Certification Standards

Download Area Search Standard

This test attempts to simulate a suspect fleeing into an open area with a number of places to be used for concealment.

Area Type

• Open fields, warehouse complexes, fenced in storage lots, etc.

• Area to be searched will be approximately 150 ft. x 150 ft.

• The K9 team will have 6 minutes to complete the area search.

Decoy

• Will be hidden for a minimum of 10 minutes prior to the test.

• Will be in a safe hide with no bite equipment.

• The test will be conducted on or off lead with the dog wearing only on-duty equipment.

• The deployment will simulate an actual scenario utilizing tactics.

• The handler will act in compliance to their department’s policy regarding announcements.

• The dog’s indication of the decoys location must be obvious.

• The test ends when the handler calls the location of the decoy and takes control of the dog.

Download Building Search Standard

Building Types

• Residential dwelling, warehouse, barn, open garage/shop area, office building, school, hotel/motel etc.

• Building will be approximately 1000-1500 square feet.

• There will be a time limit of 10 min.

Decoy

• Will be hidden for a minimum of 10 minutes prior to the test.

• Will be in a safe hide with no bite equipment

• The test will be off-lead with the dog wearing only on-duty equipment. The  deployment will simulate an actual scenario utilizing tactics. The handler will act in compliance to their department’s policy regarding announcements.

• The dog’s indication of the decoys location must be obvious.

• The test ends when the handler calls the location of the decoy and takes control of the dog.

Download Detector Standard

• There will be two (2) Certifying Officials present for the certification.

• Area to be used will be at the discretion of the certifying official.

• Dog will wear only on duty equipment.

• There will be 10 search areas with an unknown amount of hides (minimum 2 hides, max of 10).

• Additional substances will be placed away from the primary search area, and a time limit of five minutes.

• All finds will be planted a minimum of 30 minutes prior to testing.

• Certifying officials may terminate certification at any time.

• Time on searches is sixteen (16) minutes.

• Certifying officials must be notified of any protest at the conclusion of the certification. If the protest cannot be resolved it must be put in writing and submitted to the chairman of the standards committee within 48 hrs. for resolution.

• If the team fails certification, the team must wait 1 day before attempting to certify again.

• Teams must score 80% to pass.

Download Obedience Standard

• The K-9 team will heel at different directions and at all time remaining under control at the handlers side.

• The test consists of the following exercises with the dog off lead.

• The dog will heel on a course with a minimum of two left turns, two right turns and two about faces (one being a finish). The team will walk three legs with a turn at the end of each leg. Each leg will be a minimum of 20 yards in length. At the halfway point on the final leg, the dog will be commanded to a sit, stand or down in motion or with the handler at a stop. The handler will then continue to the end of the leg, turn and face the dog. At the direction of the certifying official, the handler will call the dog to a finish position.

• The test will be judged Pass/Fail.

• A passing score will be the dog staying under control at the handler’s side and performing the sit stand or down without breaking. A minimal amount of forging or  lagging will not be considered a failure.

Download Patrol Standard

• The handler will hold the dog at the starting position designated by the certifying official.

• The decoy will appear at a distance of approximately 10-15 yards. The handler will issue two announcements. After the first announcement, the decoy will begin jogging away from the team.

• Following the second announcement, the handler will deploy the dog. The dog will pursue and engage the decoy by biting and attempt to subdue.

The handler will remove the dog from the bite in any of the following ways:

1. VERBAL OUT – The handler must remain 10 feet from the decoy and give the dog their release command. The handler can give the command up to 4 times. The dog must release, and not re-bite to pass. The handler has 45 seconds from the time the dog is sent for the bite until they release the bite to pass the exercise.

2. TACTICAL VERBAL OUT – The handler must remain behind cover, command the dog to release while using their e-collar. The dog must release, not re-bite, and return to  the handler behind cover to pass. The handler has 30 seconds from the time the dog is sent for the bite until they return to the handler to pass the exercise. No excessive correction will be allowed.

3. TACTICAL LIFT OFF – Once the dog is on the bite the handler and at least one cover officer will approach the decoy. Once the cover officer has simulated handcuffing the decoy the handler will lift the dog off the bite. The handler has 30 seconds from the time the dog is sent for the bite until they liftoff to pass the exercise.

Download Recall Standard

The Recall will begin with the K9 Team at the start line. The handler may hold the canine at the start line until the canine is released for the apprehension. The decoy will be  concealed forty-five (45) yards away from the start line. When the handler makes an
announcement the decoy will appear and face the K9 Team.

The handler will send the canine for apprehension. The recall of the canine will occur after the canine crosses the fifteen yard marker, the handler will:

• Command the canine to stop the pursuit and return to handler.

• Or the handler will command the canine to stop (sit, down or stand) and remain at that point. The handler can then move to the canine’s position.

• Or the handler will command the canine to pursue the decoy and go to a guard position (sit, down, stand).

• Aggressive contact with the decoy will be considered a failure.

• Non-aggressive incidental contact is acceptable.

****This phase must be passed to continue with certification****

Download Tracking Standard

• This exercise will consist of a track not less than 200 yards and no more than 400 yards.

• The track will begin from an article or vehicle. The track layer will begin walking at a normal pace and stride. The track will contain two turns between 45 and 90 degrees. The track will terminate at an article.

• Surface for the track will be: grass, weeds, dirt, gravel or a combination of all.

• The track will be aged a minimum of twenty minutes and not more than an hour.

• There will be no evidence articles between the starting and ending points.

• It will be the responsibility of the K-9 team to determine direction of travel.

• The only direction eliminated will be the path taken by the team to arrive at the starting point.

• It must be obvious to the certifying officials that the team is on the track and successfully completes the track.

Download Muzzle Standard

• There will be two certifying officials present for the certification

• This exercise demonstrates the control of the K9 team during the protection of handler from an aggressor in a hospital setting. The K9 team is observed in the contact, engagement, maintained engagement, and securing of the aggressor.

• The K9 team must pass the obedience portion of the HDPK9A patrol certification in muzzle prior to attempting this certification. The K9 shall be in muzzle during this phase of the certification.

• The handler, decoy, and certifying officials are responsible for checking the proper fit of the muzzle prior to the certification starting.

• The certification will start with the K9 team outside of the room or enclosed area to simulate a hospital type room.

• For the certification there will be an aggressor, and at minimum two (2) role players acting as hospital staff members inside of the room. The aggressor should be set deeper in the room then the staff members. Aggressor should be an approved decoy through HDPK9A, if available the two staff members should also be decoys.

• If not enough approved decoys, non-decoys can be used in their place.

• The certification will start at the direction of the certifying officials, at that time the aggressor will become active in threatening to assault the staff members and K9 team. The K9 will be on leash during the certification.

• The handler will give commands to comply and release the K9 in muzzle when the aggressor doesn’t comply. The K9 will actively engage the aggressor for minimum 15 seconds by actively using the muzzle on the K9 to fight/attack the aggressive subject. The desired behavior the certifying officials will consider passing behavior is physical engagement, punching, biting within the muzzle, holding onto the decoy with the K9’s legs, etc. While the K9 is engage the handler will direct “staff” out of the room.

• If the K9 disengages prior to command while the decoy is active this will be considered a fail. If the K9 continues to engage after aggressor becomes compliant it will be considered a fail. If the K9 engages “staff” members instead of the aggressor it will be considered a fail. If the K9 disengages the aggressor and engages the “staff” members it will considered a fail. If the K9 demonstrates an over fixation to the muzzle it will be considered a fail.

• Upon gaining compliance from the aggressor the Handler will gain control, either verbally or by physically holding the dog by the leash or collar and instruct the cover officer to handcuff the aggressor.

• Certifying officials may terminate certification at any time

• Certifying officials must be notified of any protest at the conclusion of the certification. If the protest cannot be resolved it must be put in writing and submitted to the chairman of the standards committee within 48 hours for resolution.

• If the team fails certification, the team must wait 1 day before attempting to certify again.

Download Human Remains Detector Standard

There will be two certifying officials present for the certification

Area to be used will be at the discretion of the certifying officials but should include:

• Five (5) areas will be used for testing purposes, these areas can be urban, wilderness, water, or debris depending what is available at the certification site.

• Each search area should be approximately 50’ x 50’ (or 5,000 sq. ft.) of terrain where dog will be asked to work.

• Zero (0) to two (2) scent sources will be located in each search area.

• Alerts must be passive. Any aggressive alerts or contacts with the hide will result in a disqualification.

• Each search area must be completed in 20 minutes.

• Scent sources may be buried (no more then 12 inches), on surface or placed above surface (no higher the 4 feet) in each area.

• One area should be blank of any target odor. Other areas should contain one distracting odor inside of the search area.

If water is to be used as an area, certifying officials will assure that all teams have proper safety equipment in use.

Dog will wear only on duty equipment

All finds will be placed a minimum of 30 minutes prior to testing

Certifying officials may terminate certification at any time

Certifying officials must be notified of any protest at the conclusion of the certification. If the protest cannot be resolved it must be put in writing and submitted to the chairman of the standards committee within 48 hours for resolution

If the team fails certification, the team must wait 1 day before attempting to certify again.

Download Explosives Detection Standards

A minimum of two Certifying Officials are required for certification.
K-9 Team must locate at least nine (9) out of the ten (10) finds to certify. This results in a success of 90
percent minimum score for certification.
Canine’s alert must be obvious to the Certifying Officials.
Certifying Officials may terminate certification at their discretion at any time during the certification.
Dog will wear only on duty equipment.
Certifying Officials must be notified of any protest at the conclusion of the certification. If the protest
cannot be resolved it must be put in writing and submitted to the chairman of the standards committee
within 48 hours of the resolution.
If K-9 Team fails certification the team must wait 1 day before attempting certify again.
Search:
Search shall consist of four (4) indoor rooms and five (5) vehicles, 15-20 items of
luggage/parcels/packages and an open area (1000’-2500’ square feet) with a total of ten (10) finds.
Time on searches is twelve (12) minutes for indoor searches and ten (10) minutes for vehicle searches,
six (6) minutes for luggage/parcel/package searches and ten (10) minutes for open area search. A one
(1) minute warning at the request of the handler prior to the end of the search may be given. Time
begins when the handler begins the search and time ends when the handler calls time or upon
expiration of time. Handler may call finds by calling time or after time has expired.
Indoor Search: Shall consist of four (4) indoor rooms and three (3) finds.
Each room shall be at least 380 sq. ft., but no more than 600 sq. ft.
(Exceptions may be made according to the Certifying Officials).
No more than one (1) find will be concealed in a room. (Therefore, no find will be concealed in one (1) of
the four (4) rooms).
Vehicle Search: Shall consist of five (5) vehicles and three (3) finds.
No Explosive finds may be concealed in the interior of the vehicles.
No more than one (1) find may be concealed on a vehicle. (Therefore, no find will be concealed on two
(2) of the five (5) vehicles).
Due to the numerous makes and models of vehicles available to departments, the decision upon what
types of vehicles to be used is the Certifying Officials’ discretion.

Luggage/Parcel/Packages: Search shall consist of a minimum of fifteen (15) items up to a maximum of
twenty (20) items with a total of three (3) finds.
No explosive finds may be concealed side by side. A minimum distance between each item shall be two
(2) feet. Search will laid out in a row of four (4) to five (5) items depending on the number of items to be
searched.
Area Search: Shall consist of an open field approximately 1000’-2500’ feet in size with one (1) find
concealed amongst natural landscape, debris or vegetation.
Finds:
A total of ten (10) different finds consisting of commercial/militarymanufactured odors from powders,
plastics, gels and liquid based materials will be used.
Six (6) different odors will be selected from the high explosives group and four (4) different odors from
the low explosives group.
High explosives odors suggested from the following:
RDX base: i.e.: C-4, data sheet, dynamite, flex-x, semtex, etc.
PETN base: i.e.: det cord, semtex,
TNT: commercial, military, tetryl
Ammonium nitrate base: i.e.: Kine-stik, kine-pak, Anfo, emulsions, slurries
Chlorates & Nitrates: i.e.: potassium, ammonium, sodium
Low explosives odors suggested from the following:
Black Powder, Black Powder Substitutes, Smokeless
Powder, Pyrodex, and Flash Powder
All finds will be planted a minimum of 30 minutes prior to testing. Finds shall be concealed by a
Certifying Official or another person directed by a Certifying Official. Three (3) finds shall be concealed in
the indoor rooms consisting of odors from the above list.
Three (3) finds shall be concealed on the vehicles consisting of odors from the above list. Three (3) finds
shall be concealed in the luggage/parcel/packages consisting of odors from the above list. One (1) find
shall be concealed in the open area consisting of odors from the above list. All finds shall not weigh less
than ¼ pound or more than one (1) pound. Except: Minimum of 8 feet of Det Cord will be used.
No finds shall be concealed higher than eight (8) feet from the floor level and no deeper than six (6)
inches buried (open area). All finds shall be concealed from view in a manner that the canine cannot
retrieve said finds. All search areas must be contaminated and finds proofed by a canine prior to search,
if available.
K9 Teams must not have any other scent training or certification other than Gun.

Download Handler Protection Standard Sheet

The handler will hold the dog at the starting position designated

by the certifying official.

 The decoy will appear at a distance of approximately 10-15 yards.

The handler will issue two announcements. After the first 

announcement, the decoy will begin jogging away from the team.

Following the second announcement, the handler will deploy the

dog. The dog will pursue and engage the decoy by biting and

attempt to subdue.

The handler will remove the dog from the bite in any of the

following ways:

Verbal out-the handler must remain 10 feet from the decoy and

give the dog their release command. The handler can give the

command up to 4 times. The dog must release, and not re-bite to

pass. The handler has 45 seconds from the time the dog is sent

for the bite until they release the bite to pass the exercise.

Tactical lift off - once the dog is on the bite, the handler will take control of the dog and once security has arrived the handler will lift off the dog.

The handler has 30 seconds from the time the

Download Handler Protection Standard

This exercise documents the control of the K-9 Team during the protection of the handler from the aggressor. The K-9 Team is observed on the apprehension, release, guard and suspect frisk. To obtain the Handler Protection Certificate, the K-9 Team must successfully pass the Obedience Event in the Patrol Certificate. 

 However, during the Handler Protection Certificate, the K-9 Team is not observed on the Stay on Gunfire phase but rather is observed on the Stay at Distance phase. The K-9 Team must pass both, Obedience and Handler Protection Events in order to pass this certificate.  If the canine is in the guard position, the handler shall direct the decoy to step away from the canine.  

Handler Protection 

Guard  

Apprehension  

Release  

Suspect 

____________________________________________  

If an electric stimulus collar (E-collar) is worn in the working environment, it may be worn in certifications. The E-Collar must be in the off position, and this will be verified by the Certifying Official. The Certifying Official will be given the transmitter until the completion of the phase. No electrical collars and/or equipment resembling the same are allowed. EITHER: This event will start from a start line and at the direction of the Certifying Official, the handler will move to a position of cover. The decoy, in a full body suit will move from behind concealment and begin to walk away. The handler will approach the decoy and begin an interview. During the interview the canine must remain in a guard position of cover, prior to the attack on the handler. At the direction of the Certifying Official the decoy shall aggressively attack the handler. On Command the canine shall immediately apprehend the decoy. THEN: The decoy with the canine on bite will move to the center of a marked twenty (20) foot in diameter circle. The handler will be allowed to move around the exterior of said circle. Once the canine has engaged the decoy, the handler has forty five (45) seconds for the canine to release the bite using up to four (4) commands. Handler will be allowed four (4) release commands (every time the handler says the release command it will be considered one command). Once the canine has released the bite, the canine will be allowed only one (1) mistaken re-bite. In the event of a re-bite the handler must again call the canine off the bite using no more than four (4) commands. This exercise must be completed within the forty five (45) seconds. If a second mistaken re-bite occurs, the test is failed. The handler may not touch the canine until the canine is no longer biting or attempting to bite the decoy. Doing so will result in a failed test. Physical abuse to the canine during the certification is not permissible and will be subject to termination of the certification. If a K-9 Team fails certification, the K-9 Team must wait for duration of five (5) days before attempting to certify. Protest See Protest under the Patrol Certification. Certified Patrol Certifying Officials will document this certification. A reward cannot be used to visually stimulate the canine to recall or release the bite. The canine may be rewarded after the handler has physical control of the canine.