PSD Luthor poses with his trophy, an arm protector after a successful track and takedown during a training drill on Wednesday, March 10. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Alex Rawnsley

DOG SQUAD

VIDEO: Training of local Police Dog Service on display in Nanaimo neighbourhood

Mar 13, 2021 | 6:45 AM

NANAIMO — When the local Police Dog Service unit is called into action what follows requires countless hours of training and preparation.

The unit regularly attends a wide variety of calls ranging from tracking suspects to search for items. The dogs and their handlers also backup general duty officers on daily tasks.

Cpl. Dean Muir, a 31-year RCMP officer including nearly 20 years as a dog handler, told NanaimoNewsNOW the RCMP’s K9 unit is the hardest RCMP section to get into.

“I’m quite biased and I say it’s the best section. It’s such a huge feeling of reward to work with a dog and turn those dogs natural traits, tendencies and drives to our purposes. They’re very good at what they do, it’s a great career but it’s not a career for everybody.”

Four dogs – Luca, Herc, Knight and Luthor – operate with the detachment and train in specialty profiles. Two focus on explosives detection, one on narcotics and another with human remains detection.

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All are trained in general duty assignments such as tracking and apprehending suspects.

The Nanaimo detachment is the only one in B.C. outside of the Lower Mainland to have all three profiles in the one unit.

Cpl. Muir said over time, there was a decline of police dog resources devoted to drug searches, due in large part to safety concerns for the canines if they interact with fentanyl.

“We’re trained in dog first aid and we have kits to deal with overdoses but the reason we have police dogs is that amazing nose of theirs and if they ingest, breathe in a large quantity of fentanyl, it’s going to be lethal for them.”

For an officer, the path to becoming a handler is long. Muir estimated it takes about 10 years of interest, experience and formal training before someone can become a handler.

Officers start out volunteering their time to help existing handlers run tracks or conduct training. A course conducted in Alberta then teaches members how to raise one of the pups from the RCMP’s breeding program.

Course graduates then foster dogs from around 8 weeks old through to a year.

“During that time they’re constantly training with that dog, coming out on our training days, we’re exposing them to tracking, a little bit of basic aggression, obedience…they’re raising that dog up, they’re getting a chance to handle that dog a bit and see us handle our dogs.”

Nanaimo’s newest handler worked with eight dogs over eight years before settling with PSD Luthor.

The training to keep skills sharp and be ready to respond on a wide array of callouts is extensive.

Officers spend one day a week training as a group in the city, simulating searches, takedowns and object detection. Handlers do more individual training with the dogs throughout the week.

The extensive time together is a crucial part of the operation, with handlers required to be able to read subtle cues from the dog.

“They’re very important in the searching profiles and also the tracking profile, the dog gives us a subtle indication that could mean there’s a track-related article that somebody’s dropped or hidden.”

The ability for an officer to demonstrate how well they know cues from their canine partner is often used in court proceedings to lend more credibility to evidence collected in association with a PSD operation.

“You have to be very aware of what your dog is communicating to you through their body and through the line when you’re handling the dog. It gets developed over time, some people have it, some people don’t,” Muir said.

When off-duty, the dogs become part of their handler’s family.

“It’s important the dog have the time to be a dog, they are dogs they’re not robots,” Muir said. “When I’m not in uniform, the dogs key on your look, the way you act, your voice so when you’re off and taking the dog for a walk, they tend to be a bit of Jekyl and Hyde, they can turn it off and basically just be a dog.”

Muir said people should stay clear and not approach the dogs when they’re working.

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alex.rawnsley@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @alexrawnsley