Serious stuff!

[Time Out]

Dogs taken for helicopter ride

The dogs are on a 13-week training course
Police dogs are being taken to the skies in a helicopter as part of their training course.
The exercise is being run by Durham Police to prove the animals have the right temperament for operational duties.

The aim is to get the German Shepherds, who will be with their handlers, used to the helicopter.

The force's dog training supervisor Paul Hedges said: "There are times now where we have had to lift German Shepherd dogs over some distance and varying terrain.

"We need to know how the dogs are going to react when they see the helicopter.

"One important feature is the handlers know how to board the helicopter safely in an incident where they might be picked up at a moment's notice."

The dogs are just over a year old and are eight weeks into a 13-week training course.

Mr Hedges said the helicopter training is done very gently in stages so the dogs are not alarmed but he said they find they usually take to it quite well.

Source (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/3260785.stm)

Sorry, couldn't resist ;)

[ShyTorque]

Hope they remember to train them not to bite the pilot as the dogs have been known to do.

Don't ask me how I know or I'll show you the small scar on my wrist......

[Happy Landing !]

We frequently carried Explosives dogs in N.I.

The majority of them seemed to love every minute of it, sitting between the front seat men.

Waiting on the pad to be picked up, you could see them getting excited when the helicopter was miles away!

[Cron]

All Pilots are taken to the skies in a helicopter as part of their traing surely?

Why should dogs be any different and why is their flying training 13 weeks? Should it not be based on ability and task progression?

As to 'they find they usually take to it quite well' indicates to me little apptitude testing in place.

This sickens me - another example of cost cuttiing by replacing experienced but perhaps expensive pilots with a more 'economical' substitute without regard for safety or standards ...

[ShyTorque]

I can't see any great problem with a doggy-heli-pilot.

Except that his handling might be a little "Ruff!"

Probably easier to train than his handler, in any case...... ;)

[john du'pruyting]

Well, we take dogs and their handlers for famil flights as well (Sniffers more than growlers!).
The dogs seem to enjoy it more than most of the handlers.
However, that might be because we can't tell when the dog goes green!!

[FlyAnotherDay]

Of course dogs go flying.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/39472000/jpg/_39472294_indonesiaap.jpg


How else do blind paratroopers manage? And know when the ground's almost there;)

The source is BBC News (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/in_depth/photo_gallery/3207048.stm), scroll to picture 10.

[RDRickster]

I hope the picture above isn't the same Indonesian group where eight soldiers plummeted into the ocean on October 4th after a helicopter crew cut the ropes carrying them during rehearsal of a mid-air stunt! (Seems about as sharp as a bowling ball).

[Robbo Jock]

Isn't the dog there to stop the Pilot touching anything ?

[407 Driver]

We fly Avalanche rescue dogs a lot in this country, (including class D fixed line slinging of same)
The 407's split cabin may be an issue with some jobs, but with a 70 Lb excited dog on board, I like them sitting way back in "coach" in the 407 !

[STANDTO]

have a look in the opening picture of the ARKTIS website

http://www.arktisltd.co.uk/ (http://)


Look very closely - little respirator and everything.

mad :ok:

[Head Turner]

My father was a very resected police dog handler and he was known to quote that dogs are more intelegent than humans. That's why I became a pilot -

Dogs can be terrified of the noise if not carefully trained to accept the noise and rotor movement as normal. Same training as gun dogs.

[Twisted Rigging]

We can all choose to wear headsets or ear defenders in helicopters,

What choice does the dogs have?

I was always led to believe that dogs have extremely sensitive hearing, but not for very long if they spend a lot of time in a heli.

[WLM]

Twisted ringing. Iagree with your comments as my dog is a living proof of the damage that can be done to the animal's hearing. I have a Jack Russel, now 7 years old. She probably spent the best part of 3 years either rushing to the hovering helicopter on my returns, or simply jumping in for a ride ( with harness of course) while mustering. I just have to speak a lot louder now....:O

[dzeroplus]

WLM

Have you got a dispensation from CASA to allow your Jack Russell to fly around in the chopper whilst mustering?

From my understanding, it makes no difference if you have a harness or not. The dog has got to be in the baggage compartment inside a secure box that allows natures by products to drain away from the cabin.

Yours in anticipation

[Twisted Rigging]

But no hearing protection??

Dual standards??:hmm:

[vorticey]

it must be a cattle dog to fit the disciption of, necesary crew required!

[dzeroplus]

Blue Heeler with a harness with inbuilt ear muffs, like the type St Bernards wear minus the Brandy and replaced with Rum?:D