Police K9s compete and train HARD at annual Allen County competion

SCOTTSVILLE, Ky. – This week, law enforcement from around the nation are competing in Allen County to see whose police dogs are the best of the best.

Officers from eight different states drove to Allen county to compete in OnPoint K9 Academy’s Ninth Annual Police K9 Competition.

On Monday, 11 officers received their K9 certifications. 32 law enforcement K9s and their owners are training all week long. 

“The best thing about this group is over the years the comradery,” said OnPoint K9 Academy owner Jason Hanley. “We’ve actually solved cases from people that have met here, so the networking in the camaraderie that these guys share is probably probably more important than anything.” 

The dogs are sharpening their keen sense of smell and alertness by tracking well hidden narcotics and tracking down suspects. 

So why is this program so important?

“Exposure,” said Hanley. “One of the worst things that can happen to a police officer is they become complacent, so they get in the habit of going to the same places and training every week or every month. Here, we try to put them in different scenarios – houses they’ve never been in, barns, buildings – and just throw different things at them.” 

These K9 units will take on narcotics and patrol scenarios in 20 locations throughout the county, visiting different spots each day.

At the end of the week, the officers and their pups will attend an awards banquet to see whose hard work this week paid off the most.

Allen County Scottsville crime taskforce detective Trever Thompson said, “I feel good, But there’s a lot of good teams here, so we’ll see at the end.”