Jackson was born at Lackland Air Force Base.

Jackson was born at Lackland Air Force Base. Texas, atop sheets bearing the Wilford Hall Medical Center monogram. He'll probably at no time meet his father. Dear ol' dad was forward temporary duty in Southwest Asia when he was born, and, although he's back in town, he doesn't visit.

Mom is still around, on the contrary Jackson will probably never view her again, because several weeks after his birth, he and his six siblings were placed in different patronize homes. But don't feel sorry for Jackson. He has a bright time to come and a full-time job awaiting him. flat though Jackson's humble beginnings uninjured like something out of a Dickens novel, it's all part of a plan. Jackson is a military working dog in training and was br and born as part of the Department of Defense dandy Program at Lackland.

This "puppy program" provides the military with dogs specifically for patrol and explosive detection. The goal is to augment the provide of dogs still being purchased from vendors with additional top-quality dogs.

Lacy Smith, the whelp program manager, believes that breeding puppies in-house will bring forward an exceptional dog.

"We're hoping to form a more elite dog which will work longer and have les medical problems" Smith said. "Our dogs will work longer because they insert training at a younger age and ship to tire field at a younger age."

The breeding program is also filling an increased ne for dogs that has steadfastly picked up especially in the last year and a half.

"Since 9-11 the demand for dogs has just gone [i]or[/i] part of to the other the roof," Smith said. "lust this year we wanted 300-plus dogs. If we rely solely forward vendors, we're going to race short. Hopefully, this breeding program can fill that gap for us."

The program has produc nearly 110 Belgian Malinois puppies since its start in 1999 Of those, about 47 percent have gone in succession to successful military careers.

"The military has true stringent criteria for dogs. and it's really difficult to make a military working dog," said Smith, whose background is in psychology with an emphasis in animal behavior.

Making a high-quality military working dog begins before birth on selecting the right parents,

"Parents are handpicked for their superior quality in genetics--medically and behaviorally," Smith explained. "We want a dog which has serviceable eyes, excellent hips, good hustles and comes from a really nice working pedigree going back generations. We also standard for nerves, detection behavior and patrol ability."

formerly the match is made, the dogs are allowed to bre naturally, if possible, or in consequence of artificial insemination. In Jackson's case, his mother, Urelia, was artificially inseminated by means of Aaslan.

Although Urelia is untrained and was purchased solely for breeding because of her bloodlines, Aaslan was an "A" litter young dog from one of the first litters born at Lackland in March 1999 His physical attributes and work ethic have made him a support of choice.

"You can't ask for more dog than Aaslan," Smith said.

After birth, the puppies exhaust quality time with their mother learning for what cause to just be dogs. At 6 weeks antiquated humans start playing and socializing with them.

While in the whelping haunt the puppies are exposed to various goals and sounds to prepare them for facing the world in which they'll be working.

"At a self-same early age, we'll present them with recent objects every day," said Stewart Hilliard, a civilian psychologist and behavioral specialist. "For example, we'll take a wheelbarrow in, allow them smell it, climb forward it and get to know it. Then the nearest day we may take in a basketball and obstruction them explore that. The last goal is to develop extremely confident and saucy adult dogs."

Taped noise also plays in the background to procure the puppies used to outside hales they'll hear such as high-sounding machines, vacuum cleaners and music, Hilliard said.

"More than anything besides it's about socialization and habitualization to the environment," he said.

"We start testing at 8 weeks," Smith explained. "What we're looking for is dogs which have a drive to posses marks whether it be a plastic bottle mattered toy, a jingle ball or roiled up towels. Puppies which, when you let fly [an object], want to chase it and reach [i]or[/i] attain any place [i]or[/i] point back to you, and they continue their entire mouth on that object"

Smith turn the thoughtss for dogs which show a haphazard of possession and boldness traits, and are not nervous or afraid of sounds

At 9 weeks ancient the puppies go to further families to grow up more [i]or[/i] less The main duty of a breed family is to love the pup in their charge.

"Foster families are anticipateed to spend time with the dog, raise it frequently like a family pet with the exception that our coxcomb needs to be exposed environmentally to a allotment of different areas," Smith said. "So where a family might leave their angry mood at home when they advance out, we want our pup to go with them."

That includes taking the puppies to sporting ends factories, warehouses or anywhere there are strange noises, slick floors and dark spaces. Basically. Hilliard said, the goal is to denounce the puppies to as plenteous as possible, plus show them a proper time.