ORANGE — Scrambling to a helicopter to try to find a missing child is not a good time for a police K-9 to develop anxiety around aircraft. That’s why acclimation is so important.
The Northeast Houndsmen, a North Quabbin-based nonprofit dedicated to training police dogs and bringing canines to local departments, is conducting its annual training seminar through Thursday, and Tuesday afternoon was spent at the Orange Municipal Airport to desensitize dogs to the rush of boarding a helicopter.
“It’s good practice, getting these dogs to load up,” said Raymond Jackson, Northeast Houndsmen’s president.
The Northeast Houndsmen specialize in police bloodhounds, but they are more than capable when it comes to training German shepherds as well. Jackson said 24 handlers have come from Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Ohio for the training.
“So far, so good,” Jackson said. “We’re under control, that’s the main thing — getting all these people together, getting on the same page.”
Veterinary and animal science students from Franklin County Technical School and Montachusett Regional Vocational Technical School, which also sent Reserve Officers’ Training Corps cadets, were on hand Tuesday for a presentation by Chief Warrant Officer Michael Berry of the Massachusetts National Guard.
Instructor Clay Rushford, who spent 34 years as a K-9 officer for the Orange Police Department, said it is important to subject K-9s and their handlers to as many difficult scenarios as possible.
“All the teams are doing very well,” Rushford said on the tarmac. “This will desensitize them to the helicopter.”
Earlier in the day, the dogs and their handlers practiced trailing scenarios, including having some of the K-9s find a woman hiding under large rocks at G & S Lyman Inc. on West Orange Road.
More information about the Northeast Houndsmen is available at northeasthoundsmen.com or on the group’s Facebook page at facebook.com/northeasthoundsmen.
