Pennsylvania State Police Dog Training Standards

Police dogs are highly trained canine professionals that serve in the law enforcement field. They work many tasks, including narcotic detection, explosive detection, protecting their handler, and tracking down criminals. Pennsylvania's high standard for police dog training ensures that the teams it has in the field operate at a high functioning level.

  1. Obedience

    • The basis of all police dog training begins with obedience. The dog must be unwaveringly, instaneously, and unthinkingly obedient in the face of any distraction. According to the Pennsylvania Police Canine Association (PPCA), every police dog must be able to sit, stay, down, come, heel, release, stand and drop on recall. All exercises must be performed on and off leash.The drop on recall involves calling a dog to you or sending him away and requiring him to "down" halfway between where he started and where you are. The exercise involves a great deal of control on the dog's part. The dog must also perform amid distractions, such as a crowd of people or gunshots.

    Agility

    • This German Shepherd is being taught to jump natural obstacles.

      Every dog on the force goes through careful agility training from the time it's a puppy. The puppy is exposed to unstable footing, a variety of jumps, and is taught to climb ladders. The dog is taught to fear nothing and to follow the handler without reservation. The PPCA has a list of seven obstacles that every Pennsylvania police dog must navigate fearlessly. The four obstacles usually incorporated in testing are a 4-foot-high chain-link fence, a tunnel, a 6-foot-high wooden, slanted wall; and a standard-sized window.

    Protection

    • The German Shepherd possesses a very strong bite and ability to grip.

      Both protecting the handler and subduing a suspect are skills every police dog is required to possess. The PPCA demands that the dog pinpoint a threat to the handler, watch it and, if needed, prevent damage to the handler. The dog must attack on command, release on command, and guard upon command without attacking or intimidating the suspect. The dog must also maintain focus during gun fire and screaming. Testing ensures that the dog will continue to attack even he if his restrained or being hurt.

    Tracking

    • This police K9 is cross-trained in search and rescue.

      Every police dog possesses at least rudimentary tracking skills. They are trained to follow a half-mile track at least 30 hours old with at least four turns in it. The PPCA rules for certification state that the dog must be able to find articles that a suspect has dropped along the track, and alert to their presence. Some dogs specialize only in tracking, but every dog on the force must demonstrate some level of skill. Dogs with higher level skills are frequently cross-trained in search and rescue.

    Specialty

    • There are a number of specialities in police work, including narcotic detection, explosive detection, and cadaver detection. Nearly every dog possesses a specialty, and those that don't are used only for patrol work. Dogs with specialities must be able to find, upon command, any scent their handler tells them to isolate, alert the handler of its presence, and maintain awareness of their environment throughout the search process. The PPCA notes that a dog must be able to find the presence of drugs, explosives, or the scent of cadavers in an open area, in a vehicle, in luggage and in any room.