Tactical K9 Tracking Team Seminar

This Seminar Is Offered Year-round

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Overview: One of the most dangerous tasks law enforcement agencies are called upon to perform is the apprehension of armed and fleeing fugitives in rural environments. Often these fugitives have killed police officers or others and will kill again upon contact. Immediate daytime or nighttime deployments are often needed to prevent the escape or additional harm to others. Each year across the US, law enforcement officers are killed in these dangerous deployments. Often a K9 tracking team with one or more cover officers are deployed and without specialized training the K9 handler and cover officers are highly at risk in the pursuit of the fugitive who often has the advantage of concealment and surprise.

This course is designed to teach tactical skills that enable a tracking team to conduct this high risk deployment successfully with emphasis on officer safety. The course is recommended for K9 teams, SWAT teams, or other specialized operations units and provides the training necessary to create a Tactical Tracking Team within any department.

Course Description:  The course teaches skills to prepare and deploy a five-man tactical tracking team consisting of a K9 handler and four additional team members to operate as a specialized unit to conduct high risk tracking deployments. The two-fold training goals are: (1)  teaches officers to safely follow tracks quickly enough to close the theoretical time-distance gap with a fugitive; (2) teaches movement of a specialized tactical formation which provides security for the K9 team and overcomes the ability of the fugitive to ambush a single file of pursuing officers. 

Each member of the team, including K9 handler, is taught how to move as a team with a tracking K9. Each member will learn the duties and responsibilities of the different team members and will rotate through each team support position of the tracking team. The team is taught to move in specific formations to assist in following the track and to prevent an assault on the team. The course also offers immediate action drills with duty weapons to ensure the team will function safely and effectively if attacked.

Each K9 handler will be taught how to condition the K9 for operation within the team formation. The K9 will be taught a tracking style that enables the team to work in concert with the K9's efforts while providing protection for the handler and K9.

Other specific areas of emphasis will include: stealth movement, officer safety, identifying action indicators left by the quarry, moving tactically and tracking as a team, lost track recovery procedures, communicating with perimeter officers, and much more.

This seminar includes approximately four hours of classroom instruction and the remaining time spent in fieldwork. Total hours of the seminar are approximately 16 hours over the two-day period.

All training will take place on our 5,000-acre training grounds. Dogs may be housed in our kennel or dogs may be kept in their own crates in the evening. Lodging for attendees will be provided at our guest house on-site. The guest house has a full kitchen for meal preparation or restaurants are approximately 15-minutes away.

Instructors: Lead instructor Tracy Bowling has trained police K9 tracking teams for over 35 years, has over 450 tracking apprehensions as a K9 handler, and is a nationally recognized expert in training police tracking teams. Other instructors are members of active police tactical tracking teams. 

Attendees: All attendees should be in physical condition commensurate with the physical requirements of tracking in dense, wooded, or difficult terrain.

K9 Teams: All K9 teams must be experienced and K9 should possess a high degree of reliability in remaining track faithful. Each team must have a tracking harness, 15-feet tacking lead, and choke chain, water and feed bowls, and feed. Vehicle must have a crate or kennel for transporting dog.

Equipment: Each team member must have a compass, long gun, (K9 handler to have duty weapon), body armor, eye/hearing protection, flashlight, field gear (duty), and water container. Handlers should dress appropriate for current weather with comfortable ankle length or greater leather boots.

Course Fee: The cost includes all classroom and field instruction, classroom training materials, and three nights lodging for attendees.

Course Fee: $395 per person  (Includes three nights lodging)

To register click on Registration Form