The Role of a Departmental Canine Trainer with John Kirk

In this episode, Jerry Bradshaw and John Kirk discuss:

• The benefits of being both a handler and a trainer.

• Societal and departmental expectations of a canine unit in a large department.

• Creating good training files for handlers and canines.

• Utilizing all of your tools appropriately.

• Procedures, protocols, and manuals.

Key Takeaways:

• As a trainer, if your hand is off the leash for too long, it does make a difference and both the dog and your trainees will know it.

• It is equally as important for handlers and department heads to understand what a dog is capable of and what they are not capable of doing.

• As a trainer, you need to be able to speak with both the canine and the handler.

• Set up for real-world training, not just for certification training. Create challenging training that will prepare your dog for the street.

• Policing is changing, standards are becoming more stringent, and all of that needs to be communicated and supervised closely to ensure everyone stays safe.

"As a trainer, I need to focus on the dog, I need to focus on any improvement that the dog needs. When it comes to training a handler, our goal is to make sure that this handler has the confidence that he needs." — John Kirk

Get Jerry's book Controlled Aggression on Amazon.com

Contact Jerry:

Website: controlledaggressionpodcast.com

Email: JBradshaw@TarheelCanine.com

Tarheel Canine Training: www.tarheelcanine.com

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Twitter: @tarheelcanine

Instagram: @tarheelk9

Facebook: TarheelCanineTraining

Protection Sports Website: psak9-as.org

Patreon: patreon.com/controlledaggression

Slideshare: Tarheel Canine

Calendly: https://calendly.com/tarheelcanine

Tarheel Canine Seminars: https://streetreadyk9.com/

Tarheel Canine Student Portal: https://tcstudentportal.com/

Sponsors:

ALM K9 Equipment: almk9equipment.com

PSA & American Schutzhund: psak9-as.org

Tarheel Canine: tarheelcanine.com

Superior Canine Website: https://superiorcanine.ca/

Aaron's Superior Canine Email: aaron@superiorcanine.ca

Superior Canine Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/superiorcanineinc

Superior Canine Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/superiorcanineinc/

The Drive Company: https://thedriveco.com/

The Drive Company Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedrive.co

Find out more about Hold The Line Conference 2024 at https://htlk9.com/

Train Hard, train smart, be safe.

Show notes by Podcastologist Chelsea Taylor-Sturkie

Audio production by Turnkey Podcast Productions. You're the expert. Your podcast will prove it.