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For the Daily News
“The call came late one night. The officer on the other end, obviously deeply moved, said ‘Gaines, I just wanted to let you know; the dog saved my life tonight.’
“At the (law enforcement) academy, telephone calls during work or study sessions are usually strictly prohibited. That’s why I was surprised when the instructor told me to go to the office for a call. The sheriff of a large Ohio County said, ‘just called to tell you that Hammer sniffed out over $8000,000 in drug money this morning.’”
Hammer was a Labrador retriever trained in Starkville by Russell Gaines, one of the Southeast’s premier animal trainers.
Gaines will speak Saturday morning at Moncrief Park about training dogs (and their owners) as a part of Starkville Reads’ continuing series focusing on Jack London’s 1903 novel, “The Call of the Wild.”
The program begins at 10 a.m. and is open to the public.
“Young people will find Russell Gaines’s presentation/ demonstration especially interesting and informative,” Clyde Williams, Starkville Reads’ program director said. “We’re inviting the entire local human community. Bring yourself and a folding chair, but leave your dog or puppy at home,” he added.
An Ingomar native, Gaines holds a bachelor of arts degree in psychology and an master of science degree in psychology, with a focus in the clinical area. He has been a professional animal trainer for 25 years.
“Dogs have become a significant factor in law enforcement throughout the United States and around the world,” Gaines said. “Detection dogs go far beyond sniffing out drugs or money. Some are trained for arson cases, some sniff out explosives, others detect cadavers. Still others are employed by the U. S. Customs Service to detect prohibited plants and foods.”
Gaines explains that entirely different canine characteristics are required for the different tasks dogs perform. However, he added, “Intelligence, a strong work ethic, and excellent physical health are absolute requirements” for the dogs he trains.
“For olfactory (smelling) detection, retrievers are high on the list. But for the Customs Service, the agents like smaller, non-threatening dogs that can work in small or crowded spaces. Beagles are often the canine of choice. Customs people often seek animals from humane society pounds. The dogs are given behavior tests, and, if they pass, they’re ‘hired,’” he said.
Gaines got his start with Sam, a yellow retriever he received as a gift. As a duck hunter, he worked with Sam, who successfully participated in competitive field trial events. Gaines then began to train retrievers for duck hunters.
“Later, I talked with (Oktibbeha County) Sheriff Dolph Bryan about training dogs for law enforcement. Sheriff Bryan provided me with equipment and encouragement,” Gaines said.
Since that time, Gaines has trained dogs for public agencies across the United States, principally in the Southeast and Middle West.
His work entails finding the right dog(s), then training them for specific purposes, and then training the dog’s handler. After taking the trained dog to its location, he will spend a week — sometimes longer — working with the dog and its new handler. “Occasionally, it quickly becomes clear that the handler simply can’t do the job.”
At his presentation, Gaines will discuss the primitive training tactics depicted in London’s “The Call of the Wild” and why they do not work. He will also discuss the animal training profession with young people.
Evaluating dogs for training
“After finding a dog suitable by intelligence and disposition, I take him or her out to the Vet School at MSU for a thorough physical examination. No client would want to invest the money for training an animal only to find a year or so later a physical problem that would incapacitate the dog.”
“You can’t expect every quality from every type of dog. Bloodhounds, for example, are great trackers. They enjoy tracking, in and of itself.. But they are hard to housebreak or to train for other purposes.”
“A good detector (dog) must have great concentration, must ignore all distractions, in order to find the object(s) of the search.”
The seven-year-old son of a good friend of mine in South Carolina told his second-grade teacher, ‘my dad is protecting the vice president.’ The teacher called the child’s mother and suggested that they child was fantasizing. They mother said, “Oh, no. Bobby’s dad is in New York today with his dog and is checking out locations for bombs for Mr. Cheney’s visit.”
“Work ethic is very important. Some dogs seem to enjoy their jobs. I believe in making a dog responsible for its own behavior, to take pride in doing a job well.”
“A great dog is like a championship athlete – confident, professional. It’s fun to watch them when they reach that stage. To train a dog to that level is a privilege.”
“Animal training is a profession in which I have been able to put my education (in clinical psychology) to work.”
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