Falco K-9 Academy: Detection Dog Training

Main | Explosive Detection | Mold Detection | Incendiary Detection


Since September 11th the need for explosive detections dogs has increased greatly. This “need” has unfortunately brought about some shysters who have taken advantage of the situation. Regardless, this does not change the fact that THE DOG is one of the best tools to detect hidden explosives or more specifically, explosive odor. One of the most important things you can do when deciding which trainer to go with is asking if they use REAL EXPLOSIVES in the training of their dogs. Falco K9 Academy is one of the few K9 trainers who is licensed (Category 33-High Explosives) by the ATF to use real explosives for the purposes of training and certifying our detection dogs.
There is no doubt that products like K9 Trace NESTT is an effective tool for maintenance training for agencies who cannot or do not have the desire to maintain the real thing. However, we find that there is no replacement for imprinting and certifying on the real thing. We have in our travels around North America seen dogs that have been solely trained on either simulated training aids or on only “cooked” toys that have missed the real thing. I cannot stress how important it is to always balance your training with the real thing and both large and small quantities. This goes for all detection dogs! Falco K9 Academy trains dogs for Law Enforcement, Security and one of the most powerful corporations in the world…Disneyland. This experience cannot be surpassed by anyone. We also have the cooperative training opportunities and friendships with many of the leading trainers in the business. There is no problem too great or program to large for us to handle.
Our Explosive Detection Dog (EDD) Handler’s course trains the handlers for real life situations and uses the most updated information possible for instruction. We also individualize our training to fit the individual teams. We do not believe there is only one way to do things. Quite often what works for one dog or handler will not always work for the next. It is important to stay flexible. However, in saying that the only reward system we use for detection work is the toy reward system. But there are differing ways to imprint the odors and to train the behaviors.

Photos of some of the EDDs in action: