Roland Vanacker, born on 29/07/1942, is now almost 82 years young.
As a police officer, we heard a lot of good things from older colleagues about Roland Vanacker. They knew him as a very strong person and those colleagues all knew the names of his dogs.
Roland has also made a name for himself in the NVBK.
Roland contributed to the history of the use of patrol dogs in the National Guard (Gendarmerie) in Belgium and was also a highly respected member of the NVBK. A nice combination and therefore reason enough to re-release this interview.
Rarely have I heard someone talk so passionately about his work and his hobby. It is no coincidence that Roland Vanacker has been able to combine the two. As an 8-year-old he put on a 'sleeve' for the first time. He was almost literally brought up with dog sports from an early age, as we sometimes say in Flanders. After a long career with the Gendarmerie as, among other things, patrol dog handler and provincial instructor for both Flanders and a sports career in the NVBK as a judge, provincial chairman, decoy and competitor, the man still doesn't want to stop. Despite his almost 68 years, the former para commando has still not lost any of his feathers. Roland Vanacker speaks with a strong opinion, enthusiasm and a strong voice.
What do you prefer to do, working as decoy on a trial or as helper at training?
Why do you like ring sports so much?
Rarely have I heard someone talk so passionately about his work and his hobby. It is no coincidence that Roland Vanacker has been able to combine the two. As an 8-year-old he put on a 'sleeve' for the first time. He was almost literally brought up with dog sports from an early age, as we sometimes say in Flanders. After a long career with the Gendarmerie as, among other things, patrol dog handler and provincial instructor for both Flanders and a sports career in the NVBK as a judge, provincial chairman, decoy and competitor, the man still doesn't want to stop. Despite his almost 68 years, the former para commando has still not lost any of his feathers. Roland Vanacker speaks with a strong opinion, enthusiasm and a strong voice.
about dog sports the NVBK (nickname is 'het Verbond' ) :
How did you get into dog sports?
Roland: By my father. He also trained in the Belgian ring with mostly Malinois, but also once with a Bouvier.
My father didn't have to encourage me. I soon had the same passion. As a child I was almost constantly involved with dogs.
By the way, my father was also a Gendarme. He was correct but harsh. I was the eldest of six children, one of whom died very early. Those were really different times. When my father wanted to test a dog, he asked me. We didn't know bite sleeves yet. We made our own protection with jute bags.
I was about 8 years old when he first used me to test a dog. Only when he knew that a dog was biting would he take it to his club to train.
As for your career as a decoy; when did you get your license? And did you also run competitions?
Roland: I never obtained a decoy's license. This is mainly due to my service conditions as a Gendarm. I couldn't commit to that because I obviously had to work a lot of weekends and nights. So it was difficult to make agreements.
As a result, I was forced to remain decoy at the club.
I have been a civilian decoy at competitions and decoy at youth tournaments a number of times. At the club I put on the costume every time I could train.
But I was also a decoy in the Gendarmerie. I have run several practical competitions for patroldogs as a decoy. And also for the championship of patroldogs in the Gendarmerie.
Roland: Actually, I loved both. When I ran a competition, the dog had to prove itself. But the dog always got a fair chance to bite. I loved training because I could teach the handler and the dog something, but I also always learned something new myself.
Have you ever suffered a serious injury or other injury?
Roland: Besides the typical injuries such as bruises and once a meniscus injury, I have never been seriously injured. I have always been extremely sporty. That might be an explanation.
Why did you become a judge in the NVBK?
Roland: On October 15, 1988 I became a judge in the NVBK because there were no judges in East Flanders at the time. Another reason was that I wanted to upgrade the program and increase the difficulty level.
I insisted that the inspection was done correctly. Correctness was of paramount importance to me.
I am proud that I was known to always be correct regardless of the participant, the dog or the club.
I have judged many competitions and championships. I stopped about five years ago.
Roland: Ringsports is the most difficult discipline of dog sports. The dog must have everything: courage, daring, speed, agility and of course a good bite.
I think guarding is the most beautiful and toughest exercise there is. The dog must determine the distance itself, make a good bite, let go and return to the object. And all this out of sight of his master and without commands.
And when there are objects and distractions, the dog must have courage and daring.
For me it certainly applies: 'a good dog in the guard of the object is a class dog'.
Have you trained with other well-known names in the NVBK?
You were also a member of the pedigree committee within the NVBK. What does that mean ?
Roland: Their task is mainly to approve dogs on the one hand and to carry out litter checks on the other hand to obtain a pedigree.
I also started that position because there were too few at the time. I also did it out of necessity to obtain correct pedigrees.
Roland: We trained as a club. First in DVS Waarschoot. Later we moved to DVS Lembeke.
We regularly went to other clubs to train.
I know Bart Bellon. Personally, I think he is the best trainer I know.
In my early days there was Lucien Rivière, a fantastic trainer, Robert De Mits (with his Dick 1) and certainly not to forget Maurice Lampaert, our decoy at the club. They directed me in the right direction.
You were also active as an enthusiast in the Association. Were you successful?
Roland: I have won several competitions, both in the NVBK and in the practice competitions at the Gendarmerie. Always with the ring dog-working dog combination. With all my dogs, five in total, I participated in the Belgian championship in the NVBK.
I once finished 4th with Sam, but I usually ended up in places just below the podium. I was sub-top, so to speak. I have been able to add the titles of Champion of East Flanders and of both Flanders to my list of achievements.
Have you ever practiced another dog sport?
Roland: No, but every discipline is beautiful and has its charms. For example, I went to watch the IPO World Cup when it took place in Wavre ( Belgium ). I also think mondioring is a nice discipline.
I chose the Belgian ring because the dogs must have content that I liked to see in them. On and off the field!
Are you still active in dog sports?
Roland: Due to family circumstances, I am no longer active in competition. I am still active as a decoy for my best friend Patrick Van den Berghe. As an independent car bodyworker, he always has six Malinois with a tough character to guard his facilities. There have already been burglary attempts, but luckily that's all (Roland laughs).
I'll go watch a tiral again if I can. But I am no longer able to follow it closely.
But if my advice is asked, I am still willing to help. Even if you are looking for a good dog.
about the Malinois :
Have you ever had dogs other than Malinois?
Roland: I myself have only had Malinois. I actually haven't had many. But the dogs I had, I played with them. My most special dog and the one closest to my heart is my Sam, who was a grandson of Dick 1. I played and won my first match in the NVBK with Sam on April 14, 1977 in Doomkerke.
A first son of Sam also served as the start of the bloodline of Bertrand Vindevoghel, from the Van Joefarm kennel.
Which dogs from the NVBK impressed you the most?
Roland: I have seen many good dogs in the NVBK. I found the best dogs:
- Dick 1 by De Mits Robert. He has been Belgian champion twice with it. That dog really had everything. He had enormous courage . It was a tough but correct dog. His entrance at guarding the object was especially phenomenal.
- Okay from the Muizenbos by Wuyts Willy. That was a fantastic leg biter.
- Cartouche by De Wilde Marc. Cartouche is the father of the later G'Bibber of Luc Van Steenbrugge, better known as the breeder of the kennel des Deux Pottois. Luc Van Steenbrugge bought Cartouche at a very young age. After just a few games, if I remember correctly. Cartouche also had such a very strong entrance.
All these dogs were bone biters! Of course I am talking about dogs from ring sports.
What do you like to see in a Malinois?
Roland: His tenacity, his work ethic, his physical condition, courage and daring and his affection and determination. Personally, I also like a minimum of sharpness.
Have you ever bred yourself?
Roland: I have never had litters in my home, no. I did place bitches with friends. I have mated with Sam a number of times. All my dogs have always been a bit related to each other.
Which dog impressed you the most?
Roland: That's Dick 1 by Robert De Mits that I mentioned before. That dog certainly impressed not only me but the entire NVBK. But I have seen many other good dogs!
What advice would you give to a novice decoy?
Roland: Listen to an older and experienced decoy. Take lessons with the decoy corps. The NVBK is the only federation that teaches its young or unqualified decoys. The NVBK also provides further training to certified decoys.
During training, the decoy should help the dog, not break it down. Always strictly follow the rules of the judges when you run competitions. Be ruthless but correct in competitions. Complete the competition in the same manner and rhythm and the same for each dog. The work of a decoy can determine the match.
about the gendarmerie (het Verbond):
Tell us a little more about your career with the Gendarmerie.
Roland: I joined the Belgian army in 1958 and worked there as a professional soldier until 1962. I was part of the 1st Para battalion. Our nickname was 'the Africa Corps'. Among other things, I did a 7-month tour in Congo. In October 1962 I followed in my father's footsteps and became a Gendarm. In 1975 I became a sports monitor in the Gendarmerie. I became a dog handler in 1977. A few years later, in 1980, I became provincially responsible for the guard and attack dog, as they called it at that time.
I became the first chief warden, but I once failed to take an exam for adjutant due to family circumstances.
You were also in the USA?
Roland: I was asked by my friend Willy Wuyts to the United States on September 26, 1989. We were invited by Night Hawk Kennels in Westbury in New York to promote Belgian ringsport.
Those club members there and the American police present asked me if my dog could also handle the real 'work on the streets'. 'Of course' I replied positively! They then found out during an on-the-spot exercise that I was attacked on the other side of the site, at least about 60 meters away. My dog had to sit in the car. Although we had never trained this before, this exercise was perfect for my Zwartekop. Because that's what I called my dog, who was actually called Naveron and was a son of Bibber. My Zwartekop was also both a ring dog and a workingdog. That always cost me points in control. But I had a soft spot for such dogs. I didn't want to know about 'jeanette'. (editor's note: 'jeanette' is a Belgian pronunciation for a gentle dog or sissy) All the dogs I have owned have been trained with me, worked for me and died in my home.
There was no price on my dogs.
In America at the time 400,000 old Belgian francs, so now 10,000 euros, were offered for my Zwartekop. That was and still is a lot of money.
But I didn't respond and returned home with my Zwartekop.
What did you enjoy the most? From your work as a dog handler at the Gendarmerie or as an enthusiast in the NVBK?
Roland: Both! But with a slight preference for work as a dog handler in the Gendarmerie. Real, strong interventions with your dog give you a kick!
I witnessed the heyday of football hooliganism, the escape of the gangsters Fenueille and Horion from prison (editor's note: well-known dangerous Belgian gangsters), raids on infamous dance halls famously led by the legendary Boccaccio, riots with the extreme right, and so on.
We know from other former Gendarmes ( policemen ) that you are almost a myth within the Gendarmerie.
Roland: I was a sportsman par excellence. I think I especially earned a lot of respect because I took part in the actions myself. But also because myself and my friend Robert Raaymakers are the spiritual fathers of the program for Patrol Dogs at the Gendarmerie. We set the standards then.
I also helped many Gendarmes during the monthly training and supported them in good and bad days. I always stood behind my men. That was apparently appreciated.
The fact that I also proved myself with my own dogs may also have played a role.
Does the patrol dog still have a place in today's police force?
Roland: Absolutely! It has an enormous preventive effect. To my regret, I have discovered that people in Belgium are too concerned with budgets instead of investing in good education.
There are too many police forces or cities that do not want to invest in police dogs for budgetary reasons. People are ignorant and some are afraid that biting incidents could happen.
In my time they could count on us. Then there was football hooliganism, just think of the Heysel drama. That day of the Heysel disaster, I was working as a dog handler in Ostend where the Liverpool supporters arrived.
So your own dogs were both workingdogs and sporting dogs. A difficult combination.
Roland: Yes, so except for one they were both working and sporting dogs. As I said before, that combination cost me points in the appeal for competition in the NVBK.
But I was happy to accept that because I knew why that happened.
I have another saying that I like to say: 'A dog can loose points by biting but not by shitting the bite', you understand?
Can a sporting dog be a perfect patroldog?
Roland: That is not obvious at all. But a good sporting dog with a tough character can also become a very good workingdog through retraining.
Picture Left: Roland in 1994 as decoy with Sam ( owner Patrick Van den Berghe ) , a son of the famous Oké Van het Muizenbos
Picture right: Roland with Racky
What is the perfect patroldog for you?
Roland: He must have a lot of courage. A good controle, possessing great stamina and being somewhat sharp.
He must certainly also be social with other dogs. The latter is very underestimated because if you work with different dogs on the streets or on the job, your dog should not show aggression towards those other dogs. Because then he no longer pays attention to his work and that is not good.
Should service dogs be social?
Roland: They may be social, but they are certainly not allowed to be a sissy. Not everyone is allowed to touch it and the handler certainly cannot allow everyone to caress the dog. I think the handler plays a very important role in this.
The inevitable question: what do you think about the e-collar?
Roland: Bart Bellon is a fantastic trainer and a master in using the 'teletac' as we say.
But it is and remains a tool. I believe that anyone who cannot train a dog manually cannot do so with electricity. Electricity is by some people used at all times, withing using their brains. When I was young there was no electric training collar. An example: Robert De Mits achieved 389/400 in his time without the use of such a collar and with his Tarzan he even achieved 391/400.
I do think that the appeal has improved. In the past, products were sometimes used that were much less dog-friendly.
Picture right: Roland with Racky
Author: Axel Van der Borght
Photo's : from Roland Vanacker and Patrick Van den Berghe
Thanks Patrick Van den Berghe for the support
Photo's : from Roland Vanacker and Patrick Van den Berghe
Thanks Patrick Van den Berghe for the support
Posted on : 26 april 2024
