Author: Rodney Spicer
Publication: Dog Sports Magazine, August 1999
Author: Rodney Spicer
Publication: Dog Sports Magazine, November 1999
Title: Preparing for the K9 Oral Interview
Summary: Even though you have helped at K9 training in the last two years on your off time, this does not mean you are the next handler. There are NO GUARANTEES!! But with the proper preparation, you can get the edge over the other applicants.
ARTICLES
Author: Rodney Spicer
Publication: Police K-9 Magazine, Fall 2005
Title: Power On Introducing and Using the Electronic Collar
Summary: The Electric Collar is one of the best dog training tools available today and is also one of the most misunderstood and under utilized training tools on the market.
Author: Rodney Spicer
Publication: Police K-9 Magazine, Summer 2005
Title: Muzzle Training
Summary: The canine muzzle is an excellent training tool, but how you use it determines success or failure. This article discusses how to choose the right muzzle for your dog and how to use a muzzle most effectively
Author: Rodney Spicer
Publication: Police K-9 Magazine, Spring 2006
Title: It’s Not a Sport, It’s a Job
Summary: Police Service Dog’s basic foundation training comes from several different working dog sports from around the world. KNPV, Schutzhund, ZVV, IPO, Belgium Ring, French Ring, Mondio Ring. These are the main working recognized dog sport’s foundation training of Police Service Dogs today. When I first became involved in working dogs I realized soon after that I need to know my dogs history such as, who are the parents, where is he from, is he titled and is he working lines or show lines. These are some of the most common questions at working dog clubs today and public demonstrations.
Author: Rodney Spicer
Publication: Police K-9 Magazine, Winter 2007
Title: It’s Not Just a Bite Suit
Summary: There are many different types of bite suits are available, and it pays to choose carefully, because the right bite suit can help determine both your success and your safety as an agitator. Before purchasing a bite suit, consider the following questions.
Author: Rodney Spicer
Publication: Police K-9 Magazine, Summer 2007
Title: An Exercise in Obedience
Summary: One of the most important exercises that a police service dog (PSD) performs on a daily basis is staying in a patrol car when its windows are down. Not all agencies deploy with door openers and remote-control windows, so the PSD must learn to stay in the car with the windows down and doors open during extreme distractions. Here’s how I train a PSD for this challenging exercise in obedience.
Author: Rodney Spicer
Publication: Police K-9 Magazine, March/April 2008
Title: Successful Range Training
Summary: Training on a shooting range — like all K-9 training — should begin with a plan to achieve a desired goal. At the range, the perfect scenario is for the dog to remain quiet and at the handler’s side, in complete compliance to any handler commands. This article discusses how to introduce a canine to gunfire and train him for that ideal scenario.
Author: Rodney Spicer
Publication: Police K-9 Magazine, January/February 2009
Title: K9 Patrol Orientation
Summary: Similar to a field training program for new police recruits fresh out of the basic academy, a new K9 team needs the same type of structured and supervised training program. Upon completion of basic training and certification, the initial patrol deployment period known as “K9 Field Training” is a critical learning time for the K9 team.
Author: Rodney Spicer
Publication: Police K-9 Magazine, July/August 2009
Title: High Risk Traffic Stops
Summary: On a high risk traffic stop, police service dogs (PSD) are often used to clear a vehicle after all the visible occupants have been removed and placed in a secure area. The PSD is then sent into the vehicle to check for armed and/or dangerous persons that could possibly be lying in wait prior to the officers approaching the vehicle.
Author: Rodney Spicer
Publication: Police K-9 Magazine, January/February 2011
Title: Reality Based Detection
Summary: Once the police service dog (K-9) has learned an association with a specific target odor and has been conditioned to come to a final response by alerting to that target odor, I then proceed to the next phase of training by introducing masking agents and distractors such as food, animals, and animal odors. The final phase of training concludes with exposing the team to a variety of challenging environments.
Rodney,
Thank you for all your important contributions to our work.
Gavin De Becker, Author of Just 2 Seconds
Author: Rodney Spicer
Publication: K-9 Cop Magazine
Title: Focus on the Suspect in Bite Training
Summary: There are few scenarios that are as frustrating as watching your PSD return, wagging his tail while taking a victory lap with an article of clothing in his mouth. Not only has the PSD lost focus in the engagement but now the suspect has an opportunity to flee or conceal himself.
Author: Rodney Spicer
Publication: Dog Sports Magazine, June 2001
Title: Guard and Bark Training for Police Service Dogs
Summary: There are many ways to train the Guard and Bark and many associations with the Guard and Bark. In schutzhund the dog guards in a blind. In KNPV the dog guards after finding a Decoy hiding in the woods. In most sports there is a pattern, or sequence of events that is associated with the guard and bark that never changes. The only association or pattern that a Police Service Dog may have is the command.
805-647-1799
Author: Rodney Spicer
Publication: K-9 COP Magazine, November/December 2011
Title: Training the Police Service Dog to Apprehend the Leg
Summary: During a real world K9 deployment it can be critical that the police service dog not pick and choose where they are going to bite the suspect rather when the PSD engages the suspect the PSD must apprehend what is accessible. This training can make all the difference in the outcome of a successful K9 deployment as well as officer safety issues that can arise by the PSD not biting what is accessible.
Author: Rodney Spicer
Publication: K-9 COP Magazine, December 2014/January 2015
Title: K-9 Stress Inoculation Prior to Deployments
Summary: The goal of Stress Inoculation is to place one in stressful scenarios thus inoculating with small doses of stress so that they can overcome a greater challenge by gaining confidence and learning to better cope with fear and anxiety during stressful encounters.
Author: Rodney Spicer
Publication: K-9 COP Magazine, February/March 2015
Title: Training the Bark Alert for Police Service Dogs.
Summary: Increasing drive and stimulation to create a trained conditioned response to inaccessible human odor.
Author: Rodney Spicer
Publication: K-9 COP Magazine, April/July 2015
Title: Passive Apprehension Training
Summary: There are generally three things a suspect will be doing upon contact with the Police Service Dog. Either fleeing, Fighting or hiding and when the suspect is hiding they are generally passive and not moving. This picture to the PSD may not be normal due to foundation training with bite presentations or they maybe in conflict due to sport training and the negative response to biting an agitator wearing bite equipment that is standing still and not moving.
