Presentation by Richard Polsky at the annual meeting the Animal Behavior Society, August 2021
The perspective from animal behavior science is needed to fully understand and explain the behavior of dogs the police use to apprehend criminal suspects. Attack-trained police K-9s are governed by the same principles and findings from animal behavior science that govern the behavior of any mammalian species or any breed of dog.
This presentation reviews findings from the animal behavior and epidemiology literature that shed light on the reasons why attack trained police canines behave as they do and why these animals are so inherently dangerous. A nature versus nurture perspective is taken by reviewing findings from topics such as impulsivity, learning, arousal levels, genetics and training methods.
Infographic summarizing the nature of Belgian Melinoises and the reasons why they are inherently dangerous animals when used by the police for suspect apprehension.
