Baden K9, located in Canada, is the world’s most complete, real-life K9 training facility. They offer the K9 Task Force continued training and performance evaluation in numerous areas to include man tracking, explosive detection, elevated and sub-terrain work, cadaver recovery, collapsed building and debris pile work, rappelling, bite work, multiple target trailing, live fire and explosive detonation training, gun fire and range experience, performance under stress, and much more.

After the WTC 9-11 incident, the K9 Task Force began a search for a training facility that could offer the type of training needed for “re-programming” the team after working the WTC, but also prepare us for the next mission in this changing world. Our search, after months of looking and interviewing facilities, lead us to Baden K9. Our first class with Baden K9 was with Morgan, now retired, and the remaining primary handlers after 9-11, John and Jason. The training at Baden K9 was very demanding but very rewarding. This training changed the entire way that our team was to operate and train in the future, for at Baden K9 they prepare you for any type of situation you are expected to encounter, and for the K9 Task Force that could be anything world wide. When Morgan was retired in October 2002, the K9 Task Force knew of no place better than Baden K9 to purchase our new working dogs. At Baden K9 the dogs begin training at just 6 weeks of age and are mission ready at less than 8 months. The abilities of the Baden K9 dogs are incredible and the amount of training they have received overwhelming to all others. The K9 Task Force attended training with our new K9's in October 2002 and refresher training in 2003.

The training at Baden K9 is so intense and remarkable that no other school even compares. We have attended other K9 training facilities and at Baden K9 you spend a greater amount of time training and learn more in a week than you could ever at other K9 schools. Training is not just 9-5 at Baden K9 for you to track and train at any hour of the day and night enhancing your skills and communication with your dogs. The training philosophy at Baden K9 produces excellent dogs and handlers. Many myths about working dogs were instilled in our heads by other trainers and were wiped away and proven false during training with Baden K9 where it's you and your dog in the brush performing those missions many say are impossible. Through the classroom lectures, field application, rappelling down steep slopes into the Niagara Gorge, wading through mud and water, freezing, tracking by night and day, seeking shelter from live explosives, working through fire and smoke while crawling over debris where many would question why we would go through so much. We seek such demanding training for the real world missions are just as demanding and this training has proven itself already during our team's deployments and missions. We go through such because we are dedicated to providing the best in K9 services that may save the life of another.

John and Jason both still continue their tracking and navigation training never knowing when another call for help may be received.  Both stay very much involved in this field of service yet to this day.  The team is now much more modern than before with the addition of new electronic devices and more.  The team continues to be recognized by international K9 groups for their professionalism, dedication, knowledge, and abilities.

To maintain a state of readiness one must train on a regular basis, which means some type of training every day, not just once a week. The K9 Task Force received numerous calls weekly that come at any hour of the day or night and in any type of weather. Training is carried out just as if the team was deploying. In the pouring rain, hot summer days, through the swamps of the south or the snow of the north, climbing through caves and tunnels to working through collapsed buildings, you will find the K9 Task Force preparing for the next mission. Our handlers and dogs alike are put through regular performance evaluations to include physical agility testing. The training for the handlers does not just end with working the dogs daily, but includes Morganhitting the books, researching new information, and attending classes to ever increase the handler’s knowledge. Our handlers are required to have more than 45 separate certifications that range anywhere from firefighting, various levels of rescue, medic, hazmat, terrorism, explosive detection, rappelling, weapons training, survival, and defense. We also attend other classes to increase our understanding of actions for those lost and missing persons or those fleeing the law, remember that 90% of the team's request were in support of Law Enforcement activities.

No matter who in the K9 sector you're with, should the conversation arise about rewarding your K9 you're sure to find some deep routed passion.

In the U.S. it has become standard practice to reward a K9 with food or toy, referred to as food or toy driven.  Look at your local law enforcement agency and most likely you will see just that.  This, however, is not a global practice.  One should note that most of the U.S. is far behind in our training standards for K9 teams as it compares globally.  In training your K9 the question should be why is this a big deal and if I'm already rewarding my K9 in certain ways, can it be changed?

Our team, like most others in the U.S., trained to reward our K9s with toys and sometimes food.  This is the standard training method in the U.S. across all levels, be it local, federal, or even military.  We answered the call and trained for years using this method of reward.  On September 12, 2001, though everything changed for that was our first day working on the pile of remnants that was once the World Trade Centers.  Here one quickly realized that the normal toy reward method would not work and regardless the search had to continue.  Working high up on the piles or deep below in the voids our K9 continued the work regardless of no immediate rewards.  Working more than 14 hours a day K9 and Handlers were too beat by the end of the shift to even worry about any toy with thoughts of only sleep on our minds, the horrors that we continued to carry with us, and the knowledge we would return but a few hours later for our next shift.  After our mission was complete and we returned home from Ground Zero we continued not rewarding with toys and our primary K9, Morgan, never really noticed because she was now rewarded with praise.  Our secondary K9’s, Molly, Handler decided to return to toy reward because it was the "standard."  After researching more about rewarding working K9 we learned that most international teams do not reward their K9 as we do in the U.S.  There are many reasons for this like safety on scenes, secondary threats that need to be noted, etc.  Morgan became more intense and involved in the work always taking note of everything and disregarding any thought of playing on a scene now.  We began contacting teams that did not reward with food or toys but only used praise, again most all of them are international.  Some of these teams are the best in the world facing threats we hope never to see here in the U.S.  Our search now focused on finding a K9 school close enough to our location that we could easily reach them for regular training. We were faced with having to fly overseas for this training as we could not locate any K9 school in the U.S. that did not use toys or food. The search went on for months and finally, we located Baden K9 in Ontario, Canada where they actually train some of the great international teams we had been in contact with. Our training there was fantastic but that is another story.

So the answer to the question is yes, you and your K9 can be trained to work without rewards of toys or food. If you watch those that do use toys and food they still praise their K9 for a great job, why not just end it there. For thousands of years, our K9 partners have worked alongside their human counterparts. Look at the history of sheepherding, a very historic position for working dogs and you will find they don’t reward their K9 with toys or food but praise for a job well done. Where did we go astray from these historic lessons? The K9 does not need toys, that is something pet owners give them in this backward world of dressing up their dogs. A toy is something the pet is given because you, the owner, don’t spend enough time with the K9 and they need to have something to apply their attention to. A K9 is happiest when they are with you and know you are happy with their performance. Make the “job” something they enjoy completing because they get to spend time with you. You can stop with the toys and increase the praise for their great performance; they will never notice the toys missing if they have YOU more often in their lives.

Sure, there are K9 in this great country of ours that are wonderful at the tasks they perform and are food or toy driven. The question is though are they the best and how well do they really perform? Well, thank goodness that we’re not put to the test like many other countries where secondary devices are the norm. You need a K9 that is always working with you even after the primary device or suspect is located. You don’t need a K9 who after the first find is now only interested in you throwing a toy and not worried about sensing that secondary device or suspect that poses an immediate threat upon you both and others. The lives of many depend on you and your K9 partner performing to high standards. Some time watch your local bomb squad address a suspicious package. The K9 and Handler immediately walk up to the suspected package that has been isolated and the K9 gives a trained signal of what was or not detected. The K9 then immediately desires the reward and the toy is thrown with the K9 bouncing around. When bystanders see this they expect the search is complete and that the area is now safe, why else would you both be playing? Continuing to watch you’ll see the general public begin moving back into the sector after the toy is thrown. Since the K9 is preoccupied the team never took note of the secondary device because the Handler lead by lead the K9 to the package to be checked and now the K9 has a toy to be occupied with. These kinds of lackadaisical responses will get you and others killed overseas and thank goodness here in the U.S. we have yet to experience those types of threats for most K9 teams are not ready. We do face daily calls where a second suspect could be in a position to harm us and the toy could be the death of us both. There’s also the chance the toy may drop out of the lovely pouch on our utility belt drawing the K9’s attention away from matters at hand. This kind of botched response has been noted with some teams. How about a drug finds on an interstate, the K9 detects narcs in the vehicle. A reward of a toy is provided which takes an unexpected bounce onto the interstate where the chasing K9 is struck and killed. Does it happen? Yes! So why do we continue to train our K9 teams to be toy or food driven? Hmmm, that would be another discussion for a future article but it all has to deal with us and our wants for a reward.

I’ve written enough, you have read enough…time to get out there with your K9 partner and begin training as a team. Have someone remove the toys from the house if you have them and begin a life of praise. If your K9 partner grabs something else thinking it’s a toy just let them know it's not. We never experienced that problem. I think you will find your searches are more intense and both of you keener on what is taking place during the mission other than playing with toys or getting fatter with food.

Calls need to be answered at any time, regardless of the weather.  Is your team up to the challenge?

Those that desire to avoid apprehension by the law or become lost and disoriented most often never do so on a perfect spring day.  Why is it that most teams then only train in the best weather conditions and avoid going out in the rain, snow, and weather of all types?  We should train in the conditions in which we'll be deployed, be it in the middle of the night when its raining to the hottest times of the day.

I remember us answering the call late at night, pushing through the thickly wooded areas, spider webs wrapping around you that you couldn't see, sudden swamps you wade through, thorns ripping at my skin as we pursued many an armed suspect.  We really don't notice all these elements because we're caught up in the mission completely focused on our K9 partner and the area around us.  After the mission is complete and the bad guy in the bag is when we notice the thorn marks, the torn uniforms, and just how wet and muddy we are.  How do we stay so focused?  Because of all the training we've been through and continue to do.  Devoted to the work we always trained no matter the weather, time of day, or the lack of sleep from the previous calls.  Our training is tougher than the actual call and hence why we never really flicker at the obstacles others refuse to cross or endure.  Out there we have, and sure you have too, met many teams that say they train only in good weather and don't overcome some of the obstacles placed in their way because of their K9 partner and what's best for them.  One University we were invited to speak at is doing research for the government and they found that it's the human element that is the greatest hindrance with the K9 team performance.  That University heard of our daily work including work at the WTC and wanted to hear our story.  After hearing our presentation they showed us their research and facilities which proved a point we had been saying for a long time, the human partner is the weakest link in the team.  Baden K9 has known this for years and when we found them their approach to training and missions mirrored our own.  At Baden K9 we were put to the test, on the verge of collapse and we came out as even a stronger team.  Our daily training had already been tough and we continued to turn it up a notch all the time.  There have been times that it has gone through my head why submit myself to this extreme training, most of which is in our off time, but that quickly silences at the next call when you see how the training pays off.

So here are some tips for preparing yourself to weather that next call.

Train at all hours, all temps.  Each week assign a different team member to call the team out at any time they wish for a training mission and into different and difficult terrain.

Storming outside and feel like staying in to watch some TV?  Grab that lead, time for some training.

Remember to dress and carry all your gear just as in a real mission.  Too many teams train in T-shirts but then suffer at a real mission when having to wear body armor.  Even though its training you never know what you'll encounter.  Some of our training sessions have turned into true missions.  Also, you may encounter something, wild or human, where you will need to protect yourself and your K9 partner.  When you go out, no matter if a public relations event, training session, or whatever, always gear up.  The lives of your team, which includes your K9 partners, depend on this simple rule, ALWAYS GEAR UP.

Don't forget to always include water as part of your gear.  Those running from you or that are lost, don't stop after a mile or so and neither should you.  We have answered calls where we tracked for miles and miles.  Our K9 never gave up and never would we.  This is where the human factor is the greatest and where many teams blame having to stop on their K9 partner.

Don't over cool or heat the response unit.  Most great teams transport their K9s in boxes outside of the patrol unit.  One state agency we worked with did just that and they were a great team as we all tracked a suspect for many, many miles in the hottest of GA weather through swamps, thorns, and more as he tried hard to lose the teams on this trail.  You and your K9 partner need less AC or heat so the bodies of you and your K9 partner are prepared.

Use a GPS!  It's a great tool to track the distance you went during training.  During missions, it helps locate roadways, rails, and is better than any map.  Just be sure to keep it updated for the areas you respond to and upload on the way for areas farther out. Always bring the GPS, it's part of our belt, but it should not be used on every call.  At night when tracking an armed suspect the light of the GPS is the last thing you want.

On any mission, you should always have two handlers and the K9.  Great teams don't violate this rule of three.  One handler works with the dog, the other watches everyone's back and scans the area (which you both should be doing), and can work with tools like the GPS, radio, etc.

Train in complete darkness.  It's sad how many use flashlights.  The suspect is not using a flashlight but can see your light for a long distance and what a great target it makes.  Very compact flashlights should be on your belt but only when absolutely needed.  You are trained, under control of your actions versus the suspect or lost person.  This is where night training really pays off for we have surprised many suspects knowing how to track without making much noise, using no light, but still moving quickly.  Not sure how to be better with night tracking skills?  Attend a great school like Baden or contact us for assistance.

Keep a complete log of training and missions.  It should reflect what was learned.  Remember if we don't learn from history we are forced to repeat it.

Now log off and get out for some great training.