How to Train Police Dogs

By Civita Dyer

Instructions

Things You’ll Need:

Patience
Dog muzzle
Consistency

Step 1:
Choose the right puppy. Choosing the right puppy is the most important step in training your police dog. Monitor two or three selected puppies (usually German Shepherds) for the first five to six months of their lives. Train them just as you would any other dog with obedience and general training. Also subject them to loud noises, starting out soft and getting louder and louder. This will prepare them for the sound of guns later on. At the end of this common training, one puppy will probably stand out above the rest being comfortable and secure. That is the puppy you should choose.
Step 2:
Be a consistent handler. Working with a dog usually revolves around a few basic rules, and one of them is consistency. This is very important when training a police dog. If you are the dogs handler then it should always be you. No one else should ever step in. The dog has to learn to trust you and always report to you. This will form a bond which is very important in this line of work and type of training. Your police dog will always look to you for approval and that is essential. If another person must step in, make sure they stick to all of the same training techniques.
Step 3:
Choose a specialty. Working police dogs usually have a specialty. If your dog will have a specialty, you will want to start introducing it as early as six months. As an example, say your dog will be used for tracking missing persons or criminals. Chances are you may have a Labrador, Bloodhound, or German Shepherd, and they will already have a lot of bred-in instinct. Feed off of these instincts in order to train the dog. You'll be doing a series of hide-and-find exercises everyday. The idea is simple. Allow the dog to smell something that has touched the human it is to find, and then allow them to lead you until it finds the person.
Step 4:
Using a muzzle is a common and efficient way of training a police dog. They are not used for every kind of training, however, but mainly for dogs that may be required to attack someone they are pursuing. Particularly, the agitation muzzle is the best choice for training. It is used when you are training your dog to become aggressive towards a person. They allow the dog motion in their head and neck and still allow them to eat and drink while training. This lets the dog exercise their bite reflex so they know what the training is meant to teach. These muzzles are humane and safe for the dog.
Step 5:
Training a dog, especially a police dog, is a never-ending process. Even after the dog is five or six years of age and has a lot of experience under its belt, you should still be holding short training sessions with it every other month or so. This will keep the dog's senses and skills sharp. It will stay tuned to you and what you want from it. This is important for your happiness and the dogs happiness. This is especially true if a new handler comes into the picture. You will need to work with the dog and the new handler until they are comfortable with one another.

Tips & Warnings

Always use the same treats, voice commands and tone of voice when training your dog. This will add to the consistency of the training.
Try not to use plastic agitation muzzles. They do not last as long and aren't as comfortable for the dog. Any other type of agitation muzzle will work fine.

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