'It's inexcusable:' Trainer weighs in on Regina police dogs biting bystanders

A trainer who raises police dogs in Saskatchewan says it's "inexcusable" that innocent bystanders were recently bitten by Regina police dogs, including one that was in training.

Barry Gay of Buena Vista Kennels near Saskatoon raises German shepherds, some of which go on to become police dogs. He said there's clearly something wrong with how the Regina Police Service is training its dogs if random members of the public are being bitten.  

"It's inexcusable," he said.

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• Police dog bites injuries [WARNING: Graphic images]

Earlier this month, there were two separate incidents where people were bitten by dogs while sitting on the steps of their homes. Neither victim was a suspect in an investigation.

Regina police said one dog was on a training exercise on July 4 and the other was tracking a suspect on July 6 when the animals "contacted" the men.

Gay said it should be rare that police dogs actually have to bite someone, saying German shepherds will only bite if there is cause — for example, a suspect fleeing from police after being told to stop or acting aggressively.

"Other than that, anyone approaching should be perfectly safe. They walk up to an officer with his dog and they're acting reasonable and they're saying, 'Say, can you tell me how to get to the nearest Tim Hortons.' Everybody should be fine in that case," he said.

Dog trainer Barry Gay critical of police dogs biting innocent bystanders

7 years ago

Duration 5:59

Barry Gay raises police dogs at Buena Vista Kennels nears Saskatoon and calls the recent incidents of canine team dogs biting innocent bystanders in Regina "inexcusable."

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"In this case, I would have to wonder if even fellow police officers are in danger from being bitten."

Gay said police dogs should be under control at all times, and the department needs to look at its own training regime and seek help.

"Dogs are equivalent to a two-year-old child, and you can train two-year-old children to go potty reliably, and dogs can be trained reliably to let go when you tell them," he said.