🐕 “Properly trained, a man can be dog’s best friend” – Corey Ford
With the knowledge that you’re working alongside a dog with a bite force comparable to a rhinoceros balancing on a postage stamp, Police K9 Decoy School is not for the faint of heart. Despite the inevitable bumps and bruises our officers acquire along the way, there is always a line of volunteers to work with the department’s goodest boys.
Over a three-day class, decoys and canine handlers, put our dogs through a series of challenges that push their snoots and stamina to greater limits. You can’t have an effective canine without a knowledgeable decoy on the other end of a scent trail, so the class aims to increase the officer’s understanding of the science behind our dogs and how best to strengthen those instincts.
Handlers and their four-legged partners participate in simulations that prepare them for building search and clearing, vehicle extractions, pre-bite recall and full sprint foot pursuits and take downs. Like all of the items on our duty belts, police canines are a tool that, when effectively utilized, can bring an end to high-risk situations.
Educating our decoy officers plays a vital role in the effective training and utilization of our living, breathing fur-missiles. The love and respect for these slobbery members of our department extends far beyond the select few who get to lint roll fur off their uniforms.
