How Do Policemen Train Dogs to Be in K9 Units?

Police dogs, more commonly known as K9 units, can be invaluable members of law enforcement teams. With their brute strength, loyalty, keen senses and detection ability, K9 units are able to serve society and their human partners by fighting crime. Despite any natural instincts, however, no dog is born ready to serve as a K9 unit---dogs go through intensive training before they are ready to join a law enforcement agency.

  1. Outsourced Training

    • Police dogs are not always trained by the police that they serve. Oftentimes they are trained by third party companies that specialize in preparing police dogs for service. These companies may also provide training for other types of dogs, such as dogs that will be sold for their obedience and ability to protect a private home. The price and duration of this training varies between companies.

    Specialized Programs

    • Some dogs, like narcotics dogs, require special training that focuses on the type of work they will be doing. For example, a bomb-sniffing dog will be trained in odor recognition, personal searches, luggage searches and vehicle searches. Narcotics dogs may be trained to search cargo and freight, vehicles, homes and individuals. Police dogs may also be trained in high-risk tactics so that they may serve on SWAT units.

    Obstacles and Distractions

    • Police dogs must be not only obedient, but also agile and focused. For this reason, they are trained to complete obstacle courses. These courses are generally designed to prepare police dogs for real-world situations, like squeezing through narrow spaces and jumping over obstacles. By training on courses like these, K9 units learn confidence and develop athletic ability.

      K9 units must have steady, focused minds, as well, and are trained to ignore distractions. They are trained to focus strictly on commands and action---their trainers will attempt to distract them while they are completing a task to test the dog's resolve.

    Obedience

    • Perhaps most importantly of all, K9 units are taught strict obedience. This means that they are taught to act only when commanded---this may be accomplished by tempting a dog to act to see if it has the willpower to resist. Not only must they be trained to resist acting, but they must also be trained to not hesitate when given a command. Police dogs are trained to both attack and back off on command.

    Awareness

    • Police dogs are trained not only to obey orders, but to make their own judgment calls. For example, if a K9 unit is ordered to attack, and its master is then incapacitated or unable to call off the attack, the dog may be trained to stop when its victim has been subdued. Similarly, a K9 unit may be trained to vigilantly watch its master approach or search a suspect and attack should his master suddenly become endangered.