In the United States, dogs trained in the Czech Republic are highly popular with law enforcement, who use the dogs from everything to tracking suspects to catching smugglers.
The U.S. officers even have to learn their four-footed friends’ language but that has never stopped them from being part of the team.
U.S. police officers often use terms like “Knoze (Heel),” “Sedni (Sit),” or “Stekej (Bark)” when addressing their four-legged companions as their dogs are trained in the Czech Republic, or by Czech specialists in the U.S., and do not understand English.
The newest canine reinforcement for U.S. officers is a German Shepherd named Ivan, reports NBC news.
About a quarter of German Shepherds in U.S. law enforcement have Czech origins, with 2-year-old Ivan serving as the newest addition to the U.S. police force, where it is his job to protect officers and hunt down suspects.
Ivan has over 1,000 hours of training. He was trained by former officer Brad Kohn, who had just retired after 30 years of service.
He spent 22 years training police dogs and for the Kennewick Police Department, he trained all the dogs they have in service.
Dogs from Ivan’s K-9 program also help with police operations by tracking down smugglers and drug dealers. Last week, another dog from the same program returned from treatment after eating unspecified amounts of meth.
Interestingly, Ivan is not the first Ivan among US police dogs. Some time ago, another well-known police dog named Ivan from Moreno Valley won several prizes in competitions measuring police dog skills before passing away.
The Czech Republic has a great tradition of breeding and training dogs for the police, army, and rescue services. Most dogs are stationed in the army and police forces in Germany, Russia and countries in South America.
