How to become a police dog trainer/handler?

does anyone know anything about police dog training and how to get into it?

Do you want to join as a dog handler?

well i think u have to be in the police force for 3 yrs before u can become a police dog handler. If that is the case, id be interested in finding out about becoming a trainer?

I think that you might find that police force dog trainers have had many, many years of experience, both as handlers and as trainers. You need to know how to handle before you can aspire to training. If you are interested your best course of action would be to join the force, make known your interest and hope that you are considered a candidate for handling. Then you may, just may, be able to progress to the training side.

You can start training in a club that trains in "Ring" All ringsports are basicaly the excercises a patroldog has to know

Greetings


Johan

thanks for the advice SB. They are not doing any more recruiting til next yr now, so will apply when they start recruiting again and try and progress like u suggest. I noticed the army do a dog training thing too, but they can send u all over the world and u have to live on camp.. which is a no go dont think im fit enough for that stuff!!

Heldengebroed, wot do u mean by ringsports? i dont think i cud do it as my dog is too aggressive in a class situation

Ringsport is the origine of the modern patroledogtraining. It consist off 3 parts
Obedience, jumps and bitework. It is trained individualy dog after dog and a full training off one dog takes betwee 30 and 45 minutes

.
There are different versions of it

The original Belgian Ring (3 federationsNVBK, Saint Hubertus, Kennel)
French ring
KNVP
and a new addition mondioring

A description off the sport i train in can be found on www.nvbk.be

the following is a general description that commes from thier site



Belgian Ring consists of a set of obedience, scent, agility and protection exercises that will test the dogs endurance, character, intelligence, stability and courage as well as the trainer's skills in preparing the dog for this test.



The agility is similar to French Ring with two high jumps, a broad jump and a wall. Obedience includes heeling on and off leash, a down in the absence of the handler, a send away and a food refusal.



Scent work consists of finding a wooden dowel that has been touched by the handler. Protection includes such items as defence of handler, attacks under gunfire, and call off.

Belgian Ring consists of three levels, Belgian I, II and III.



A key difference compared with the ring sport that North Americans are familiar is the Belgian Ring program, requires the complete set of exercises at all levels.



Dogs progress to the higher levels when and if they receive a sufficiently high score .



In Belgium, the Ring I indicates the highest level of proficiency.



The Ring III dog is the entry level dog.



The program does not have a certificate that corresponds to the French or Mondio Brevet.



The second element that distinguishes the Belgian Program is the emphasis on a changing environment as an obstacle to the dog succeeding in the protection phase of the work.

Various types of obstacles are placed before the dog as an inducement for him to break off his attack.

A dog that will not drive through these obstacles will fail. A dog that attempts to go around the obstacles to make the attack will be penalised severely.

The obstacle may be a line of tires, an artificial pond, a platform that the dog must run up in order to engage the decoy, hanging plastic bottles, insecure footing, or whatever the Belgian judge can conjure up to test the nerves of canine participant. The obstacles are challenging and ever changing, limited only by the ingenuity of the judges.



Another unique element of the Belgian Ring program is the inclusion of an object guard that requires the dog to respond correctly to multiple decoys, environmental distractions such as leaf blowers and finally to undertake an object guard in muzzle.



On the protection field in addition to being unfazed by the environment, the dog needs to complete the attack with a full mouth bite. In this respect Belgian Ring is similar to the requirement for the Schutzhund dog, as opposed to the French Ring Sport. However, unlike Schutzhund the dog faces an attack man in a full body suit and is encouraged to bite the legs. The decoy is stationary and does not offer behaviours that would stimulate the prey instinct. It is harder on the nerves of the dog to bite a man that is not moving that a man in motion. The dog must show that he is willing to commit to the bite.



The order of the exercises is determined by the judges at each trial so pattern training will not be successful. Two judges are required for a trial.



The program is subdivided in three groups.

1. Obedience

2. Jumping

3. Bite work


Greetings


Johan

thanks for the info. Does anyone know what its called in the uk? so i can do a search on yahoo as ringsport comes up with nothing

Try mondioring

Other possibility is that you find some interested trainers and start a NVBK club in GB

You can always make a quick journy to Belgium for help

Greetings


Johan

Hi,

I work for the police and yes, unfortunately you have to be a police officer for several years before applying to go into the dog section as a police dog handler. Training in our force is done in-house by dog handlers that have been around for years, after that you have a tutorship. I know also in our force you have to go through lots of tests and your suitability is assessed, if you are successful you then go onto a pretty long waiting list.