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: [email protected] Tarheel Canine Training:  www.tarheelcanine.com Youtube:  tarheelcanine 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: [email protected]  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.