Jake really loves his work. He throws himself into it with a ferocity and single-minded determination that is impressive to watch. And he doesn’t ask for very much in return – just a scratch on the head and a biscuit from his partner, Sgt. Jeff Sharpe of the Alexander County Sheriff’s Office.

Jake is a 2-year-old German shepherd police dog donated to the Sheriff’s Office by his trainer, Jason Purgason of Highland Canine Training in Harmony. With a background in dog training and nearly 10 years’ experience as a canine officer in Reidsville, Purgason specializes in preparing well-rounded police dogs that are highly skilled in narcotics and explosives detection, tracking and apprehending offenders.

What makes a top-notch police dog?
“It’s all about genetics,” Purgason says. “You have to breed for prey drive, the natural instinct to chase and catch. It’s what we use to teach dogs to hunt for something that’s out of sight.”

A variety of breeds are used in police work. German shepherds, Labrador retrievers and bloodhounds are common. Mixed breeds also can make excellent police dogs, and small size doesn’t necessarily preclude a dog from this kind of work.

Weeks of training
Training for police work typically begins when the dog is a year old and takes 12 to 14 weeks. Training the handler takes another four weeks.

“That’s the hard part,” Purgason says. “Police officers are visual creatures and they’re skeptics. You’ve got to teach them to believe in something they can’t see.”

When the active training period ends, the maintenance phase begins. The dog’s training continues on the job and in daily practice sessions with his partner. To keep Jake at the top of his game, Sharpe works with him every day, hiding drugs for the dog to find or directing him to search for a weapon hidden in a field. Once a week he takes Jake to “bite training” sessions at Highland Canine. During these practice sessions, Jake chases a decoy – trainer Purgason – and attacks the heavily padded bite shield on Purgason’s arm, immobilizing the man until Sharpe calls him off.

Keeping Jake’s training up to date pays off on the job. The dog recently found a stash of cocaine and cash hidden in a stereo in a suspect’s home. As the first K-9 unit in their county, Jake and Sharpe are definitely making a name for themselves.

Creating good citizens
Training police dogs is not the only service offered by Highland Canine. The staff recently launched the Second Chance Program to help rehabilitate shelter and rescue dogs that have serious behavior problems, such as aggression toward humans or other dogs, phobias, dominance or separation anxiety. Without rehabilitation, these problem dogs might not find homes and probably would be put down.

“We want to work with dogs who would probably be euthanized if their problems weren’t resolved,” Purgason says.

Training of Second Chance dogs takes anywhere from three to six weeks, longer if necessary. All training is done one on one rather than in groups.

Bear, a border collie mix, was the first dog to go through the program. He was referred by the Cornelius Animal Shelter, where Katy Stokes works as a volunteer. Stokes is also an apprentice at the Highland Canine center. Other staff members include Corrie Roberts of Mooresville. Erin Purgason, Jason’s wife and a full-time detective sergeant with the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office, owns the training center.

Bear was very aggressive and tried to attack anyone who approached. The first step in changing this behavior was to determine its root cause.

“In Bear’s case, the problem was that he had no structure, discipline or direction,” Jason Purgason explains. “He was bored in his environment, so he made a game of guarding things and chasing after and biting people.”

Purgason and his staff taught the dog new things to do with his time, such as obeying commands to “sit,” “down,” “stay” and “heel.” To reward good behavior, they used a combination of treats, petting and verbal praise.

After several weeks of training, Bear was a new dog.

“He seems very content now,” Stokes says. “Before, he was always looking for something to terrorize.”

The next step will be to find a good home for Bear.

“We’ll try to look for a family that can burn some of his energy,” Purgason says. “We wouldn’t place him with someone who lives in a small apartment. We try to match the dog’s personality and the adoptive family’s lifestyle.”

The root of dog problems
Behavior problems in dogs can usually be traced to one source – people.

“People are responsible for 95 percent of the bad behaviors dogs have,” he stresses. “They do this by inadvertently rewarding wrong behavior or spoiling dogs so that the animals get the idea they’re in charge. We see a lot of owners whose personalities or lifestyles don’t mesh with their dogs.”

Although she didn’t come through the Second Chance Program, Jessie is a good example of a dog with a behavior problem. Ashley and Linda Page of Davidson decided to adopt the young boxer mix after they found her running loose along a Mooresville highway.

When they took her home, it soon became obvious that Jessie had been abused. She wouldn’t have anything to do with Ashley Page or with men in general. She was very fearful and refused to walk on a leash even after 10 months of training.

Ashley Page called on Purgason for help. The trainer went to the couple’s home and showed them how to teach the dog basic obedience and use food rewards to motivate her.

“It was an education,” says Page. “By the end of the first session, Jessie walked on a leash. For six weeks she learned to heel, sit and stay. We worked with her every day. By the end of that time she was a different dog. She’s still a little skittish with strangers, but we’re seeing steady progress.”

Purgason taught Page to use a hand signal for the command “come” in conjunction with a voice command. Now Jessie comes to her owner every time without fail. All traces of fear and avoidance are gone.

“It’s very rewarding,” says Page. “I can take Jessie to the store, I can walk her in downtown Davidson. She’s become a real good dog.”