indication
on how the dog is going to be able to perform
and if it needs to seek medical attention.
There's many different thermometers that we can use.
This one specifically is a rectal thermometer.
This is going to be our safety gloves.
The times that we're going to be using these
is if I need to, an open wound or something like that.
Or if I want to make sure
that I don't have any debris or bacteria on my hands.
Other things that we're going to find in our kit is gauze.
So we'll use this along with the tape.
If there's a sore, a cut, a laceration,
we'll make sure that we do that first aid,
first initial treatment,
and then get them to a veterinary facility
as soon as we can.
In the field, we also have various different equipments
where if the dog's having breathing problems,
I can also do an emergency trach
until we can get them to a veterinary specialist.
Other things we have in this kit,
we make sure that we groom them
and take care of their nails and coat.
So if their nails are getting too long,
we have our clippers
to make sure that they're taken care of.
One, just for safety.
And then also so they're able to maneuver
and able to perform their job.
And then taking care of their coat,
obviously for sanitary reasons,
make sure that they're staying safe and healthy.
Some dogs more than others.
But if they're going to be in our program,
we do make sure that they're comfortable
having the muzzle being put on them
and also with being pet.
So certain dogs like it more than others.
In case we're trying to take off, say, a harness,
if there's an injury or something,
we also have scissors to cut as well,
take off bandages and open things up as well.
The other thing we're going to have
is different material for a splint.
So in case the dog injures their leg, we can stabilize that
and make sure it's not going to go anywhere,
again, until we can get them to a professional
that can take care of their leg.
When we are out in the training environment or deployed,
we use these doggy bags to ensure that we pick up
after our military working dogs as well.
Some other things that we would have
is the bags of food that we would have with us.
The other thing is our
military working dog collapsible kennel.
So, the collapsible kennel is utilized by being a safe place
that I can transport the military working dog in,
whether that's in a vehicle or a aircraft.
And this is the equipment and loadout
that a military working dog handler would have with them,
whether going on a mission or going on deployment.