DETECTION DOG HANDLER COURSE: BASIC LEVEL (In Estonia, Tallinn)
750,00 €
International K9 Institute in collaboration with BriskMind Conservation Detection Dogs
Live meetings in Southern Estonia (exact venues to be confirmed) and online.
The active course is taking place over 8 weeks
With live meetings (weekend full-day seminars) on:
- 20-21 September, 2025
- 18-19 October, 2025
- 15 November, 2025
Online lectures on:
- 7 October, 2025 18:00 – 19:30
- 7 November, 2025 18:00 – 19:30
Between meetings, instructors will provide feedback on an online platform.
The special price of the course is 750 €
Instructors helping you achieve your goals:
Tanja Karpela, IK9i, Finland
Tanja is a conservation detection dog and civil explosive detection dog handler, and instructor. You can read more here: https://ik9i.com/fi/en/tanja-karpela/
Lea Tummeleht, BriskMind, Estonia, in collaboration with IK9i
Lea is a conservation detection dog handler. You can read more here: https://ik9i.com/fi/en/lea-tummeleht/
General information about the Detection Dog Handler Education
The Detection Dog Handler course is divided into two sections: the basic part and the specialisation part. During the Basics course (this current one), we use a training aid (model scent) to build up a strong motivation for the dog while taking care of the accuracy and tactics in versatile scent work.
(When finishing the Basics Course, there will be a Specialisation Course in 2026 when a sufficient number of interested Basic Course graduates who have been able to take the exam.)
Basics Course
The current Basics course includes, for example, managing training techniques, construction of motivation, scent theory, basics of search skills, and data collection. During the Basic course, the dog is taught a strong indication behaviour for training aid and basic search techniques.
After completing the basic part, the dog team is able to find the training aid in a simple indoors setting with dog indicating on the hide.
