4 WEEK INSTRUCTOR COURSE
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September 15 – October 10, 2025
November 10 – December 5, 2025
Police K9 Instructor/Trainer Course Syllabus
This course is designed to prepare the experienced police K9 handler for the role of instructor/trainer. The training emphasis is on developing the skills necessary to conduct initial training and in-service training for a law enforcement K9 program.
- Instructor Guidelines and Objectives
- Defining the role of K9 instructor
- Developing K9 instructor skills
- Choosing appropriate training methods
- Teaching correct training practices
- Teaching correct handler techniques
- Police K9 Selection and Training
- The suitable police dog
- Understanding K9 drives
- Understanding K9 temperaments
- Testing for appropriate drives
- Selecting a suitable police K9 candidate
- Developing K9 drives
- Building block training
- Choosing the correct training approach
- Analyzing training problems
- Training issues and problem solving
- K9 Handler Selection and Training
- Defining the K9 handler skill set
- Interviewing, testing, and selecting the K9 handler
- Creating the learning environment
- Understanding teaching approach differences
- Choosing the appropriate teaching approach
- Matching teaching approaches to student personalities
- Student motivational techniques
- Typical student handler problems
- Student handler problem solving
- Obedience Training
- Understanding and teaching the obedience foundation
- Teaching the fundamentals of obedience training
- Teaching practical obedience
- Developing correct instructional techniques
- Teaching the reward and correction system
- Narcotics Detection K9 Training and Utilization
- Understanding and teaching K9 scent capabilities
- Teaching various scent detection training methods
- Choosing the appropriate training method
- Training techniques for drive building in the detection K9
- Search techniques for building, vehicle, open area, and parcel searches.
- Problem solving for the narcotics detection K9 team
- Teaching best practices for deployments.
- Administration
- K9 unit record keeping
- K9 unit initial and maintenance training
- Testing and certifying for the K9 unit