Introducing the PH 1 Trial

By Alain Kaldewaay

Sponsored by...
Deluxe Dog Training And Imports, Inc.

As a police officer, K-9 handler and provider of candidate dogs to law enforcement agencies, it is becoming more and more difficult for me to locate suitable prospects in the Uniterd States. We are not blessed with the large numbers of working dog enthusiasts as are the countries in Europe.

If we were blessed with an overflow of top prospects, I suspect that we would be similar to Germany in that we would demand outrageous prices for acceptable dogs. If I had my way and we did have an unlimited supply of working dogs we would be m modeled after the Netherlands.

German Shepherd, in bite work
In Holland, since the early 1900's the public through the KNVP (Royal Dutch Police Dog Association) has been providing trained and titled working dogs to its police, military, rescue organizations and security companies for a fraction of what neighboring countries charge for untitled and untrained dogs. The Dutch are not dollar oriented but have a great civic pride which is fulfilled when a dog they trained serves mankind. This relationship between civilians and police is unlike any in the world. The mere size of the KNPV's membership attests to this fact. The KNPV's 10,000 members train and title roughly 1,000 dogs each year. The majority of these end up in police service in Europe or North America.

The purpose of this article is to provide details of the KNVP's most popular trial, the Keurinsstaat Politiehond One, or PH-1. The PH has 800-1,000 competitors annually. There are three levels of certificates available. Each level requires a certain score. These are: PH-1 Certificate A, this means that the dog achieved a score of 305 out of a possible 435. This certificate is good for a one-year period.

The next certificate level is titled PH-1 Certificate and is good for the life of the dog. This requires 348 out of 435 possible. The final level is Certificate "Met Lof", which is good for life and means that the dog was exceptional, achieving a score of 392 points or more out of 435. The majority of dogs usually earn the standard PH-1 Certificate. Fewer obtain the higher Met Lof score and fewer still obtain the lower score of Certificate A. Trials are offered at local clubs at the provisional level three times a year.

  1. Spring - Late May
  2. Summer - Late July
  3. Fall - Late October
National Championships are held in September in Shertogen basche. Ten of the very best dogs are acccepterd and invited to compete. Qualifying scores are usually 433 points out of a possible 435. The trials are fast paced and very demanding on both the handler and the dog. They start at 8:30 am and are continuous except for a 45 minute pause for lunch, and end at 5:30 pm. The following is a description of the entire PH-1 Trial routine:

OFFERING I

Offering I relates to the dog's basic obedience and control. The heeling course, both on and off leash, calls for the dog to switch from the handler's right to left side and left to right side at the command of the judge. The course involves right and left turns, stops and about turns similar to obedience routines familiar to most dog enthusiasts regardless of sport. The heeling is not as precise as it is in Schutzhund, AKC or USPCA trials, but is somewhat loose. The literal translation of the exercise is to "follow on a line". The point of emphases here is to follow. Few points are lose in this phase regardless of precision. The bicycle heeling is an extension of the walking phase.

The food refusal is rather unique in that a full suited decoy presents, throws and places food in front of the dog. This exercise requires a great deal of self-control and restraint on the part of the dog because it is the only exercise in which the decoy is not presented as a target for attack. The exercise requires that the dog not taste, touch or smell the food. He must stay and not attack the decoy. The agility is similar to the agility found in French & Belgian Ring Sports. The dog clears the obstacle, stays and waits for the command to return, and then returns and finishes.

The final exercise in the first offering needing comment is the article search. It is a practical exercise designed to be used by the police in the field. It is used to recover evidence of a crime or stolen property. The dog is given 10 minutes to search a grass area 14 x14 meters for three small objects. The dog is graded according to the intensity of his search, the manner in which he searches and the quality of his retrieve. The dog is also scored on how he returns the object to his handler and his finish. The handler is allowed a maximum of five commands to sucessfully complete this exercise.

The final exercise of the first offering in most trials is the "Stil zijn" or "Be quiet" temperament test of sorts. This exercise requires that the dog and handler stay in the woods while a 9mm pistol is fired. The dog must not bark for maximum points.

OFFERING II

Since Holland is a low and wet country divided by thousands of canals, it is only normal for an exercise of this type to be included in a police dog trial. The exercise is very practical, especially the portion where the dog is required to retrieve a large object. In the case of the object it is ordinarily a 1 - meter long log, 2 - 3 cm in diameter. This too, is useful in the recovery of evidence.

In the specialized KNPV for the certificate Rerddingshond or Rescue Dog, the object is a manikin representing a drowning person. The value of this exercise speaks for itself.

During the swimming phases, the dog is scored according to the manner in which he swims. That is, how fast and how straight in a line he swims to cross the canal. He is also scored on his obedience to his handler's commands.

The same applies to the dog retrieval of the log. Once retrieved, the dog must drag it up to the handler and finish.

OFFERING III 

 A. Guarding an object
    1. manner or guard
    2. alertness while guarding
 B. Searching for a large object in woods
    1. waiting/manner of following commands
    2. barking/alerting as to the presence of the object
    3. guarding of object
    4. not biting object
 C. Searching for a person in the woods
    1. waiting for command/manner of following command
    2. manner or search
    3. alerting/barking as to presence of person
    4. guarding person
    5. not biting the guarded person
 D. Transport of arrests
    1. manner of transport
    2. not biting during transport
    3. retrieve of fallen metal object
 E. To force to standstill a person who is defending himself with a stick
    1. wait for command
    2. manner of chase
    3. manner of stopping/forcing man to standstill
    4. stick fastness
    5. out or let go
    6. not biting after out
    7. guarding after out
 F. To refuse commands of others
    1. refuse commands
    2. out or let go
    3. not biting after out
    4. guarding
 G. Transport of man who had stick after attack
    1. manner of transport
    2. not biting during transport
    3. manner of forcing standstill after escape attempt
    4. out or let go
    5. not biting after the out
    6. guarding
 H. To bring to a standstill a person fleeing on a bicycle
    1. wait for command
    2. manner of pursuit
    3. manner of stopping person from fleeing
    4. out or let go
    5. not biting after out
    6. guarding
 I. Transport of person followed by escape attempt
    1. manner of transport
    2. not biting during transport
    3. not biting before escape
    4. guarding before escape
    5. manner of stopping escape
    6. out after stop/attack
    7. not biting after out
    8. guarding
 J. To stop a man who is shooting a weapon
    1. waiting/following commands
    2. manner of persuit
    3. manner of stopping or bringing person to a standstill
    4. grabbing/attacking arm with gun in it
    5. out after attack
    6. not biting after out
    7. guarding after attack
 K. Test for firmness of the dog
    1. firmness of toughness
    2. let go
    3. not biting
    4. guarding
 L. Transport followed by an assault on the handler
    1. manner of transport
    2. not biting during transport
    3. manner of defense
    4. let go or out
    5. not biting after out
    6. guarding
 M. Recall of dog who is in pursuit
    1. follow command
    2. manner of persuit prior to recall
    3. manner of return
Offering III is the meat and potatoes of KNPV PH-1, it is the part where the suit man and the dog become gladiators. One of Hollands most prominent suit men, Willem Gopken, has been decoying for over 20 years and his love for this phase is evident by big smile when the subject is brought up. Gopken describes it as "man versus dog". In the attack phases, the dog is started 110 meters away from the suit man. When the dog is 30 meters away after reaching speeds of between 32 and 53 miles per hour, the suit man then charges. The two impact. The sound of the impact is similar to the sound of two football helmets coming together. The end result is usually the same. In championship trials the dogs usually win. Several of the top decoys are carted off to area hospitals for treatment of injuries. Harry van der Most another prominent suit man, has undergone surgery several times for injuries inflicted by the impact of the charging dogs. Ed Frawley's Ring Sport/KNPV/IPO comparison video tape graphically displays this contact.

During Offering III, there are three such attacks. The first involves a suit man with a rather long stick, 3 1/2 to 5 feet in length. The handler must yell, "Halt, police" three times before sending the dog. The decoy flees and then turns and charges the dog. Unlike some dog sports involving the stick, in KNPV the decoy's intention is to run off the dog. In the championship trials in 1985, this occured to one of the 10 entrants. In this case the score was dogs 9, decoys 1. After the attack, the decoy fights the dog and then attempts to out the dog using the out command. The dog is scored according to whether or not he responds to the decoys command. The dog they releases from the bite, guards and barks until the handler walks over and searches the decoy. The handler and dog then transport the "prisoner".

The second attack involves the dog pursuing a fleeing bicyclist. Once the dog apprehends the bicyclist and the handlet tuns the 110 meters, the dog is commanded to out. After the out and search the handler and dog begin the transport. During the transport, the decoy attacks the handler. He then is commanded to out and guard the decoy.

The final attack involves the pursuit and attack of a man who has fired several shots at the handler. This attack is also from 110 meters. The decoy runs with a bag of pipes, turns and fires several shots at the handler. The dog must pursue and apprehend the decoy. Following the apprehension and attack the decoy opens the bag and grabs these pipes (plastic or aluminum) and strikes the dog with them. The dog is graded according to his courage or firmness. The handler arrives, outs the dog, commands the dog to bark/guard, and collects up the gun, bag, and pipes. He then transports the decoy. During this transport, the handler is assaulted by the decoy. As before, the dog is graded according to his defense of his handler.

Also offered during the trird phase are a large article search in a wooded area, a search for a man in the woods, a transport of an intoxicated subject who drops a pipe that the dog must retrieve, and a recall or call-off during an attack.

The article search for the large object usually requires that the dog search and locate a chair, wooden box, or bicycle in the woods. Once located, the dog must bark and not bite the object. The same rules apply to the search for the man in the woods.

The final phase of testing is the recall. In this exercise the dog is sent after a fleeing decoy. Within 50 meters of the decoy the handler recalls the dog. The dog is scored according to the manner of his pursuit, the precision of his recall, and the speed at which he returns.

From the description of the PH-1 trial it should be obvious that the trial is both complex and demanding. It is usually very fast paced. At the end of the day the dog handler and trial decoys are exhausted

The yearly preparation has paid off. Most competitors achieve the thing that they worked so hard for, the PH-1 Certificate. This certificate enables their dog to be used by, police, security companies and the Dutch Military. Dutch men and women take pride in providing this important component in their society.

For more information about KNPV, or police and service dogs, contact us at: 
   Deluxe Dog Training And Imports Kennel, Inc.
   Office hours from 0830am till 1130am Monday through Friday
   P.O. Box 171
   Cochranville, PA 19330

Or call 1-610-857-5030

Fax:610-857-5028


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