What should a basic K9 training program look like?
It takes 12 to 14 weeks minimum of strict daily training at a basic patrol school for a dog and handler to come together as a team and develop the skill set required to function in a street environment. It takes that amount of time to complete all the foundation work for the dog regardless of how many years’ experience an officer has previously had as the handler of another dog.
In a traditional, in-house basic training program, a handler is given an untrained dog and is required to train the dog and develop a strong skill set under the direct supervision of a qualified trainer. Organizations such as the Washington Police K9 Association require that a handler pass a minimum 400-hour training program with their dog before they can be certified. In Florida, full K9 training programs may be as long as 460 hours before a team can hit the streets. Most law enforcement agencies that have retained the skills to provide a full training program in-house provide between 400 and 460 hours of basic training. The same is true of most law enforcement agencies in Canada, where most officers will receive a minimum of 12 to 14 weeks of training before hitting the streets with their partners.
Simply stated, the reason major law enforcement agencies take three months or more to train is because it takes that long to develop a police dog team to true street readiness. In fact, there are professional agencies such as the Baltimore police department in Maryland that provide up to 640 hours, or 16 weeks of training before a team graduates for service. Prior to commercialized training, this is what the industry standard was, and in fact still is for most in-house law enforcement K9 programs.
Most vendors will not dedicate this amount of time, nor this breadth of skill set training, to developing a team. Most offer programs that produce “finished” teams in three to six weeks, or 120 to 240 hours of training. Moreover, many vendors are not experienced with law enforcement. The difference in the training between in-house and vendor-based programs is significant; this difference has significantly and severely impacted many law enforcement K9 teams.
So what should a strong basic training program look like? Following is a generic basic training program I have used for over 40 years. It is based on the Canadian RCMP police service dog program, and has been the standard for decades. This is also similar to what many in-house law enforcement agencies who provide full term training programs provide in the United States.
This is an example of a very basic 13 week training syllabus that will produce a productive team that is patrol certified and cross trained for narcotics. This should be the very minimum level of training that law enforcement agencies should be providing for it's teams.
Learn More
This excerpt is from K9 Supervisors Manual - Dynamics in Developing Police K9 Units available here.
13 Week Police K9 Training Syllabus
Week One
Program Orientation - Expectations
Training Philosophy – Understanding K9 Behavior
Dog Care and Maintenance
Nutrition
Basic Socialization Procedures
Introduction to the Muzzle
Obedience Profiles
Agility Profiles
Tracking Introduction
Introduction to drug odors
Week Two
Obedience Profiles - Individual & Group
Agility Profiles
Muzzle Introduction
Theory of Scent
"Drives" & "Drive" Manipulation (Behavior)
- fight behavior
- prey behavior
- defense
- hunting
- play
Tracking Profiles (Basic)
Basic Agitation Work
Week Three
Obedience Profiles - Individual & Group
Agility Profiles
Tracking Profiles continued - Stamina building begins.
Basic Agitation Work - Prey Work Only
Muzzle work introduction
Week Four
Obedience Profiles
Agility Profiles
Basic Agitation Work
Tracking Profiles continue - endurance
Level of Level I Evaluation - Must be completed and successful to proceed to level II.
Week Five
Obedience Profiles - Intermediate On/Off Lead Introduction
- Hand Signals
- Tactical Obedience Introduction
Agility Profiles - Intermediate Levels
Tracking Profiles - Suburban integration (Intermediate intensity)
- Introduction to Suburban Environment - distractions
Intermediate Agitation Work
- Muzzle applications introduced
- Control work enforced
- Firearms neutralization
Building Searches Introduced
Outdoor Searches
Narcotics profiles introduced into formal training
- Handling of Training Aids
- Introduction of soft drug odors
Property/Evidence Searches - Small and large articles
Week Six
Obedience Profiles Continued - Intermediate On/Off Leash
- Hand Signals
- Tactical Obedience
Agility Profiles
Tracking Profiles - Suburban Environment
- City Environment
- Animal Distraction
Agitation profiles to Level II Specifications
- Includes muzzle work, firearms, control work
Building searches
Outdoor searches
Narcotics Work
- Introduction of hard drugs
- Vehicle searches
- Building searches
Evidence Searches - Small and large articles
Week Seven
Obedience Profiles continued
- Hand Signals
- Tactical Obedience
Agility Profiles - Intermediate Levels
Tracking Profiles - Suburban with more hard surface work
Agitation work to meet level II specs
Building Searches
- Tactical deployments/entries
Outdoor searches
Narcotics work continues
Evidence Searches
Week Eight
Obedience Profiles Continued - Intermediate On/Off Lead
- Hand Signals
- Tactical Obedience
Agility Profiles - Intermediate Levels
Tracking Profiles to Level II Specs
Agitation Work to Level II Specs
- Muzzle Applications
- Control Work
Building Searches - Tactical Deployments/Entries
High Risk Vehicle Stop Introductions
Outdoor Searches
Narcotics Work
Article Searches
Evaluation of Level II Performance - Must be complete and successful to proceed to Level III training.
Week Nine
Obedience Profiles - Intermediate to Advanced
- Hand Signals
- Tactical Obedience
- Work towards Level III Standard
Agility Profiles - Level III Specs
Tracking Profiles - Level III Specs - Heavy Urban Profiles
Agitation work to meet Level III Specs
- Muzzle Applications
- Control Work
Firearms Training - Daylight Introduction on the Range
Building Searches - Tactical Deployments/Entries
High Risk Vehicle Stops
Outdoor Searches
Narcotics Work
Article Searches to Level III Specs
Week Ten
Obedience Profiles Continued - Advanced Profiles
- Hand Signals
- Tactical Obedience
- Work Level III Specs
Agility Profiles Level III Specs
Tracking Profiles Level III Specs - Heavy Urban Applications
Agitation Work to meet Level III Specs
- Muzzle applications
- Control work enforced
Firearms Training
Building Searches
High Risk Vehicle Stops
Outdoor Searches
Narcotics Searches - Vehicle and building
Article Searches
Scenario Introductions
Week Eleven
Obedience Profiles Continued - Advanced Profiles
- Hand Signals
- Tactical Obedience
- Work Level III Specs
Agility Profiles Level III Specs
Tracking Profiles Level III Specs - Heavy Urban Applications
Agitation Work to meet Level III Specs
- Muzzle applications
- Control work re-enforced
Firearms Training
Building Searches
High Risk Vehicle Stops
Outdoor Searches
Narcotics Searches - Vehicle and building
Article Searches
Scenario Introductions -Scenario Based Training
- Introduction to CS/OC Environments
- Day/Night Firearms course
Week Twelve
Obedience Profiles Continued - Advanced Profiles
- Hand Signals
- Tactical Obedience
- Work Level III Specs
Agility Profiles Level III Specs
Tracking Profiles Level III Specs - Heavy Urban Applications
Agitation Work to meet Level III Specs
- Muzzle applications
- Control work enforced
Building Searches
High Risk Vehicle Stops
Outdoor Searches
Narcotics Searches - Vehicle and building
Article Searches to Level III Specs
Scenario Training
Week Thirteen
Troubleshooting
Problem solving and course evaluation
Evaluations for Level III Standard.
Team evaluations and Certification of Teams
