Basic Police K9 Building Search

•Before building search training is started the k-9 should be proficient in the below areas:

Good Hunt Drive

Doing off Leash Apprehensions

Stable on Surfaces

Worked on Scent Boxes (optional)

•Give a warning to alert the suspect, also your conditioning the dog to the beginning of the search. Use buildings with long hallways and plenty of doors. We begin by agitating the dog and going behind a door that’s closed. Doors that are flushed and look like part of the wall must be left ajar. This will give the dog an opportunity to be oriented to the human scent behind the door.

•The door the decoy is behind will be cracked slightly. This will give the dog an area to see a larger picture for the dog to use his nose. Also you can squirt water or use a whip through the crack if needed for agitation (be careful not to injure the dog or scare him).

•We must make the dog bark right from the beginning. We can allow the dog to see the decoy run down the hallway and go behind a door that’s only a few feet away. Remember; the door is ajar approximately ¼ to ½ inch, when the dog comes to the door, whether he uses his nose or not at this point, he must be made to bark and rewarded with a praise and motivation quickly. Remember as soon as the dog starts barking reward him. Have the decoy come out from behind the door and agitate the dog. This will give him a physical reward by seeing what he has located, and the agitation will assist in motivation.

•After praise he is brought back to the original starting point and the sequence is begun again. At this point, as not to promote a mistake, we would leave the door open that the decoy had just hid in and proceed to the next door after agitation.

•We will reach a certain point when the dog cannot go directly to the door because of his lack of depth perception. A useful training exercise is put a man in the open (dog create / no bite) this will stimulate the motivation for the dog to work. Doors that we just used will be left open. He will be checking closed doors that are slightly ajar, with his nose in an attempt to locate the decoy.

•We must teach him and be absolutely positive that he understands it completely before we enforce anything corrective, either physical or vocal. Again, we want the dog to bark because he cannot get to the decoy. Whether you train for the find/bite or find/bark I feel that if the dog cannot get to the decoy then we must have the barking from the dog to alert us to the decoy presence.

•Do each exercise the same each time. Once the dog has alerted on the decoy, praise and motivate the dog. Call the decoy out from behind the door. When the decoy comes out he should charge the dog and agitate with a whip or stick. Again the handler will be praising and motivating the dog and back him up. As the dog is backing up the decoy will attempted to strike the dog with the whip or stick (lightly). This will teach the dog to backup and not turn his head away from the decoy. The whole purpose is to keep the dog in eye contact with the decoy.

•Have the dog check doorways before you pass them, (the bottom threshold area). Let the dog check the areas before entering. Keep in mind that some doors inhale yet the door only 10 feet away maybe exhaling. There are no set rules for this air current phenomenon.

•Be constantly aware of the possibility of hazards and over powering scents when you do searches.

•Be aware of airflow and temperature, in certain areas, will be having effect on scent and influence the types and strength of the indication or alert. Note: if your dog has difficulty or cannot locate the subject in certain areas, it will make you aware of possible problems in a real search.

•DON'T ATTEMPT TO DO ANY GUNFIRE IN THE BUILDING UNTIL YOUR DOG IS PROFICENT IN THE BUILDING SEACH PROCESS.

•Limit your amount of bites inside the building. If the dog gets to many bites, he will not use his nose. Remember we need that nose from the dog. Any law enforcement officer can search a building with his eyes….

•Release your dog in different positions (condition the dog)

•This training needs to be fun and stress free. IF YOU RUN INTO A PROBLEM, GO BACK TO THE BASICS.

By Tim Loughman, NAPWDA Master Trainer

NOTE:
Training tips appearing in this portion of the web site are just that, "Training Tips". Do not take these as meaning that they are the only way to train K9 teams. There are probably as many training techniques, theories, beliefs and practices used by people as there are dogs. The only thing that is common among them all is the specific goal intended for that particular training session or tip. When problem solving tips appear, they to are just one of many. You must remember that no two dogs are the same and one method of doing something does not work on every single dog. Training techniques must be flexible from dog to dog. Please keep an open mind when reading these tips. Use what you can, modify what you want and discard what you wish. Please feel free to contact NAPWDA with your questions or comments. Take Care, Train Hard and STAY SAFE!