Dogs, handlers train inside county prison
One of the pods in the Butler County Prison on Tuesday became a training ground for K-9 officers from in and out of the state.
There were 18 police dogs and their handlers who trained at the prison.
John Brannon, owner of Shallow Creek Kennels in Sharpsville, Mercer County, ran the training. The session was a part of the 12-week courses the kennel runs for new K-9 officers.
Brannon said training for prison patrols requires an actual prison.
“It's a great environment that you can't replicate anywhere else,” Brannon said.
Officers from places like the Jackson Township Police and the Mercer County Sheriff participated in the training along with officers from as far away as Georgia and South Carolina.
Sgt. Don Myers of the Evans City-Seven Fields Regional Police, who helped organize the training, said the training mostly was with new officers and new dogs, although there were more experienced officers and dogs going through additional training.
He said that many of the dogs training were “dual purpose” K-9s, meaning that they both do narcotics detection and patrol.
The dogs traveled around the pod, checking out cells, shower areas and under the tables — while receiving reinforcing praise from their handlers. The training also got them used to surroundings like slick floors and stairwells, which can make dogs skittish.
Handlers used toys with the scent of narcotics to help train the dogs. Brannon said the dogs are trained to think that they are searching for a toy while they are patrolling.
Officer Scott Neiswonger of the Conewango Police in Warren County was training with his 2-year-old German shepherd, Choper.
He has been a certified K-9 officer for three months and was going through additional training.“Training is going real well,” Neiswonger said.He said he has taken his dog to do patrols at the Warren County Prison, so he found training in a prison helpful.Sgt. Joshua Nelson of the Port Clinton Police in Ohio was going through retraining with his 5-year-old Belgian Malinois named Spike. Nelson has been a K-9 officer for four years, and said he schedules training sessions with Shallow Creek every three weeks.“You've got to keep up with it,” Nelson said.
