What it Takes to Be a Handler.What does it take to become a dog handler? Well, if you are interested in dogs, or animals in general, and don't mind if your K-9 friend has a little accident here and there, and if you don't mind washing this partner, or medicating this friend, or treating your buddy as a member of your own family with regards, spending up to 4-6 hours of your time each day caring for your partner, brushing your partner's hair(fur) like it was your own child, teaching your partner everything he knows or perfecting it, giving your partner the best that time and training can offer, or just loving your partner, then maybe, you can be a handler of your best partner. K-9. One more thing, You have to be a patient student and a patient teacher. Your dog can........if you let him. Your dog will detect, but you have to know how to read him. You are now the student in a subject that you are trying to teach your dog to perfect.
To be a good handler, you must trust your dog, while using common sense. If your dog is on odor, and showing a response that you know is just not possible, for example, Your dog is responding to the center of a room on a building search (People search) but you know that there is nobody in the center of that room. Residual odor, well maybe. Lets look at the room. What type of ventilation, are there open windows, were there people (known)(ie. a theater) in the room prior to the search, is the heat blowing, what is the climate? Treat it as a crime scene and look around, you may be surprised at what you see that your dog smelled. LOOK UP! Wow, you are dead. The suspect was was right up on those rafters, and your dog took you to him. You didn't read your dog. So, as we are always taught to trust your dog, there are many times when you need to assist. Your dog got you there, you have to make the arrest. So, to be a handler, you have to use common sense like all other Police Work. You would not go to a domestic disturbance, and not separate a husband and wife, or bring one of them into the kitchen for your interview. Wold you? I wouldn't. Stay alert and stay alive. You, if your a handler, will be on the beat again and again.
This is just a small sample of what it takes to be a handler. Remember, you are the Police first, then a handler. Yeah, I don't like it either, but it is the truth. You carry an asset that the other Officers don't have. But if you are a handler, you earned that asset. Good Luck.
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