Two Sheriff's Office Dogs In Training For Duty

Press release from PCSO:

March 19, 2023

The Pasco County deputy shuffles his feet to lay down a strong scent in the dirt at the edge of the field and then stalks through the waist-high dry grass. When he drops to his belly he disappears completely. Only then does the tiny, wrinkly, wiggly ball of olfactory receptors – otherwise known as bloodhound puppy Holmes – come out of the Tahoe and get to work.

“Watching these little guys track is unbelievable,” said Corporal Rob Wilkins, lead bloodhound trainer at the Pasco Sheriff’s Office (PSO). “We work so hard trying to get patrol dogs (shepherds and Malinois) to track, but these puppies just do it. We just have to expose them to everything, and they pick it up so fast.” The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office’s (PCSO) new bloodhounds Holmes and Duke will be training at the PSO K9 facility for nine months before they are ready for duty. PCSO bloodhounds will mostly track missing persons.

Deputy Dalton Schomp leads Holmes to the scuff marks in the dirt. The pup puts his nose to the ground and makes a beeline through the tall grass to the concealed deputy, who happens to be holding a cup of kibble. Right now they’re getting about 50 percent of their meals from tracking training. PCSO patrol dogs work for their tug toy and playtime as a reward, but bloodhounds are food motivated.

The handler is being trained too. He must observe every nuance of his dog’s reactions. At this stage, the handler knows where the track is, but the puppy doesn’t. “He’s not driving the dog, but he’s watching the dog’s behavior as he’s tracking,” said Corporal Wilkins. “So if the dog gets off the track he knows what that looks like.” The handler needs to know how the dog behaves when he loses the scent. They’re a team, so they have to work through any mistakes or confusion together. Handlers need to understand how things like wind, temperature, or ground cover can alter a scent trail so they can help their partner get back on the right track.

Tracking training is a long incremental process. When the pups began, the person they were “tracking” just walked away, staying in plain sight. Once the pups mastered “finding” them, the tracked subject moved farther away, and finally added the element of concealment. “You make that transition where it’s hey, I can’t see the guy anymore, I have to use my nose to find him.” Early tracks are in a straight line, but soon they’ll mix it up by adding curves and obstacles. Later they’ll increase the distance and add time delays. Once fully trained, the pups will be able to track a cold scent for miles.

They’ll need to be in peak physical condition for those long tracks and the workouts begin now. “They’re puppies and they’re just made of jello, so we need to build their conditioning,” Corporal Wilkins said. This starts with long marches in the woods. Rob takes point and the five pups follow him off-lead. “I’ll go over something, and they’ll all scramble over too, then stop and fight and play with each other.” The five pups – two from the PCSO, three from PSO – are brothers. “I think them all being together is confidence-building.” They just started taking walks through the woods on their leads… which they immediately got tangled in the underbrush and each other.

Being exposed to as many different things as possible at this age is crucial to their future success. “Every little thing we can think of, we’re throwing at them,” Corporal Wilkins said. “Surface changes, terrain changes, anything we can get them on, we do it now.” Once they’re adults it can be too late to get them used to new things. So they’re learning what it feels like to have cement, or pine needles, or puddles, or even ice under their paws. PSO has a rubble pile that they use to train the search and rescue dogs who work at disaster scenes, and the bloodhounds have started to scramble over this too. They have to be used to the sights, sounds, and scents of any environment they might encounter so nothing distracts them from their vital job of locating missing people.

Deputy Schomp is impressed by his young partner’s abilities. “It’s pretty unbelievable that they can go out and find a person this young.” Even though multiple people are crossing the field during the training, the pups stick to their track. “There can be some distractions – they’re young and still learning – but once they’re on the scent and know what they’re looking for they stick to it.”

Holmes seems to love his work. “He’s very playful,” Deputy Schomp said. “He loves any kind of toys, and he loves playing with my other two dogs. He has a lot of energy and loves to run. He keeps me on my toes! I’m excited by the process and by how far we’ve come already.”

Holmes and Duke train hard, play hard… and sleep hard. “They work, eat, nap, and work some more, and have a lot of fun,” said Deputy Schomp. It’s a good life for a puppy and great training for the PCSO’s youngest employees.

This press release was produced by PCSO. The views expressed here are the author's own.