K-9 Tryouts Aren't For The Faint Of Heart

K-9 tryouts aren't for the faint of heart, and that's not just a saying. To join this unit, you have to be built for it, physically and mentally. Both will be tested. Deputies hit the challenge/obstacle course: PT, six-foot wall jumps, fence jumps, hill climbs, tunnels, and a final stretch carrying a weighted bag that simulates an injured K-9. Every obstacle mirrors what deputies will actually face on a track. Then comes K-9 interaction: agility work, decoying, and a scenario exercise. Decoying puts deputies in a bite sleeve and face to face with an excited, barking K-9. You can't work alongside a dog you're afraid of. From there, the tryout shifts into its second half. Night falls. Deputies head into dense, heavily wooded terrain for a navigational exercise with PT woven throughout. The darkness isn't a dramatic touch. It's the reality of K-9 work. When a suspect disappears into the woods at night, the option to wait for better conditions doesn't exist. You go in. Thick brush, uneven ground, thorns, swamp water, wildlife, and the possibility of an armed suspect waiting in the dark. That's the job. The places suspects think are unreachable? That's exactly where this tryout takes them. Deputies crouch through a tunnel filled with standing water and bats, then swim across a lake, because K-9 work doesn't end at the water's edge. Congratulations to our newest K-9 team. Welcome to the unit. P.S. Any lighting in the wooded segment was used for filming purposes only. Deputies navigated in the dark.