From stray to Thurston County K9 officer, “Marko” is department’s newest trainee

Marko didn’t begin his law enforcement career like the average patrol dog.

As far as the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office knows, he doesn’t come from an established breeder, and he doesn’t have a carefully planned pedigree. Instead, the 18-month-old Belgian Malinois was found wandering on Steamboat Island with a shotgun pellet in his shoulder and no collar or identification.

But against those odds, Marko is shaping up to be one of the most talented dogs K9 trainer Deputy Rod Ditrich has seen. He’s well on his way to becoming a patrol dog — the kind of dog law enforcement agencies use to track and apprehend suspects.

“Of all the dogs that I have seen over my career, Marko is miles ahead,” Ditrich said. “And he probably wasn’t even bred to be a service dog. It’s probably just a genetic anomaly.”

Marko and his handler, Deputy Chris Packard, recently wrapped up week five of their training, and Marko has mastered skills most dogs learn during week eight or nine, Ditrich said. Before patrolling on their own, Marko and Packard will complete 400 hours of training and will likely wrap up the program at the end of November.

But the duo’s relationship began long before they started classes.

Marko was captured on Steamboat Island in May, and was taken to Excelon Kennels in Shelton when his owner couldn’t be located. An employee noticed how driven the puppy was — a required trait for patrol dogs — and contacted Ditrich. He drove out to the kennel to test Marko, and the dog’s performance was off the charts.

Knowing that Packard had another dog and a kennel at his house, Ditrich called him up and asked him to watch Marko until other arrangements could be made.

“At first I was just the dog sitter,” Packard said. “He wasn’t housebroken or anything.”

But as Marko adjusted to Packard’s family — which includes his wife, his 3-year-old son and another dog named Duke — he didn’t exhibit any of the behavioral issues Packard had been warned about, such as going crazy in his kennel or escaping from enclosed areas.

“I think he just needed a home and some consistency,” Packard said.

But that’s not to say that Marko is completely calm and reserved, although he always sleeps well after a full day of training, Packard said. The handler said Marko’s behavior is “puppy-like.” He’s obsessed with his toys and he still likes to play nonstop.

Packard was assigned as Marko’s handler in July, and he began bringing the Marko to work daily so the dog could grow accustomed to the schedule and riding in the patrol vehicle.

The duo officially began training with another new K9 team, Deputy Tyson Shenkel and Daro, on Sept. 16. The dogs learn to do evidence searches and practice obedience in 20-minute sessions several times each day.

Dogs purchased from a police dog breeder begin the training process soon after their born, and they’re often taught commands in German, Dutch, French or other languages. But since Marko didn’t come from a breeder, Packard was able to pick which language to use.

“I chose English,” Packard said. “I figured I already know the language, so why complicate things?”

Marko does respond to one German command: Pfui, meaning “leave it.”

The command is commonly used by K9 handlers in the Sheriff’s Office, and Packard picked it up while working with other dogs.

“I wanted something different than ‘no,’ which sometimes means he’s in trouble,” Packard said. “This just means it’s time to move on, not that he’s doing anything bad.”

The dogs also learn tracking, the hardest skill for the dogs to learn, Ditrich said. Patrol dogs are able to locate suspects using their scents and ground disturbance.

“That’s really what sets them apart from the other service dogs,” Ditrich said.

Another difference between patrol dogs and other service dogs is that patrol dogs are trained to bite, Ditrich said. The K9s aren’t given that skill until they reach the very end of their training, when handlers know the dogs will follow their commands.

“When you teach a dog that it’s OK to bite a human being, all the rules have changed,” Ditrich said. “You really need to make sure that dog is obedient.”

He explained that dogs like Marko don’t bite suspects because they’re mean or angry, they do it because they’re being obedient and they enjoy working. That’s a big change from the old practice, he said.

“Twenty years ago, they would take the biggest, baddest, meanest dogs and train them to be service dogs,” Ditrich said. “And because of that, they were just kennel dogs. You couldn’t have them around your family.”

But now, patrol dogs with the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office are integrated into deputies’ families. Ditrich’s dog Rex, for example, has been a patrol dog for seven years, and he’s been the family pet for just as long.

Packard treats Marko the same way — although he admitted he keeps an eye on the dog when he’s around his son. But that’s not because Marko is dangerous or misbehaves, it’s because parents should be careful when their child is playing with any dog, he said.

Even though the desired traits for a patrol dog have changed over the past few decades, most successful K9s are the product of careful breeding. Daro, for example, was purchased from a Reno, Nevada-based breeder specializing in service dogs.

But even out of these dogs, few go on the be successful patrol dogs. In his experience, only about one in 10 dogs bred for police work would be suitable for the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office, Detrich explained.

“That’s what makes Marko so remarkable,” Detrich said. “He’s truly one in a million.”

This story was originally published October 17, 2014 at 12:48 PM with the headline "From stray to Thurston County K9 officer, “Marko” is department’s newest trainee."