Vendor/ Trainer Selection: If you are starting a program do not get in a hurry. I have seen departments try to buy a dog as fast as possible. The result is usually the same, a failed program. Remember that you will have this dog for several years so take your time. Research several vendors, looking at their experience, references, training methods, standards, and guarantees.
If possible visit the facility to see the types of dogs and training the vendor puts out. I would like to think that all vendors are trying to provide the best dog and training that they are capable of but everyone involved with police canines know that this is not the case.
Canine Selection: Allow the vendor to select the dog for your department. You should want the best dog for the job not the biggest black German Shepherd with tan feet that the vendor can find. The best looking dog may not be the most driven. You can fix training problems but you can't give a dog the drives and character traits needed to be successful. If you plan to use the dog for patrol or tactical applications you must understand that just because the dog will engage a sleeve it does not mean that the dog will be successful in high stress deployments. I get calls on a regular basis from people that want to donate dogs for police work. Just because it is registered or its parents were police dogs doesn't mean anything. You can't win the Kentucky Derby on a mule no matter how hard you train. Get the right dog.
Handler Selection: The handler has to be level headed, self-motivated, dedicated and an experienced officer. Do not assign a canine to an officer that is still trying to learn the basic fundamentals of police work. Do not assign a handler that does not want to work a dog. That sounds logical but I know that it has happened. Handling a police dog is much more work than it would seem.
In-Service Training: When I got my first police dog I thought the training and deployments would be easy, after all you just grab the leash, run around, and act stupid right? Wrong. Allow the dog and handler plenty of training time. I have had supervisors that would roll their eyes and sigh when they heard that we were using a workday for dog training. Becoming a canine handler to get off the street for an occasional training day makes as much sense as having a baby to take a few weeks off from work. Most handlers will spend much more of their personal time working with the dog than they will ever get back from the department.
It is important to understand that the dog's skills are perishable if you don't keep them maintained through training. Your in-service training, whether for odor work, patrol, or tactical deployment, should be reality based but don't be ashamed to go back to modular steps. It seems that too many handlers only want to train in areas in which they are successful. This tendency could be fatal particularly in patrol or tactic deployment environments. Training should expose your weaknesses in order to strengthen them. Keep your training challenging, productive, and fun for you and the dog.
Make sure that you apply what you have been taught. Directives for training have no value if they are not applied. Handlers you must pay attention to what the instructors say. Instructors give you the information for a reason; they want you to be successful. Remember that their name and reputation is tied to your teams’ successes and failures.
Deployments: Hopefully through the above steps you will be successful each time you deploy. If you fail don't make excuses. Evaluate the circumstances, don't be afraid to ask for advice (you won't be the first handler to have a deployment problem), formulate a plan to correct the mistakes, and then correct the problem. Be your own biggest critic (an honor usually reserved for your co-workers). Always strive to get better in every area. The thing that I will leave you with is that if the above advice is followed never second-guess, always trust your dog.
Cpl. Roby Rhoads, Arkansas State Police Canine Coordinator