Tactical Obedience for Police K9s

Certification

Obedience vs.

Tactical Obedience

• Certification obedience exercises don’t always translate into useful obedience in a deployment setting

• Tactical Obedience means obedience behaviors that assist in achieving a clear objective (efficiency and safety) in a deployment situation.

Certification

Obedience

• Typical certification obedience behaviors are performed in an open field without distractions.

• Multiple, loud commands are allowed.

• Body positions are generally erect, and do not involve having to manipulate weapons

Tactical Obedience

Performed in a deployment setting,

body position is appropriate to the

deployment, moving and seeking cover

and concealment, weapon drawn,

hands and arms in front of the body.

Crouching, kneeling, fast movements in

heeling or slow, the dog must be used

to this kind of handler behavior.

Many dogs are not trained enough in

this kind of environment with the

handler behaving as on a deployment,

so the dog is operating out of context

and becomes confused.

Tactical Obedience

Element: Focused

heeling

One element of Tactical obedience is focused heeling, where the heeling captures the dog’s eyes and attention.

Purpose of attentive heeling mainly is to control what potentially may distract the dog that you do not want to distract him.

Attentive or Focused Heeling

Head Straight Style Head Wrap Style

Focused Heeling Around Decoy

Distractions

Tactical Obedience

Element: Between

the legs heeling

(Tactical Heeling)

Benefits of Tactical Heeling:

1. Contact heeling by feel for movement, change of pace, kneeling and downing with no need for verbal commands.

2. Keeps the dog out of the way of weapons, and transitions from long gun to side arm.

3. Excellent position for moving and shooting

4. Desensitizes the dog to being straddled for tactical removal

Finding Heel Position

1. Door Poppers

2. Find you around your vehicle

3. Find you around suspect vehicle

4. Use decoy distractions

Distance Downs

Down at a distance

Practice send out and down and down on recall.

1. Important for control in general during area and building searches

2. Great to use in Clear, down, and cover method building searches.

3. Must be generalized/proofed in tactical deployments

Generalizing

Responses

Cannot stress enough that these behaviors must be eventually trained in context.

1. Moving with teams, and shields, not just for SWAT dogs

2. Low light and dark light environments

3. Quiet commands and hand signals, or contact work.

4. Unstable ground, stairs, clutter, in buildings and outside

Generalizing

Responses

Continued….

1. Weapon Neutrality

2. Shooting stationary progresses to

shooting and moving

3. Train obedience around decoys, as

on the street your dog is looking for

civilian clothed suspects, civilian

clothed people are distractions, in

training decoys are used to mimic

those distractions.

4. Friendly forces such as fire-rescue in

turnout gear look like suited decoys,

train for reality.

Train Beyond Basic

Competency

Tactical Obedience embedded in scenario style training will help you be better and more efficient in your deployments.

You learn not to fumble leashes, lights, and weapons when you train employing these methods in scenario style in service.

If your in-service looks like your certification you are not preparing for real world work!

Tarheel Canine Training Inc.

Tarheel Canine Training Inc.

Extraction Imprint Areas Environmental Imprint Areas

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Tactical Training Center

Tarheel Canine Training Inc.

TTC Building 2 TTC Hallway Building 1

Tactical Training Center

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TTC Building 3 Parking Area TTC

Tarheel Canine

Additional Training Areas

Tarheel Canine Training Inc.

Trained, Green K9s, Handler

Courses, Seminars.Police K9 Services

Instructors Jerry Bradshaw & Sean Siggins

230 W. Seawell Street, Sanford, NC 27330

www.tarheelcanine.com

jbradshaw@tarheelcanine.com

919-774-4152