No backseat driving permitted when this law enforcement team pursues criminals.
You see them on the front pages of newspapers and leading the 6 p.m. news across the state of Ohio: police officers working with their four-legged partners to take a bite out of the bad guys. If you love the idea of this profession and are willing to undergo the rigorous training it takes to join an Ohio-based law enforcement agency as a dog handler, you can look forward to doing meaningful work in the years ahead. As a bonus, your partner won't give you any grief about stopping for doughnuts as long as dog treats are offered, too.
Instructions
1. Earn a degree in law enforcement from an accredited Ohio-based college or university. You needn't commit yourself to a four-year program; two of the state's largest community colleges --- Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland and Columbus State Community College in Columbus --- offer comprehensive training programs. That stated, competition for a finite number of K-9 jobs is stiff, so getting a bachelor's degree in criminal justice enhances your chances of being hired.
2. Attend an Ohio Police Academy (see Resources). Typical career tracks are Law Enforcement, or LE, for basic training in police practices, legal methods, hazardous materials handling, arrest techniques, crime scene analysis and other essentials. The Academy Tract, or AT, replicates LE curricula plus incorporates weapons training, crowd control, community relations, defensive-driving skills and readiness classes for students planning to take the Ohio Peace Officer Training Council, or OPOTC, exam. Contact OPOTC at 550 East Spring Street, Columbus, OH 43216, or calling 614-287-5353 for additional information.
3. Pass your OPOTC exams. Become sworn in as an Ohio law-enforcement officer. Seek an entry-level job after passing written and skill-based exams. Continue to pursue education as you learn the ropes. Undertake in-service police methods, theory and practice classes. Prepare yourself for working as a police handler by completing classes in dog behavior, veterinarian basics and animal-based sciences. Once you've some experience under your belt and good performance reviews to attest to your character, look for job openings with K-9 service corps across the state of Ohio.
4. Undertake formal dog-handling classwork through a certified Ohio training school. Ohio's National K-9 School for Dog Trainers, established in 1975 and located in Columbus, is well respected, but there are others. Learn dog-handling basics before pursuing Master Trainer classes that cover police-specific tracking, trailing, scent detection, obedience, signaling and command modules. Learn as much as you can about dog handling so you can show these credentials to Ohio police departments looking for new hires.
5. Search for jobs. Use the Ohio Law Enforcement K9 Association, or OLEKA, as a resource, and visit websites of local police departments within your geographic area to look for openings. Once you land a job, you're assigned a canine partner, at which point you turn to OLEKA or another training program to learn to work together. You may wish to become a member of OLEKA so you're able to network and socialize with other members of Ohio's police K-9 corps community.
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