my departments swat team just implemented a swat dog program, using me and my K-9. I have found very little info on this subject, but I have gotten a few pointers from a contact in Calgary and am planning on attending the S.K.I.D.D.S. class put on by ofc. Brad Smith in CA. If anyone has any other ideas I could really use them.

You could contact Mike Diehl. He and Stormfront's Brawnson are SWAT Team entry members. If you're interested in getting in touch with him, PM me, I'll give you the contact info.

There's a seminar coming up in April in Kansas, put on by Tom Brenneman. Donn Yarnall is teaching tactical building searching and the Ecollar. I'm also teaching a class on the Ecollar but mine isn't specific to police work. There are several other instructors and other subjects being taught.

You won't find a better instructor than Donn on this topic. Few departments had the volume of searches that LAPD did when he was their head trainer. You learn real fast when you find that number of people.

Here's the link.

http://www.tombrenneman.com/seminars.htm

Brad's class, SKIDDS, is pretty good so I'd suggest that you take a look at that too.

BUT the real problem in trying to work tactically with a SWAT team is that it takes a special kind of dog, specifically one whose barking can be controlled or one who doesn’t bark at all just out of excitement, AND it takes large amounts of control. You need to be able to send your dog out and then stop him at a distance. You also need to be able to out the dog from a distance, even if he can’t see you, as when he’s on a bite three rooms away from you. I’d suggest that if you can’t do these things, that you train until you can, before you attend the class. Things will go much faster if you do.

Some people do this with a Flexi type leash; that’s what Brad uses at SKIDDS school because many people can’t down their dog at a distance during a search. But a leash will just get in your way and raise the danger level to you, the dog and the team. It's much better if you can control the dog without it.

If you don't have control you don’t have tactics.

thanks for the info. i've really been working on the control. My dog is a very stong patrol dog and is a little hard headed when it comes to the out, although we have made a lot of progress in the last year or so. as far as the barking, he has never been a barker, and we have been struggling to get him to bark when he needs to. this is one of the reasons that he and I were considered for the swat role.

Rick you say that your dog is "hard headed" on the out.

At my LE seminars this is one of the main problems that handlers have. Yet it's one of the easiest things to get a dog to do.

How are you getting the dog to out?

April 1,2.3 there will be a tactical deployment dog workshop and certification in Utah County (Provo Utah). I have attended this and we will be sending at least one of our handlers there. A very good starting point with VERY educated instructors. Lane Critser of Utah County SO is heading this up.
You can contact him at
Critser@aol.com

SEMINAR ANNOUNCEMENT

UTAH COUNTY SHERIFF OFFICE K9/SWAT TEAM
SPRING 2003 TACTICAL DEPLOYMENT DOG WORKSHOP
UTAH PEACE OFFICER STANDARDS & TRAINING

The Utah County Sheriff Office, Utah County Deputies Association and Utah POST will be sponsoring a Tactical K9 Workshop APRIL 01-03, 2003. This workshop is geared towards familiarizing K9 teams with the capabilities of K9's in the SWAT environment. Whether you are assigned to patrol or a SWAT/SERT/SRT team your K9 can benefit from this workshop.

Numerous times SWAT units call for a K9 team to assist with tactical environment deployments. These types of deployments require exposure of the K9 and handler to the techniques utilized by a tactical team during operations.

The cost of the workshop is $150.00. This includes a t-shirt, Thursday B-B-Q, expenses for chemical munitions and distraction devise training, training manual.

TOPICS TO INCLUDE:
Tactical Movement
Chemical Munition Deployment
Tandem Dog Deployment
High-Risk Warrants
Deliberate/Stealth Entry
Gun Fire Exercises
Target Discrimination
Attic and Crawlspace Clearing

Utah POST Tactical Deployment Dog Judges Wendell Nope and Lane Critser will be in attendance. Those dogs completing the TDD standards will receive POST certification.

Contact Deputy Lane Critser or Sergeant Yvette Rice for registration information. The training will go late into the night on APRIL 2nd and 3rd, 2003. Contact us for lodging information.

Deputy Lane Critser
Office 801.343.4050
Cell 801.368.3555
Fax 801.343.4059
email ucso.lanec@state.ut.us

Sergeant Yvette Rice
Office 801.343.4054
Page 801.344.2842
Fax 801.343.4059
email ucso.yvetter@state.ut.us


REGISTRATION INFORMATION
Name__________________________________________________
Department_____________________________________________
Address________________________________________________
City/State/ZIP___________________________________________
Phone__________________________________________________
K9 Name_______________________________________________

Course begins at 0900 hours on April 01, 2003. Meet at the Provo Hampton Inn, 1511 South 40 East, Provo, UT (801) 377-6396. Look for the signs that will direct you to the Training room located on the main floor of the Inn.

EQUIPMENT NEEDED
Tactical Uniform or BDU type uniform
Chemical Mask for CN/CS/OC environments
DOG
Long Line and harness
Knee and Elbow pads
Personal Body armor or Tactical Vest
Duty weapon and ammunition (200 rounds)
Agitation muzzle

Make checks payable to Payable to Utah County Deputies Association, $150.00

Send to Kimikae Street at PO Box 842; Spanish Fork, UT 84660

NOTE: Participants do not need to be dog handlers. You only need to be employed by a government law enforcement agency to attend. SWAT team members and supervisors are encouraged to attend.

Course lodging is provided at either Hampton Inn of Provo. Special arrangements have been made with the management to provide rooms for $55.00 a night. The dog fee to be in a room is $10.00. Contact General Manager Carey Vander Horst at 801.377.6396. Sleep Inn of Provo has a rate of $45.00 plus $10.00 dog fee. Sleep Inn is 1505 S. 40 E. Provo, UT 801.377.6597. Be sure to mention the SWAT Dog Seminar to receive the discounted room rate.

Mr. Castle,

we have tried just about every thing that we can think of to try and get my dog to out. choke and pinch collars don't work so we've gone to the e-collar and had alot of success. We've also tried a passive decoy and distancing myself to try and eliminate any possible stress that he might be feeling. he has very high drives.