The Animal Encounter Guidebook is the result of legislation passed in Colorado designed to help equip officers with the skills needed to contain, control, and safely remove dogs encountered while out in the field.
Colorado Senate Bill 13-226 mandated that all Colorado law enforcment officers and new officers hired undergo training. While it is possible for any such agency in Colorado to provide their own training, many are not able to do so easily or in a cost effective manner. To help agencies fufill this role, a task force was created that could develop training to help these agencies meet their requirements.
The Colorado Canine Encounter Handbook online training program was developed by that task force.
The task force that was assembled to create this training was a cross section of interested and expert parties including vetinarnians, animal welfare agency members, animal behavior experts, animal control officers, sheriffs, police cheifs, fraternal order of police, and lawyers. This organization in turn worked closely with experts in fields of software development and educational learning and training.
The result was the Colorado Canine Encounter Handbook. This multi-chapter program was designed to be completed by busy officers and fit into their existing schedule. Each chapter explores a different aspect of dealing with dogs including helping officers read body language and expressions, and giving them options for responding quickly and safely in order to remove the animal from the situation. Courses include video, audio, interactive quizes and activities.
New in 2020, the coursewhere now includes mobile support to allow officers further convenience in being able to complete the training in least disruptive manner possible for them.