It is pretty amazing since there is cohesive training for everything else imaginable in officer school but even dog friendly and experienced officers apparently need better tools to deal with animal behavior and nonlethal conflict resolution. I believe the Humane Society and other organizations have offered to provide structured classes free of charge but few departments are taking them up on it. Hopefully that will change will all the recent unfavorable exposure.
I think they simply don't want to take them because there is more utility in the intimidation and conditioning instilled by shooting dogs (and sometimes cats)… unchecked, they will get to people.
They wouldn't have had to deal with any animal behavior, if they had simply left the dog's owner alone, instead of arresting him for doing something totally legal and entirely within his rights.
Hopefully the department in question will be sued for the false arrest as well. It's what they deserve. Police are supposed to enforce the law, not make it up as they go...
They now train the police to actually shoot dogs.
I work at a university in the Continuing Education building. They hold Crime Prevention classes and seminars occasionally for law enforcement.
The trainers tell the officers to shoot the dogs. There has been a few cases where thugs “sic’ed” their dogs on the police, and this has been confabulated in some law enforcement training that dogs are dangerous and for officers to not hesitate to take them down.