What is this course for?
Entry Level Police Service Dog Training Class
Goals Of The Course
To provide 240 hours of intensive training for law enforcement personnel in the handling, deployment, and care of a police service dog. Upon successful completion, graduates will be able to operationally handle a police service dog as an assistant to law enforcement and the general public.
I. Certifications received during the course:
Basic Canine Handler Course – 240 hrs.
POST 24012
Handler Development Course – 40 hrs.
POST 24005
This 40-hour technical course is designed for law enforcement dog handlers, their supervisors, administrators, and risk managers. This in-depth class covers a variety of information to increase your program’s efficiency while decreasing your liability.
TOPICS
- The species canine and the law enforcement canine, chronological history.
- How the dog learns.
- The application to law enforcement.
- Field tactics.
- Officer Safety.
- Veterinary care.
- Legal aspects. Case law past and recent.
Agitator I Course – 16 hrs.
POST 24065
This course will provide the first-time police K9 handler or K9 supervisor with the knowledge and confidence to deploy on real world events. This course will challenge students to complete scenarios based on real world events, as a team using industry standard tactics while considering liability to their specific agency.
Agitator II Course – 24 hrs.
After acquiring the methods taught in Agitator I, Agitator II students are taught advanced techniques to increase the performance of the law enforcement K-9 team.
Full Deployment Course – 24 hrs.
POST 24035
This course will provide the first-time police K9 handler or K9 supervisor with the knowledge and confidence to deploy on real world events. This course will challenge students to complete scenarios based on real world events, as a team using industry standard tactics while considering liability to their specific agency.
E-Collar Course – 24 hrs.
POST 23980
Our comprehensive 3-day program offers expert instruction on the effective use of electronic collars in training and in the field. Enhance your canine’s responsiveness with safety, control, and humane techniques to ensure they perform optimally in critical situations.
This is a community college course with 5 college credits. (CA residents only)
II. Theoretic Instruction
- History of the species canine
- Chronological history of dogs in police service
- Canine behavior
- How the dogs learn
- Training objectives and techniques
- Theory and techniques to enhance agitator/helper skills
- Instruction in types and proper utilization of training equipment
- Health care and feeding the dogs
- Current case law and legal parameters involved in the use of a police service dog
- Preparation for court appearances
- Preparing and maintaining training records
III. Practical Instruction
- Safety during training
- Understanding the police service dog’s abilities
- Understanding the police service dogs learning process
“Guard & Bark” training done properly
- Enhance alerts
- Develop confrontational behavior
- Accelerate transitional training
Reading, understanding, and proper reaction to dog alerts
- Evidence search
- Area search
- Directed search
- Building search
- Proper use of all training equipment
- Proper handling of surveillance, searches, arrests and transporting of suspects
- Working with other police officers
- Understanding the handler’s responsibility to ensure all deployments are done within your agency’s policy and procedures manual
All training has comprehensive written standards and is tested in the courts.
Adlerhorst K9’s courses are California POST (Peace Officer Standards and Training) approved, meaning they meet the state’s highest professional training standards for law enforcement.
POST approval ensures that our programs are recognized, credible, and held to strict guidelines designed to improve officer performance and public safety. For departments and handlers, this means training that is not only top tier but also officially recognized toward professional requirements and advancement.
The POST approval number for the Basic Canine Handler Course is #24012.
