Ford K9 LLC. NV. PILB #2914

Part 2 of episode 140
Are Kong‘s really addictive?

#140.5 Are Kong's Really Addictive? | Dr. Paola Tiedemann Explains Dr. Paola Tiedemann and Cameron Ford dive into the controversial Kong toy research that detection dog handlers have been asking about for years. This episode...

Had a great time in Kalispell Montana with another Ford K9 Police K9 Detection Dog Seminar (Problem Solving and Operational Readiness Training). Thank You to Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, Kalispell PD and Mike Skinner for letting me stay with him and of course all the handlers from as far away as Idaho and Minot ND. Looking forward to next year and the 3rd Annual Montana Police K9 Detection Seminar 😊

Very proud of these teams putting in good work with their dogs. Ranger the Spaniel is special to me as I raised him as a puppy and he is just a cool dog.

🚨New Episode #139 Firearm Detection LAPD Metro K9 Tom Onyshko

Tom Onyshko is a 20-year LAPD veteran and handler in Metropolitan Division's elite K9 Platoon, where he runs both a patrol apprehension dog and a firearm detection dog. With only 5 firearm detection spots serving all of Los Angeles, Tom shares real-world insights from one of the busiest K9 programs in the country.
What We Cover:

Why LAPD runs single-purpose dogs (patrol, narcotics, explosives, fi****ms - all separate)
Getting into Metro Division: the physical tests, firearm quals, and multi-year tryout process
Operating in South Central LA: 30 search warrants in one month, 6 warrants in one day
Firearm detection deployment: area searches, vehicle searches, evidence recovery
Training philosophy: why LAPD doesn't track, e-collar use, and area search methodology
Working with LAPD's SIS (Special Investigation Section) - confirmed real and elite
Real callout stories: multi-story building searches, murder suspect apprehensions

Tom's background includes 5 years in LAPD's South Bureau gang unit serving high-risk warrants with homicide detectives and FBI before joining Metro Division. He discusses the differences between law enforcement and military K9 work, handler selection criteria, and what makes Metropolitan Division's training standards unique.
Essential listening for law enforcement K9 handlers, firearm detection teams, and anyone interested in how elite metro agencies deploy detection dogs operationally.

Ford K9 #139 Firearm Detection LAPD Metro K9 Tom Onyshko

🚨New Episode #139 Firearm Detection LAPD Metro K9 Tom Onyshko

Tom Onyshko is a 20-year LAPD veteran and handler in Metropolitan Division’s elite K9 Platoon, where he runs both a patrol apprehension dog and a firearm detection dog. With only 5 firearm detection spots serving all of Los Angeles, Tom shares real-world insights from one of the busiest K9 programs in the country.
What We Cover:

Why LAPD runs single-purpose dogs (patrol, narcotics, explosives, fi****ms - all separate)
Getting into Metro Division: the physical tests, firearm quals, and multi-year tryout process
Operating in South Central LA: 30 search warrants in one month, 6 warrants in one day
Firearm detection deployment: area searches, vehicle searches, evidence recovery
Training philosophy: why LAPD doesn’t track, e-collar use, and area search methodology
Working with LAPD’s SIS (Special Investigation Section) - confirmed real and elite
Real callout stories: multi-story building searches, murder suspect apprehensions

Tom’s background includes 5 years in LAPD’s South Bureau gang unit serving high-risk warrants with homicide detectives and FBI before joining Metro Division. He discusses the differences between law enforcement and military K9 work, handler selection criteria, and what makes Metropolitan Division’s training standards unique.
Essential listening for law enforcement K9 handlers, firearm detection teams, and anyone interested in how elite metro agencies deploy detection dogs operationally.

📣Tell us what webinar topic you would like us to do.  We are going to make some new webinars and we like to hear your feedback ….comment down below. 👇

The Pollution of Reward in Detection Dogs

This past weekend I was sitting in on a lecture with Dr. Stewart Hilliard and Michael Ellis and they had a discussion on the “Pollution of Reward” I thought about what they shared and it made me connect it to Detection Dog work. This is something I see a lot, and most handlers don’t realize it’s happening until performance starts slipping.

When reward starts to outweigh or maybe interfere with odor, the dog in some cases begins solving for the reward instead of the target odor. You’ll still see finds, but maybe a simple change to the environment, run blanks, or remove predictability and things can start to fall apart. Is the dog is working patterns, history, and expectation… as the key to reward and not odor? We may need to examine and reflect on this.

Another Pollution point could be where you deliver reward... this matters, and so does the level of arousal you’re building around it. Both can quietly pollute the dog’s understanding or interfere with how the dog searches and reduce efficiency when it actually counts.

I went deeper on this and broke it down as a article I wrote and shared inside the Ford K9 membership for those that want to evaluate and see could the reward, the context and expectations be polluting the clarity of my detection task?