K-9 Decoy

This 16-hour course is designed to facilitate one of the most important and often neglected aspects of a police service dog program. The training decoy is an integral part of a strong, effective, and safe police patrol dog program. Accomplishing this is done by being sure the handler and the training decoys are educated to work together, understand the drives and character traits associated with training dogs to locate and capture potentially dangerous suspects. Without proper training a decoy becomes simply someone willing to get bit. This relationship can adversely affect a police service dog's abilities and impact the agency employing such a dog through increased liability and/or ineffective behaviors, not to mention its ill effects on officer safety. Handlers, decoys, and departmental instructors are encouraged to attend this course.