This is a version of the presentation without the video support, the vide file too large to upload to slideshare, so I apologize for that in advance.
This presentation discusses key elements to pay attention to when you are designing scenario based training,
3. Author (Decides the Purpose
of the Scenario - Trainer)
Beginning (In brief of set up
and information provided)
Middle (Where the Story
Plays Out)
End (How the Story
Concludes)
Players (Good Guys and Bad
Guys)
Plot (How the story unfolds
including any twists)
Costume (Dressing as you
would in reality)
Theme (Message The Story is
Intended to Convey)
4. Training should exceed
certification requirements.
Ideally certification
should involve elements
of Scenario training
This is one of the biggest
reasons scenario training
isn’t done more widely
Training for the
certification rather than
for deployment.
Decoys can make or break
scenario work – playing
the role!
5. Trainer writes the scenario
Trainer Decides the Purpose of
Scenario and how it plays out in
order to clearly convey the
theme of the scenario.
Trainer must be a part of the
scenario to provide key
information and to be able to
bail out of the scenario into
support training.
Too often “Scenario Training” is
just regular training “Dressed
up” with gear on, and while this
serves a purpose to condition
the dog to handler and back up
in deployment gear, unless the
scenario is constructed to
convey some key lessons, the
exercise falls short.
6. Most Important Issue
Decision making: K9 handler is
faced with a decision or decisions
based on information given in the in
brief. How to approach situations
with your dog. Relative Strengths
and Weaknesses.
Tactics: Cover, Concealment,
Communication (Handler & Back-
Up), Officer Safety (Handler & Back-
Up), Managing K9 (general control,
weapon use, less lethal
combinations, gear). These things
are often left out of training.
Dog MUST have required
foundation work and skills to be
able to complete the scenario!
Trainer is either “testing” or
“guiding” the decision making
process.
7. Purpose: K9 Skills or Tactical Approach
or both?
Are K9 and handler Ready?
Beginning: Author decides what
information to provide and what to leave
ambiguous.
Planning the scenario is key…often
things to no go the way the tester
envisions!
Don’t test too many things at once, as it
can lead to breakdown of the scenario.
If you identify a weakness in the dog’s
ability, re-set the scenario to address it –
don’t let the dog continue and get a bad
experience.
Example: Area Search Scenario with 2
Suspects in a car junkyard.
Elements Being Tested:
Where to Start? Into Wind….
Where to place back-up?
Deployment/Tactical concept?….Clear,
down and cover? Long Line? Off leash?
Tactics….When dog is on, does handler
approach and clear as he goes? Placement
of back-up during approach…
Is the dog ready to stay on the grip
during a tactical approach?
If dog just alerts on a vehicle, recall to
cover, and verbal challenge….once decoy
#1 in custody, can the dog continue
searching?
In the case it’s a bite, can the dog refocus
and continue?
How does the handler deal with the dog
if the dog is obsessed with first decoy?
Temporary intervention by the trainer
can guide handler here….
8. Once the scenario begins, the
trainer must be able to switch
out of a deployment/scenario
mode into support training.
Example: Suppose as part of a
tactical building search scenario,
the dog is expected to make an
apprehension in a tight space
under pressure.
Training should have
ALREADY addressed these
variables before they become
part of a realistic scenario.
However, if the dog has a
problem engaging, the trainer
should have discussed a “bail
out” strategy to make sure the
dog doesn’t have a bad
experience, “TRAINING!”
9. Deploy from cover
Alert to Threat
Make Apprehension
Get Compliance
Handcuffing
Disengage K9
Re-deploy K9 (Can
you? Always think
+1)
10. Identifying the passive threat is key element in this
short scenario.
Deployment of K9 in this case we step out of
tactical scenario and train the engagement how we
want it to play out. Choice of slick floors and 6 foot
leash was deliberate.
This handler needs to communicate better with
back-up during the engagement and handcuffing.
This scenario can be made more complex by
adding long-line, maintaining cover during
deployment and engagement, adding a tactical
approach with back up and weapons.
11. If your foundation
lacks…
If your skill training is
incomplete…
You will have trouble
training scenarios and
deploying in real life
EX: This dog doesn’t
understand a passive
apprehension on a civil
decoy, so preparing an
elaborate scenario
involving this skill will
be a waste of time!
12. I especially like to train
the “Beginning” part of
a scenario
EX: Acquiring a Threat
for an apprehension
If the dog can’t acquire
the threat the rest of the
scenario is meaningless.
In this video handler
breaks cover to help
“Training”
13. Once the parts are good,
put it together back to
front – This is called
back-chaining
Don’t complicate things
too fast, remember to
add variables slowly as
the team progresses
Know your team’s
relative strengths and
weaknesses.
14. In bite-work sessions,
start early deploying
from cover positions.
Train your decoys to
add in ground work
Add in back-up
Decondition the dog to
multiple back-up
Back-Up behind Cover
Almost all foundation
training can be done in
this environment rather
than on a sterile field
15. What are the goals of the scenario?
Are they dog related? K9 Skills
Are they handler related? Proper Usage, Tactical Decisions, K9
Management.
Is the dog ready for the complexity of the scenario?
Will it require full gear? Does that add something important to the
training at hand?
Is the scenario “doomed to fail?” This does not add confidence for
the handler or K9.
Train the parts of the scenario, bring it together, then dress it up.
Always maintain Foundation and Skills proficiency during
scenario training – never operate without a way to influence the
dog’s behavior!
Behavior is reliable if it is conditioned. Make foundation and skills
a habit so that when the scenario training takes place you have
confidence in your dog!
16. Identify what elements of scenario will test the
handler’s decision making
The K9 must be ready in terms of his skills to
be able to focus on the handler’s behavior
Provide adequate but incomplete information
to the handler
Deploy/No Deploy Scenarios can be practiced
without a dog (Graham v. Connor)
“Failure to Engage”? Maintain officer safety!
17. K9 performance
Handler Performance
Video the Scenario if possible for
deconstruction
What deficiencies in training does the scenario
bring up? Be honest!
What deficiencies in handler
performance, maintaining
cover, tactics, deployment choices did the
scenario bring up?
18. Training that doesn’t look like deployment can still prepare
you for the deployment
Ex: Sustained Confrontations….drive channeling work,
allowing the dog to stay on the grip for extended periods
can physically and mentally condition the dog (Duration)
Ex: Teaching the dog to FIGHT Hard….using defense
threshold training and drive channeling can teach the dog to
stay in a Fight (Intensity)
These things shouldn’t just be trotted out for a scenario, they
should be foundational staples of training.
Training can make the dog dependent on cues not available
in a scenario or deployment…..making noise on a building
search when the dog fails to engage….remember the passive
guy on a bench?