KEY ELEMENTS IN DEVELOPING SCENARIO

BASED TRAININGJerry Bradshaw

Tarheel Canine Training, Inc.1:15PM Tuesday July 16Davidson A Classroom

Tarheel Caninewww.tarheelcanine.com

A Scenario is a Story

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)

Getting out of Certification Mindset

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!

Author 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.

What is the Purpose? 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.

Implementing the Scenario 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….

Support Training Option 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!”

Simple K9 Apprehension

Deploy from cover Alert to Threat Make Apprehension Get Compliance Handcuffing Disengage K9 Re-deploy K9 (Can

you? Always think +1)

Debrief

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.

Scenario Training is a Culmination of Your Training

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!

Scenario Training Can be Parts of a Story

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”

Train the beginning, middle and end separately

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.

Younger Dogs in Development

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

Scenario Training Must Evolve in Complexity

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!

Scenario Training to test the Handler’s Decision making

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!

Debrief Scenario

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?

Training must prepare you for success

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?

www.tarheelcanine.comjbradshaw@tarheelcanine.com