Help me out here with a revamp of my curriculum.
What I need are first, from the handlers w/ a bunch of experience and instructors are:

1) What do you consider to be the critical areas of knowledge for the handler, regardless of discipline?

2) Where are the most common failings in fielding a new team?

For the newer handlers out there that still have their basic course fresh in their mind.

1) What questions did you have when you stepped up to the plate and were handed a dog??

2) What questions did you have, do you still have about the field of K-9 handling??

Don't be shy, I am not looking at bashing somebody's program, I don't really care what back ground you have or don't have. I am hoping to put together a course that runs along the lines of answering the questions new handlers have and providing the background information that only much experience can tell us is necessary.
I hope to fill in gaps in my own curriculum and discard wasted stuff.

Kevin,

What I see is that most handlers coming out do not have a clear grasp on the basics. Like Presentaions, OB, When to send the dog and when not to send the dog ( according to dept policy I know) and how and when to make the corrections.
And to me I find that most schools don't spend any time on teaching new handlers to decoy. These guys get a nice dog and with in a year it is shot because of crappy decoy work. I know most schools only have so long to teach the guys and gals and you have to put out alot on info in a short amount of time but the basic get over looked. IMO 90% of returned dogs are returned because the handler did not kow how to work the dog, and they push it off on the trainers or the school in which they attended.

Those are some of the things that I see and hear in the field. What Ido like is that most schools or spending a good amount of time on case law and tracking now days and in the past that was almost not even covered.

1) What do you consider to be the critical areas of knowledge for the handler, regardless of discipline?


Teaching the new handler to read a dog is highly recomended. Lots of new handlers no nothing about this. Teach them to understand what the dog is feeling by their body language, then they can go through the natural progression of training without having to fall back too many times. I know this sounds more like advice for a decoy but, I think the handler should know just as much as they sooner or later will be a decoy themselves.

2) Where are the most common failings in fielding a new team?

Finding a handler who is willing to put lots of extra time in to hone their craft. So many handlers just muddle through while working a dog and never get that passion needed to be better than most. I think picking a handler is alot like picking a pup, you just look for different things but the outcome is the same.

Howard

Matt,

Didnt mean to parrot your advice. We must have hit the "submit" button at the same time.

Howard

No problem we are saying about the same thing. I do agree that 90% of new handlers can not read a dog. This really needs to be addressed. I have in my classes but that is just one out of a million out there.

1)What do you consider to be the critical areas of knowledge for the handler, regardless of discipline?

Understanding that obedience is the cornerstone of K9 training…..
Understanding you will only get out of the dog what you are willing to put into the dog….
Total agreement with everyone else that teaching decoy skills is a must…..
K9 calls vs. SWAT calls…..
State specific case law…….
Learning to recognize training problems as they develop…..
Learning to balance reward and compulsion.....
Learning the importance of praise…….




2)Where are the most common failings in fielding a new team?

Improper handler selection…..
Unreasonable expectations of the program…..
Poor maintenance training….
No direction on how to improve the dog past basic training levels……
Failure to recognize that the dog is a tool and not a pet…..

1)What do you consider to be the critical areas of knowledge for the handler, regardless of discipline?

* Obedience is the building block for everything we do
* recognizing Dog/Handler problems i.e. problems brought on by the handling versus issues with the dog
* When and how to correct the dog.
* How to actually conduct training on their own. Once a week with the trainer is just not enough to keep current. (example) I see a lot of people lay a track and the dog does not follow or does a horrible job. The handler will drag him through the track and put him back in the car and write it off as training. Never fixing anything and repeating this time and time again.

2)Where are the most common failings in fielding a new team?

* Dog Selection
* Handler Selection
* Continued Training
* Time commitment, I don't think new handlers fully understand what they are getting into

" 1) What do you consider to be the critical areas of knowledge for the handler, regardless of discipline? "


Everybody else pretty much covered most . I would just like to add a few more .

#1 Knowledge in how K9's learn new behaviors .

#2 They should be taught what it actually takes to teach a K9 to perform a desired behavior reliably ( repetition ,consistancy , patience , etc.. ).

This is even more important when trying to fix bad habits or unwanted behaviors .

It seems to me they often leave a training session believing because they were able to get their K9 to perform a new behavior properly or not revert to an unwanted behavior during certain instances , that the K9 now knows that wanted behavior . They fail to realize it will take many more successful training sessions to actually learn that bahavior .

#3 How to give proper corrections and commands (basic dog handling) .

I've learned more from watching good handlers . Most are calm , cool and collected . They don't yell at there dogs but they give clear authoratative commands . They don't take the dog's misbehaviors personally they simply correct them and teach the dog whose in control . I usually see no emotional change in a good handler you can't tell if they are angry or happy while working the dog .

#4 Know the importance of motivation in the dog ,what he is working for ( praise , reward , etc. ) . They must also learn how to praise their dogs . Many are too uptight to show they are happy with their dog for doing good .


" 2) Where are the most common failings in fielding a new team? "

Matt pointed out the biggest problem I see .

Learning the dog is a tool and not a pet .

Second biggest problem is teaching the new handler what types of situations to deploy their K9's and what situations not to deploy their K9's into . Violent felon fleeing or hiding doesn't always mean a K9 should be used .

I think the most critical area of knowledge for any handler is understanding K9 psychology, how it works, and how to use it. The most serious failing is allowing substandard dogs to complete basic training courses without washing them out.

i think that police dog handlers should be aware of the criminal physiology of whenbad guys are fleeing from crime scenes on foot. maybe look at a study that calgary police service k9 unit did a while back.

im not sure if this is what you are looking for.
thanx Rob