ISSUE 32OFFGRIDWEB.COM 035because I don’t want people to take this wrong — I don’t
think they’re humans, but we have humanized them
much more. We don’t look at it anymore like, hey, it’s just
a dog we’re going to put in the backyard with some food.
People spend a crazy amount of money on dog stuff
nowadays. If you look at PetSmart or Petco, these places
are multi-billion dollar companies and on almost every
corner besides Walmart.
How do you distinguish between an owner who
spoils a dog or over-humanizes it and someone who
is a good responsible owner?
JF: I think the difference is you can be as kind as you
want to a dog. Me, for example, I love my dog to pieces.
I think she’s amazing, I’ve had her since she was born,
I’ve done stuff with her for over 10 years, and I’ll let her
get away with things that people say, “Wow, I’m surprised
you let her do that.” But it’s my decision when I let her
do that. I’m also very, very consistent with her. People
sometimes see proper dog handling as being too strict
or wrong, but it’s actually wrong to be inconsistent. My
dog knows exactly where I’m coming from. It’s always
black and white.
Sometimes people don’t make rules black and white,
and they think they’re being kind to the dog, but if you’re
not consistent or black and white, then being overly nice
is actually not being nice at all. It’s confusing the dog,
so that’s the biggest way I separate it. If you want your
dog to jump all over you, have fun, wrestle, play bite
your arm, who cares? But in the next moment you can’t
tell the dog to turn it off. If your neighbor walks in the
yard and it starts doing the same thing to them and you
start yelling at the dog, well, how’s the dog supposed to
know? You have to be consistent on what you want the
rules to be.
How do you think dogs could be critically valuable
for a survival situation?
JF: If there’s civil unrest, my dogs are going to be on
my team and hopefully keep us in the fight against the
people who are causing the problems. Highly trained pro-
tection dogs are just another team member that’d help
us win a fight, accomplish a goal, or defend our property,
territory, or whatever it’s come to. My dog would become
part of our protection team for our pack. If it were an
earthquake or natural disaster, I could take my same
dog and she could certainly help find people that were
injured. Usually when there’s things like a natural disaster,
people do stupid things like looting, so in that regard she
could be protective as well, but if there’s a natural disaster
I’d put her to work helping other people.
Jeff Franklin
AGE: 47
HOMETOWN:
Virginia Beach, Virginia
SERVICE HIS T ORY:
United States Marine Corps; police SWAT dog
handler and trainer for Louisville Metro PD; K-9
handler and trainer for Bardstown PD; deputy sheriff
for Jefferson County Sheriff’s office
REQUIRED READING LIST:
Roberts Ridge: A Story of Courage and Sacrifice on
Takur Ghar Mountain by Malcolm MacPherson
Touching the Dragon: And Other Techniques for
Surviving Life’s Wars by James Hatch and Christian
D’Andrea
Brothers Forever: The Enduring Bond between a
Marine and a Navy SEAL that Transcended Their
Ultimate Sacrifice by Tom Sileo and Col Tom Manion
Dogs of War by Sheila Keenan and Nathan Fox
Sergeant Rex: The Unbreakable Bond Between a
Marine and His Military Working Dog by Mike Dowling
Top Dog: The Story of Marine Hero Lucca by Maria
Goodavage
For Love of Country: What Our Veterans Can Teach Us
About Citizenship, Heroism, and Sacrifice by Howard
Schultz and Rajiv Chandrasekaran
Craig & Fred: A Marine, A Stray Dog, and How They
Rescued Each Other by Craig GrossiTHE COMMANDO
WHISPERERFAVORITE QUOTE:
“All gave some and some gave all.”
FAVORITE BAND:
Linkin Park
LAST MEAL REQUEST:
Turkey
URL :
cobracanine.com