BALTIMORE — Every year there’s multiple levels of security to keep Fleet Week festivities safe. Part of that are military working dogs.
They can detect dangerous materials and go toe-to-toe with a suspect if need be.
Ute is one of the dogs that will be keeping people safe during Fleet Week in Baltimore.
These dogs add a level of security that just can’t be replicated.
They’ll be doing detection sweeps and act as standing security at certain points.
“The dog is a force multiplier for sure. Their noses are way more sensitive than ours. And they’re more effective than any machinery that can detect explosives that they have now, or any robots that they try and field. They’re not as effective as a dog’s nose,” Gregory Bottom, military dog handler and trainer for Naval District Washington Police, explained.
According to bottom, obedience is the foundation of all military working dogs’ training. “They’re always waiting for the next command from the handler,” he said.
This is one of their skills courses at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling. Training is constant, keeping the dogs’ skills sharp.
“These are all skills that even the best dog can get a little rusty if you leave it for too long. And then once they’re good, we even work on advancing them,” Bottom said.
Part of that training is suspect apprehension but even in those moments, it’s all about listening to the handler and making sure the dogs are trained properly.
“In case the suspect gives up or they run into traffic or something. It’s an unsafe condition for the dog. You don’t want them to just keep chasing ’em. You need to be able to call them out and the dog needs to be able to hear that and be able to disengage,” Bottom explained.
While obedience is the foundation, trust, of course, is a big part of it.
Bottom says all handlers form a bond with the dogs.
You go everywhere with them, they’re also your best friend, and you form an attachment with them, for me pretty quickly. I form a bond with all these dogs, whichever dog I’m assigned to,” Bottom said.
Together, forming a strong line of defense to make sure all of Fleet Week goes off without a hitch.
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