South Georgia law enforcement agencies provide specialized K-9 training

PERRY, Ga. – I’m here at Georgia National Fairgrounds, where local and out-of-state law enforcement all meet here once a year for specialized K-9 training.

While many consider dogs man’s best friend, they can also be an officer’s best helper.

Over 150 teams gathered for K-9 training hosted by Dooly and Houston County sheriff’s offices.

Equipping these dogs with the skills needed to help keep American citizens safe.

“We’ll have, every training scenario is, supposed to acclimate the dog or get them familiar with what’s going on on the street. So, we train and certify in the various environments that dogs are going to be subjected to in the street,” said Robert Lukason, Retired U.S. Border Patrol.

People from all around Georgia and beyond attend the event.

Including individuals from sectors beyond sheriff’s offices.

Healthcare professionals and school security personnel were also on hand, receiving K-9 training.

There are many ways dogs can be trained to enhance safety, and at this event, I was shown a wide range of training techniques, from explosives detection to boat rides.

“We try to cover everything. The only thing we really hadn’t done a whole lot this year is cadaver. We have, I think, one cadaver dog. But, outside of that explosives, I think we’ve got between 10 and 20 explosive teams here. Patrol apprehension, tracking. But, this particular event here is part of the certification. So, we’ll do some of the certification here. They’re doing the rest of the certification, like on the narcotic explosive in multiple different areas. But, we pretty much do every facet there is to canine training,” said Darby Colvin, Dooly County Tri-County SWAT Team.

Although this event is not open to the public…

It serves as an incredible opportunity to ensure that training is being conducted properly by some of the best professionals in Georgia.

Gabe Hutton reporting.

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