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Check-in & Walk-in Registrations: Tuesday, April 1: 10:00am - 8:00pm;
Wednesday, April 2: 7:00am - 7:00pm;
Thursday, April 3: 7:00am - 8:00am

Cameron Ford and Mike Nezbeth 

CLASS DESCRIPTIONS - 2025

 

​​1) Mike Liley

TRACKING CLASS

PowerPoint terminology methodology psychology bite work on tracks? To Do or Not to Do How to implement bites on tracks Tracking training traditional methods vs. article-based vs. odor-based Hard surface tracking Grass and woods tracking Scent discriminatory tracking with distraction Article indications of evidence search Reality based scenarios in tracking and article indication Deployments Perimeters E-collar education

​2) Todd Wilber - Precision Explosives

Class: Explosives Explained 

 

This will include peroxide based threats and compositions.  We will cover past, present and future threats, the means of building the explosives and the safe handling of the materials for training.

3) James Sabol

Class 1 - Canine Building Search - Start to Finish

 

How to train the canine to locate a suspect in a building with various complications. How to develop the perfect aggressive alert and actions of the decoy inside the building. Teaching a canine to be adaptable to advanced tactics and how to fully integrate to a SWAT team for maximum proficiency of a canines capabilities. Understanding the training methods to deal with multiple doors for pin point accuracy, barricaded suspects, windows and top down searching. Teaching not only the actions of the dog but that actions of the decoy.

Class 2 - Training for Operational Apprehension  NEW CLASS

 

The class focuses on developing training scenarios that mimic real world engagements. Center targeting bites, muzzle work, tactical take off’s, gear disassociation, and target acquisition.

4) Mike Goosby 

Class: Perimeters, Search Team Tactics, and Command Post Operations

 

The perimeter portion of the class will provide the student with instruction from the boots on the ground perspective on how to contain and capture suspects who have fled to evade arrest by effectively establishing a perimeter, communicating tactical broadcasts during foot pursuits, the responsibilities of responding units, what the suspect is thinking, his tricks to evading arrest, perimeter management, as well as command and control. The goal is to increase your dog's chances of getting out of the car and being utilized to search for outstanding suspects and increasing your dog's find ratio.

The K-9 search team tactics portion will cover K-9 search team configurations (patrol, all K-9, SWAT), the individual K-9 search team member responsibilities, effective REAL WORLD K-9 search team tactics, and K-9 search tactics for yard to yard and building environments.

5) Drew Dubnyk

Class 1 - Uniform Neutrality  NEW CLASS

 

An accidental bite on a fellow officer or team member is one of the quickest ways to tarnish a k9 team’s reputation. It is our job, as K9 handlers, to provide a reliable tool to assist in many different volatile situations. That job is not only to locate suspects but to reduce risk to our fellow officers. If the presence of a K9 distracts fellow officers due to fear of an accidental bite, the advantage we gain by having that tool present is almost equally lost by the distraction it creates. This class will focus on some of the main reasons bad bites occur. In turn, it will provide street-proven methods and training exercises to reduce the chance of this happening.

 

Class 2 - The Gap: Equipment to Live Engagement

From green dogs on bite equipment to their first live engagements on the street, this class will speak to a variety of training methods used to bridge this gap. The primary focus will be on muzzle training, while talking about a variety of methods and tools to create a street worthy K9. It is our duty as trainers to create operationally reliable canines. We must do our best to bridge this gap prior to new dogs hitting the street, because lives could depend on a dog’s first engagement.

6) Mike Pennington

Class - SWAT DOG School  NEW CLASS

 

Students seeking expertise in advanced tactical operations with low conflict levels will benefit from the Swat K9 School. The curriculum covers the Swat Dog Success Puzzle, equipping participants with advanced problem-solving skills for tactical scenarios and training strategies to isolate and address the root causes of K9 conflict, thereby enhancing overall performance.

7)  Darren Holmes and Angel Landrau 

Class - The Rise and Fall of the False Response - NEW CLASS

 

This class provides a unique perspective on how foundational and routine training practices can adversely affect the accuracy and reliability of your detector dog. We will discuss the “Rise” of the false response and how its manifested from the contextual learning and generalization processes obtained through foundational and routine training. We will then discuss how to initiate the “Fall” of the false response behavior utilizing problem-solving and remediation techniques. You will walk away with a “punch list” of information, best practices, and concepts to use that will produce an accurate and reliable detector dog in an operational environment.

8) Matt Lunsford  

Class 1 - ​All things Odor - NEW CLASS

 

Class covers the importance of conflict odors, distractions and methods with odor work and the detection/ tracking dog as well as safety concerns. 

9) Bill Gaskins

Class -  INDICATIONS; TEACHING, TRAINING, AND PROOFING A FINAL RESPONSE - LIVE DEMO

Are you looking for a way to teach, train, and proof a final trained response to odor? Perhaps you want to solidify your dog's communication to you. Or maybe you need an alternative behavior when your dog offers unproductive alerts. No matter the system of training, the goal of detection training is that the dog learns "Odor Pays." Indications are the dog's way of letting handlers know they've found target odor. We can defer the indication to what the dog offers, or shape/craft one that works for our dog and is easy to see by the handler.

 

Topics Discussed:

  1. What is an indication?

  2. WHat is a trained final response?

  3. Behavior Chains.

  4. Indications

  5. Teaching Training and Proofing an Indication

  6. Markers in detection

  7. Applied in Trials or Operational Settings

  8. Video Reviews of searches

10) Joseph Bologna 

Class -  Forward aggression - NEW CLASS

This class will be beneficial for handlers who want the full potential out of their dogs with the proper use of prey drive and aggression.  I have taken what I’ve learned from the best trainers in this industry and have trained multiple dogs with this system. What we believe is prey drive with a bouncy dog, crazy decoy, and uncontrollable barking will get you a dog that is not stable. In reality a dog needs to be quiet and clear headed to make sure they have full engagement. This class will show how to get the K9 under control during prey and show the signs of forward aggression. This aggression is deep within the dog but we have been taught the wrong way to get it out.  The class will explain this progression with the use of different equipment, multiple decoys, and engaging in muzzle fighting. A dog that that can control their aggression and operate forward will save lives in the end. 

11) Paul Curtis 

Class -  Understanding what motivates your dog to work

This presentation will include instruction and a live demonstration of canine psychological traits and instincts as applied to detection work. It will provided the attendee a working knowledge and visual recognition of those traits, instincts and a proper working relationship between the handler and the dog.

CORT System

Reward IN Odor

• STRONGEST ASSOCIATION

- PROOF OFF DISTRACTORS

• TRAIN ANYWHERE

• MULTIPLE REWARD TYPES

• REMOTE REWARD

STAY IN THE INSTINCT - The unique patented design of the Canine Odor Recognition Training (CORT) System allows you to keep your dog in prey instinct all the way through the reward phase, creating a higher performing detection dog.

​12) Eric Stanbro ​

Class  - Removing The Conflict From Your Training

 Eric will discuss all the things you and your training program have been doing over the years that leads to conflict between handler and K9. Eric will show you how to clean up the conflict in your obedience, bite work, verbal out, recall, and how you’re living with your dog. 

13) Cameron Ford

Class : Results Driven Detection

Achieve success with your detection dog team in the "Results Driven Detection" seminar by Ford K9. This seminar is designed to produce tangible results, regardless of your training methods or detection disciplines. The course emphasizes making minor but impactful adjustments that lead to the most significant improvements in performance.

Through in-depth instruction and practical exercises, participants will gain skills in setting up effective training sessions, reading and understanding their dog’s behavior, and applying creative solutions—all while maintaining a structured progression plan and making training and real search look more alike than different. 

.A unique aspect of this seminar is using body cameras for handlers, which allows participants to review their actions in real time and through video analysis. This hands-on approach, combined with record-keeping, enables a thorough understanding of the learning process and progress tracking.

Join us to empower yourself and your dog, refine your techniques, and see the results-driven difference.

14) Jim Obrien 

Class - Muzzle

15) Michele Maughan & Jenna Gadberry

Class : Advice from the Nerd Herd - Training, aid selection, storage, and handling

Participants in this class will review the basics of odor, fundamentals of training aid management, and how to incorporate best  practices into your K9 detection training and operations.

16)  Danny Villarino - Proven K9 Solutions

 

Class : Integrated Canine Entry (ICE)™

Our Integrated Canine Entry (ICE)™ course is designed to provide handlers the knowledge and understanding on how to best utilize a K9 to safely enter and clear structures while maintaining close quarters principles and tactics.  With patrol officers being trained in close quarters tactics, it is essential for handlers to train within a similar system to ensure effective communication and to optimize officer safety.  Integrated Canine Entry (ICE)™ raises the standard on how K9’s should be utilized on patrol and bridges the gap between a routine building search and a SWAT team approach.  Integrated Canine Entry (ICE)™ allows us to maximize readily available patrol resources while operating at the highest degree of efficiency.  This course will include the steps necessary to properly condition your canine, multiple scenarios to understand threat prioritization, and a live demonstration of these principles in practice

17) Michael Mchenry

Class 1 - Certification does not prepare you for the Reality of the street:  NEW CLASS

A comparison and discussion of the need for and to be certified, but training needs to focus on the reality of canine deployments and usages. Certification is a must but it does not prepare a canine team for the reality of the streets. We will give training ideas, tips on how to balance the two a be ready for reality 

 

Class 2. Canine Supervisor Class

 Managing a canine unit, picking a canine for the unit, picking a handler for the department, policy, case law, report writing, records keeping, the must / need to have accountability and supervision of the canine unit 

18) Todd Mona

Class :  Full send  NEW CLASS

 

 An all encompassing class on how to build a successful patrol K9 and direct your training for real world applications.  We take a look the East Hartford Police Departments K9 Academy along with our Capital region K9 Training Group and show multiple solutions to different problems.  We trouble shoot many issues in training both handler and K9 while working our way to a progressive training path geared for successful street deployments.   Years of  training, attending conferences and working with trainers from all over the world gets put into this one class; from tracking, to building search, Swat integration, gun fire neutrality, drone acclimation, to laser and finally detection, this will help you get to where you want to be with your dog.

19)  Bradley Gillespie

Class 1 - K9 Back Up Officer Tracking/ Searching Tactics and Contact Drills  NEW CLASS

This class will overlay tracking formations and action on contact drills. Considerations to include area of operations, legalities, stress congruence, operational realities and training methodology to support constraints within LEA training. These considerations will establish the operational applications. Force on Force and K9 Reality based Training will be discussed and how it may be employed to help develop concepts that will apply across the full spectrum of K9 open air operations

 

Class 2 - Training the Tracking Dog  NEW CLASS

This class will focus on dog training. A variety of principles and concepts specific to tracking will be discussed. Considerations in training an operational tracking dog that should be applied throughout the tracking instruction will be addressed. Advanced tracking applications will also be covered. This class will speak to concepts that are applicable to the handler looking for short pursuit tracks through to long distance technically challenging tracks with a focus on reliable, repeatable performance and ensuring a fusion between training and operations.

20) Jay Nix 

Class Title: “Read Your Dog”: Clarity in Communication with Your Police Dog - NEW CLASS

Description:

In the world of police K9, the phrase “read your dog” is often repeated but rarely explained. While we focus on the flashy, high-profile aspects of the profession, the simple yet critical skills needed during deployments are often overlooked. This session is designed to bridge that gap, equipping handlers with the tools to truly understand and communicate with their dogs effectively to be more successful overall.

Through a practical, common sense approach, we’ll explore canine behavior, learning patterns, and the key differences in how dogs and humans process information. We’ll discuss strategies to break down and resolve K9 related challenges, whether in the heat of real world deployments or during training sessions.

This class will help you build a clearer, more effective partnership with your K9, empowering you to maximize operational success. Whether you’re navigating training obstacles or striving for peak performance in the field, you’ll leave with actionable insights to improve communication, solve problems, and strengthen the bond with your dog.

21) Brady Smith 

Class description:

K9 Operational Medicine - What to Know When Disaster Strikes - NEW CLASS

 

DAY  1 - Lecture Session and  Day 2 -  Practical Session

Handlers will learn how to assess, stabilize, and ready canines for transport following field injury. Handlers will also learn basic body handling and bandaging techniques, as well as emergency preparedness.  Instruction will focus on meeting handlers at their skill level, and teaching skills that they will actually be able to use in the field.

22) Ricky Farley

Class : Answers to aged old questions in Canine Detection Work - NEW CLASS

 

1. Primary vs. Secondary Reward

- Which is better for training and why?

2. Handling Techniques

- On leash handling vs. canine searching freely- or a combination of both.

- What works best and why?

3. The Science of Odor

- Understanding what odor does when it leaves the source material based on scientific principles.

4. Legal Considerations

- If marijuana is legal in your state, should you imprint your dog on marijuana odor? Yes, or no?

5. Real vs. Pseudo- Narcotic Odor

- Which is better for imprinting canine and why?

6. Maintaining Indications

- Best Practices for ensuring consistent and reliable indication behaviors.

23) Howard Young 

Class : Steps to Effective Engagement   NEW CLASS

 

A frequently asked question is, how can I ensure that my dog will engage a suspect when the time arises? Conventional wisdom suggests that preparing your dog for real world engagements involves a myriad of activities in order to remove any confusion for the dog. If we have done our due diligence and selected the right dog for the job we must prepare the dog for battle. There are no shortcuts and it’s never just one thing that gets the job done. In this class Howard will share a recipe to prepare your dog for real world engagement. Note….the class explores a variety of techniques. In this industry many things are ever evolving, but many times techniques are cyclical and have a way of coming back around again. Whether the technique is “new” or simply a “rebranded technique” it’s imperative that it’s done to fidelity. 

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