FOLEY, Ala. - A 3-year-old German shepherd grabbed the attention and focus of the Citizens Police Academy Thursday as residents in the class learned a bit more about the K-9s used in the Foley Police Department for safety and searches.

    Officer Jerry Monte, K-9 unit coordinator, brought the dog, named Devin, to the class to exhibit certain characteristics looked for in determining if a dog is good for police work.

    "We'll throw a toy out, and if the dog brings that toy back, you've got a good drug dog," Monte said, also noting when looking at a breed of dogs, the one that goes off on its own is good for police work because he or she will be a "pack leader."

    Devin was thrown a ball a few times and the canine successfully retrieved it. One class member, David Humphries, had a safety brace put around his arm and let Devin bite him in a demonstration. Humphries said the bite fortunately did not hurt.

    Other characteristics looked for in the type of dog include: courage; confidence; hardness; softness; sharpness; temperament; and sensory threshold.

    Monte noted the department does not abuse the dogs but does train a certain way to make the canines ready for police work.

    "Dogs go by tones," he said. "They don't know words."

    Some of the tones include: command, which is in a short monotone voice; correction, which is a low growling; praise, which is high pitched and happy; permissive, which is high and low; and agitation, which is excited or suspicious.

    Each dog goes home with his or her "handler," which is a member of the K-9 unit. When disciplining, Monte said there is a three-to-five second window of time to discipline a dog for doing something wrong.

    The dogs also have different "drives" in their personalities, Monte said. These drives include: hunting; tracking; air scent; retrieve; prey; fight; guard; protection; rank; trainability; survival; homing; play; activity; and pack.

    "You can diminish or enhance the drives," Monte said, but noted they cannot be created or destroyed.

    After the break, residents learned from Detective Larry Dearing, of the Foley PD Narcotics and Vice Unit and K-9 Unit, about some of the different drugs police officers deal with and attempt to get off the streets.

    The drugs include marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, ecstasy and prescription pills.

    Ways to make ground in the ongoing war against drugs include undercover work or with drug dogs that can sniff the scent and citizen complaints from residents or businesses; arrests from traffic stops or calls.