So You Think You Want To Be A Police Dog Handler?

By Kevin Sheldahl

Recently I was asked to write an article about being a K-9 handler and the experience gave me pause. I've written articles in the past, but it has been a few years. After participating in a couple of decades of training and education I had to ask myself: What do I have to offer? Sure, I can train handlers and I'm good at deploying dogs. I've worked in a variety of environments, including patrol, tactical operations, and interdiction efforts, as well as security operations for dignitaries and sporting events. I've even found a few of our deceased. I preach a lot about this craft being a hands-on, experience-driven specialty. What could I write about? What do I have to say?

I blew off the idea of writing articles for a while. Instead, I wrote curriculum and expert reports and knocked out a few PowerPoints. But I missed writing eventually—I miss trying to motivate and or entertain or even bemuse current or potential K-9 people in print.

I have often thought about the books and articles I have read about service dog training—those from civilians, law enforcement, and the military—and something seems lacking. It's not their content. Many are superbly written and the authors show they are well versed in the craft of dog training and/or law enforcement education.

But some questions lingered: Is there something that affects the guy/gal that is just starting out in this escapade called dog handling and struggling to become a handler that I can offer? Is there some insight into being a handler I can convey?

There seems to be a missing understanding of what this task entails until the prospective handler is elbow-deep in the mechanics of it. The technical information seems to be out there. But the art of training and deploying is only partly an academic skill. It must be experienced and felt. It's a craft.

There's a need to have hands-on under the guidance of someone who has been there, who has trained dogs, educated handlers, and experienced the field firsthand. That doesn't come from reading a book or an article. The craft must come from a mentor. But maybe—just maybe—I could touch the soul of the perspective handler enough to influence them as they approach their journey.

Maybe I think too much of myself but hell I am going to give it a try. Following are some essentials for those of you getting started...