Last fall I was in Holland attending the KNPV Nationals and had the opportunity to meet Hennie Bolster. He was introduced to me as the most successful trainer in the KNPV. He has trained several dogs that have gone on to win or place very high in the KNPV Nationals. Hennie is also a Police K-9 Officer which gives him a good understanding of what it takes to make a good street dog.� The following is an interview I did with Hennie via email in the months that followed meeting him. I asked him to start with a brief introduction and then we went to a Q&A format.
For Videos of Hennie see the links at the end of this article.
Introduction:
My name is Hennie Bolster.� I am 51 years old. I am married with Yvonne.� We have three children, two girls and one boy.� We live in the east of Holland, in the biggest city from the east.� This city is called Enschede.� I?m a police officer in Holland for 31 years now.� I am working as a K-9 officer now for 23 years.� My hobby is to train dogs by the KNPV; I am also training 20 security officers with dogs.
Police K-9 Magazine: I know you are both a police K-9 officer and a high-level KNPV trainer and competitior. Which came first?
Hennie Bolster: When I was living by my parents a liked to look by the training for dogs by a KNPV club in Enschede.� In my town there were on that time 5 KNPV clubs. Then I was 17 or 18 years old. My parents did not want me to have a dog. But when I was living on my own. I was than 21 years old I became a police officer and I became a member of a KNPV club called Twente. This was in 1979.
In 1984 I changed by the club I?m training [with] til now because this club is training on the way I want to train. It?s a club who is training on a very High level. A lot of members of my club have been Dutch champions. The club is called ?Ons Ideaal?. I became an official Decoy by the KNPV and by the police when I was 28 years old.
Police K-9 Magazine: Can you explain how big the KNPV is in your country?
HB: Our country is containing 11 provinces. Every province has their own KNPV clubs. They all falling under the head office from the KNPV how is to find in Amersfoort. The KNPV has 6100 members. In a land with 16 million.
Police K-9 Magazine: How many times have you competed in the nationals and where did you place in those?
HB: The KNPV have 3 different exams where we have to do some things with obedience and with a decoy. Those exams are the PH I and PH II and Object. The KNPV has also some exams for searching dogs.
I have now competed in the nationals for 4 times. All the times I have won.
In 2005 I have won with my malinois Beau, 2 nationals in one weekend. Friday I won the PH II and Sunday I won the Object.� In 2006 I have won with Beau the second time the PH II nationals.� In 2008 I Have won with Baron(son of Beau) the PH I national.
Beau is my police dog now since 2005 and Baron is a police dog too since 2008. The police organization where I worked for (politie Twente) has bought Baron. A colleague of mine is working with him.
Police K-9 Magazine: How many people have you trained that went on to win the KNPV?
HB: In my club we have now almost every year from 2000 a competitor by the nationals. In 2000, one competitor, he has won PH 1. In 2003, one competitor, he has won. In 2005 two competitors, I won 2 times. In 2006, three competitors, two of them won.� In 2008, one competitor, he won, and in 2009, two competitors.
Police K-9 Magazine: Has the KNPV changed much since you first started in it? How?
HB: The KNPV did not changed much. The programs have been the same.� The level of the training did changed a lot since I first started in the KNPV. When you want to go to the nationals you have to have all the points by the exam. So by PH I you can have 440 points for a exam. So when you have to go to the nationals you have to realize all the 440 points. When I first started with the sport was between 420 ? 430, from the 435 points,� was enough.
Police K-9 Magazine: Many dogs trained for the KNPV program end up in the U.S. as police dogs. Do you think the dogs are used to their full potential here in the US? If not what do you think should be changed?
HB: I think that the dogs are used to their full potential enough. But I have seen that the level of the training in the U.S. is not so high than by us. The obedience of the dogs and the knowledge of the training by the handlers and trainers can be better. They missed the knowledge to learn the dogs from six weeks old til they are ready to be a police dog.� To train your own dog from a puppy til the end is the best way to learn how to train a dog.
They can maybe ask someone from the Netherlands to help you to get your training on a higher level. I have helped the colleagues in Los Angeles two times during my holiday and I think they have learned something from me. Maybe I will go back sometime when they want my help.
Police K-9 Magazine: The KNPV program has an influence on the U.S. by the mere fact that we import so many dogs that have KNPV titles, or at least were started in the program. Do you see influence from other countries or programs in the KNPV?
HB: Yes I see influence because you can learn from every other program and countries. I have looked in other programs in Netherlands and Belgium, and I have been in Germany and Austria to look to their training programs. I also have been by other police associations in Germany.
I think when you are training with a dog you can learn from everyone. Because more people in the KNPV have looked to other programs the level of our training has been higher.
Police K-9 Magazine:If you were in charge of the whole KNPV program what changes would you make?
HB: I would change the PH II program. This is a program who is not more from this time.� I would change this program on many places. By the PH I program they have changed the way to go to the nationals since 2009. When you have got your exam with 440 points you must have played another game somewhere in Holland. So when you had 440 points with your exam and 436 with the game then the total score will be split in two. You have than 438 and than the 10 highest handlers with their dogs go to the nationals. That?s better. Someone with 436 by his exam can when he will played with another game and got a higher score also the opportunity to go to the nationals.
Police K-9 Magazine: Many officers here see Holland as a country with excellent dogs everywhere, one where you can pick and choose between good and great dogs. Can you explain how it really is?
HB: Of course not all the dogs in Holland are good and excellent dogs and not every handler is a perfect handler. The level of training is also in Holland different. The level of training in the KNPV and by the police is not everywhere perfect. There is a lot of difference.
Not every dog in the KNPV will be a police dog. From the 10 dogs who will get his KNPV exam is there, maybe 2 or 3 who is good enough for a police dog.� We pick our police dogs before they go to a KNPV exam. Mostly 1 year for his exam. Than we make some arrangements with the KNPV handlers.
In the police force I?m working (politie Twente) we are lucky that from the 24 handlers, six of the handlers are training dogs by the KNPV. Not every K-9 policeman or woman is training by the KNPV. The level of training by our K-9 police dogs in Twente is one of the highest in the Netherland, that because of the six KNPV handlers in our group.�
Not every KNPV handler will be a competitor in the nationals of the KNPV.� That level is also very different. I?m lucky that I?m training by a KNPV club where the members have the same idea about training dogs. That?s the reason that our club have such good results the last 25 years.
Police K-9 Magazine: How long have you been a police officer?
HB: I?m now a police officer since 1979.
Police K-9 Magazine: Is it difficult to be hired as a police officer in Holland?
HB: Yes it is difficult.
Police K-9 Magazine: Describe the hiring process and or the training process. Do you have to attend an academy? How long is it?
HB: The hiring process is very difficult. From the 100 people who have signed in for the study of police officer will be maybe 1 or 2 been hired. The selection is so difficult because of the test and sport tests. They are very difficult.
In my time you had two levels to get a policeman or woman. There were two academy. One for the normal police work that was only one year, and one for the police management this was two years.� Then you came by a police department.� You got a older policeman to learn you the first three month the most and then you had to work as a policeman.
Now you have four levels when you want to be a policeman or woman. A study for level 2-3-4-5. Level 2 - two years. Level 3 ?three years and level 4 and 5 both four years. Level 5 is for police management.
Police K-9 Magazine: Once you became an officer, what was the process to become a dog handler?
HB: When I came by the police I had just begun by a KNPV club to training dogs. So by the police I have been worked the first 8 years by different departments. Relief surveillance(regular police work), traffic police,� S.W.A.T. team.
When you want to be a K-9 dog handler in my force you have to do decoy work for at least six month. I did decoy work one day in the week in my own time from 1983 til 1986 because dogs where my hobby and I did want to be a K-9 dog officer. In 1986 there was a handler he stopped as a K9-handler. So I applied for the job and I became a K9- police officer.
Police K-9 Magazine: Are you a dedicated K-9 unit, meaning do you only do dog related stuff?
HB: We are just a dedicated K-9 unit. We only work with our police dogs when we are working as a police officer. We only do K-9 officers work. Our main work is to make the work of the regular police officer so safety as possible?assistance by aggressive people, fights, drug transfer, burgling , to help S.W.A.T. teams. We are always with more dogs by soccer games because there is a lot of problems by these games. It is not in the whole Netherlands the same. Some K-9 units have to do regular report type calls.
Police K-9 Magazine: What is the primary use for police dogs in Holland?
HB:The primary use for police dogs is:
-� To make the work of the regular police officer so safety as possible
-� To search persons or things
-� Narcotic dogs
-� Money dogs
-� All kinds of other searching dogs
Police K-9 Magazine: In the U.S. we get sued a lot, are there a lot of civil suits in Holland?
HB: No, not yet. But we hear it more often than in earlier days.
What are the circumstances in which it is okay for you to use your dog and let him bite a suspect?
We may use the dog for more circumstances to let him bite:
-We have to look: what has the suspect done and can we not get him on another way?
-The bite of the dog do this stand up against the crime the suspect has done?
-Is the life of a college or a citizen in danger?a fight with a colleague, someone with a weapon, soccer fights etc.
-To protect our self or colleague or citizen.
Police K-9 Magazine: In the U.S. we get sued a lot, are there a lot of civil suits in Holland?
HB: No, not yet. But we hear it more often than in earlier days.
Police K-9 Magazine: I know you spent some time recently in the U.S. with the LAPD. What did you think of what you saw of U.S. law enforcement compared to law enforcement in Holland?
HB: I have only been on the training field on the two days I have been there. I did not see the work at the street with the colleagues. My time was too short to go with them. We only talked about the training of the dogs.
The second day I was there, Dave Stambaugh had asked me to show a KNPV video of my championship in a classroom to start the day off at the Los Angeles K-9 police. I have explain for a full class what the dog is doing and a little on how we get the dog do it. Along with that I answered and explained any other questions that the colleagues had.
After that we have gone to the K9 field and the handlers worked out their dogs. They asked me to give them some input on the fieldwork and answered some questions for the handlers. I think they liked it. I liked it too. Maybe I will come back again.
Watch videos of Hennie here:
No comments:
Post a Comment