Cal Poly Police hosted a special training event this week for K9 officers.
More than a dozen dogs and their handlers from agencies in Atascadero, Cal Poly, Pismo Beach, Ventura, and Santa Barbara County participated.
The training included open field searches and tracking individuals either lost or injured or suspects attempting to escape.
Organizers say these trainings are vital and they are done every week.
“That’s to make sure that our dogs are sharp, making sure that they know what they are doing and keeping them on their game and pushing them to do their best so that when they are in real life scenarios they listen to us and they know what they are doing,” said Stephanie Pipan, Cal Poly K9 officer.
K9 teams also work on other skills during the training, including searching for ammunition or explosives and trying to find hidden narcotics.
