Embedding Elements of Functional Skills in K-9 Handling
Skills in individual areas become much more valuable to instructors and to learners when they are fully integrated or embedded within functional applications (Gravells, 2008). Generally, a good canine handler needs to have a command of factual knowledge about canine behavior, human psychology, criminal law and procedure, computer Internet technology, (ICT), and good writing skills. However, raw knowledge about canines, or so-called "textbook" knowledge (breed identification, history, physiology, general behavior, etc.) is comparatively useless in the field. Instead, the functional or "embedded" knowledge a canine handler must understand about dogs would include identifying predictable behaviors of various canines...
For example, knowledge about the respective lineage of the Belgian Malinois and German Shepherd is not particularly useful in the field as compared with embedded knowledge of their respective likely responses to gunshots.
Likewise, textbook knowledge of the history of the discipline of human psychology and the identity and contributions of its early theorists is much less important in the field than a functional grasp of embedded knowledge. Embedded knowledge in that area would include recognizing the way that principles of human psychology dictate reactions of individuals in the various contexts in which law enforcement canine officers typically encounter them. For example, recognizing the indicators or "tells" consistent with…
