Page 459 - NIXBOOK

Here was a training one day at a horse arena in the Seattle area. The first couple times I walked into an area this big I was almost
completely overwhelmed, like most handlers. The trick, or the method, is to basically just make sure the dog covers most of the
general area and if there is a scent in the air to be picked up, the dog should be able catch a whiff in the air and work it back to
the source.

The instructors hid drugs there in places like the he middle of a pallet of horse feed bags, and in the top of a stack of straw bales.
It looks difficult as hell but as we all found out, if the handlers make sure the dogs walk somewhere or anywhere near the odor
source, the dogs should be able to catch a whiff in the air and then be able to work their way toward the hidden stash within a
few minutes. We also trained once a horse auction arena, and a couple times at some random auto wrecking yards. It was all
excellent training and it was invaluable to our development as a K9 team.
When I got Kilo, one of the first things I did was put him in a harness thing to wear, because I thought it looked super cool and
professional. I tried a variety of different patches on the side, and I was quite pleased with his overall appearance of looking
professional and badass. I also got him a big collar that I could put a professional patch on, too. So while I may have dressed the
dog up goofy sometimes, his default look on patrol was this:

Interestingly enough, I saw only a few other dogs wearing this much. The vast majority had only a collar, and even then most of
the collars were very plain and simple and well, boring. It was very important to me to have a professional looking dog. Mission
Totally Accomplished.
Now at that time, my assigned vehicle was a 2010 Chevy Tahoe. The department had purchased a stupid expensive metal
kennel/crate that was bolted in the very back for the dog to ride in. I absolutely hated it; I didn’t want the dog in the very back
where I couldn’t see him and it was difficult to get him to jump up into the thing in the very back. The preferred option for most
police dogs – well, actually all – is to install what they call a K9 insert into the back seat; a giant multi-piece aluminum thing
that has room for dog to lay down. Of course the factory/stock seat in the back has to come out. I really wanted one of those but
they cost well over $2,000 dollars and we had no budget for it. Which is why they made me stuff the dog in the very back. Then
one day I got some inspiration; I could make my own K9 insert! There was already a heavy duty partition between the front and
back seat, and there was another partition between the back seat and the rear cargo area –to keep prisoners out of there, you
know. I presented my idea and I was given permission to proceed. The back seat was a 1/3 – 2/3 split. I kept the 1/3 size on the
right side and unbolted the 2/3 seat from the left and middle. I measured, cut, painted and fitted a vertical sheet of plywood
between the front and rear partitions to act as a wall; the top half was thick metal mesh. Then I added a horizontal sheet above
the floor to create a new solid flat floor. Some paint and bolts and screws and then some carpeting and it was done. And the
whole thing cost less than $120 bucks! There was plenty of room then for Kilo and he loved it too.