Ninemsn have featured what they call a bizarre video showing “dogs trained to spot threatening behavior.”
Visual learning in dogs as much a part of their training as mastering verbal cues. This is how they know to get excited when you pick up the long ropey thing (i.e. their leash) because it means adventure.
But it can also be used to teach dogs how to respond to threatening behaviour.
In a somewhat bizarre video believed to be from Kenya, several heavily masked and padded men demonstrate how one of their highly trained dogs can differentiate between friendly and threatening behaviour.
The pup, happily sitting between the “victim’s” legs, happily looks on while they shake hands. But one of them attempts to reach for a knife – it goes wolverine in seconds.
The whole thing is just a little disturbing. And not in the least because these people live somewhere where knife attacks are so regular you need a trained dog to prevent them.
The video is featured because it went viral (over 700,00 views since it was uploaded on April 4). And fair enough – that is a pretty amazing party trick.
But I was not aware Kenya had so many knife attacks. Then again, the video is not from Kenya – it is from Israel. I know this from from the guy’s accent, use of the word “shalom” (at 0:21), red and white parking markings, and roundabout sign.
Oh, and the source video linked to in the piece starts like this:
That’s an Israeli phone number and Jewish Russian name.
In the author’s defense, the video title is Hermiona K9 manof personal protection knife attack protection kenya. I am guessing they meant “Kenyan”, not that this makes much more sense.
The only thing the piece got right is it is disturbing that these people live somewhere where knife attacks are so regular you need a trained dog to prevent them.
Update: A commenter believes they meant to write canine in the video title. Yep, that makes more sense.
