SUNDRE – Canines are not the only members of Police Dog Services teams who require training.
The human handlers who aspire to work alongside man’s best friend in the effort to take a bite out of crime must also demonstrate a high degree of dedication beginning with a volunteer commitment – a starter position also known as a quarry – that above and beyond their regular, full-time policing duties must also include a willingness to learn new tricks on the side.
Const. Calvin Wells, 31, who for more than two years has been involved in the program, said “the dynamic elements of the job” appealed to him.
Wells and colleague Const. Tim Stevens, 28, are the two officers at the Sundre detachment who are keen to work with one of the RCMP’s German Shepherds.
Although Wells had a lifelong fondness for man’s best friend, personal operational experiences as a police officer further persuaded him to pursue a path as a handler.
“I was inspired by assisting in various operational calls with a RCMP Police Dog Services member,” he said by email in response to questions. “After seeing the successful criminal apprehension, I was hooked.”
To embark on the road to become a police dog handler, an officer who wants to work with canines must express interest to an existing member of Police Dog Services, who in turn will discuss the request with their direct supervisor. Once an officer is approved to become a quarry, the member may begin attending training sessions with a Police Dog Services supervisor, he said.
Most of the RCMP’s service dogs receive training in tracking, obedience, agility, searching for firearms and human scents as well as criminal apprehension, he said.
“These police service dogs will also have an additional search profile to detect either explosives, controlled substances, or human remains,” he added.
Not to be confused with a fun, carefree puppy playtime, training often includes tiring and difficult work such as “taking bites” – or playing the role of a bad guy during a criminal apprehension exercise wherein an officer dons a protective padded suit and braces for impact as a dog barrels toward them.
“You get some dogs that you’ll just know, like this one’s really going to hurt,” said Stevens with a laugh, adding bruised arms are not unheard of.
“Some of them hurt quite a bit,” he said.
Stevens, who’s been in Sundre for several years but served his first post with the RCMP in Peace River, said his desire to work with canines stems from that past experience up north that introduced him to working with police dogs.
“We had a lot of fun calls with the dog handler in Peace River,” he said, adding they made numerous successful apprehensions along the way.
“It’s the best job in the RCMP for sure.”
Throughout the span of more than three years, Stevens said he so far has been involved in raising seven pups – but never more than one under his care at a time – with his latest called Rebell. The second ‘l’ is not a typo, but a result of another dog already being named Rebel, he said.
Tests are conducted at certain stages of the animal’s growth to ascertain how they’re developing, generally after the first three months and again after six and 12 months, he said.
“If they don’t make it, then they got sold to families or get handed over to somebody else that might help the dog flourish in a skill that the person before was struggling with,” he added.
Once a quarry has demonstrated commitment to training days, they can be selected for the imprinting course, which is in Innisfail, said Wells.
“It as at this time the quarry learns how to imprint Potential Police Service Dogs (PPSD) and bring out natural qualities and develop weaker ones,” he said.
Those traits might include: the animal’s confidence on its day-to-day actions; becoming more familiarized with buildings and other animals, people as well as loud noises and various environments; building prey drive and grip development for apprehension; informal obedience; and introduction to tracking human scent.
However, the canine an officer works with during the imprinting course won’t necessarily end up assigned to that member.
“After raising and caring for multiple puppies and committing time and dedication, you are offered a spot in a selection (process) to compete with other imprinters for an opportunity to take the Police Dog Services handler course,” said Wells.
The constable is currently working with a pup named Radar, who is nine months old and is progressing well, he said.
“My fondness for dogs was always present growing up, but grew substantially seeing the potential they have to assist in police work,” he said. “Seeing all the personalities and how varied they are between various police service dogs is very entertaining.”
Police canines from across Canada come from the training facility in Innisfail, where roughly 110 dogs are born ever year, of which about two dozen remain in Alberta. The RCMP specifically trains only German Shepherds because of the breed’s reputation for being well-rounded dogs capable of performing multiple different kinds of tasks for the police.
And while the RCMP has single-profile dogs to serve in specialized police sections, Police Dog Services canines are more like Jacks of all trades, said Stevens.
“That’s what they are. They just have so many talents,” he said, expressing a preference for the latter.
“I wouldn’t want to do the single profile,” he said. “What I want to do, is police dog service; that has multi talents.”
Asked what most appeals to him about the prospect of working with a police dog, Stevens cited their versatility in responding to a variety of calls.
Whether participating in a search and rescue mission for a missing person that eyes in the sky are unable to spot, or tracking down suspected criminals who have fled from the scene of a crash or a break and enter, there’s never a dull moment, he said.
Growing up in New Brunswick where he would regularly go waterfowl hunting with some labs, Stevens always knew he wanted to be a police officer.
“My whole life, I’ve just wanted to be RCMP,” he said, adding it wasn’t until much later he discovered a desire to work with canines.
“It never really appealed to me until I saw them while they were working,” he said. “And then I was like, ‘That job’s amazing.’”
Hours and sometimes even days after the fact, canines are still capable of picking up a scent and tracking down someone or something, he said.
“I know of dog handlers that have found evidence weeks later that was thrown in an alleyway or things like that,” said Stevens.
He added he’s also heard of certain situations where a person would reasonably think “there’s no way that this dog will be able to find that scent or pick up this item, and sure enough, they do. It just amazes you.”
