The Prince Albert Police Service (PAPS) Canine Unit is set to participate in the 2026 Canadian Police Canine Association (CPCA) Trials, hosted by the Saskatoon Police Service in Saskatoon.
“It’s a showcase of all K9 officers across the country when it comes to policing services. So police services dogs do a variety of things in different jurisdictions, and this is an opportunity for all municipal agencies and RCMP to showcase what their programs have to offer,” said Prince Albert Police Service Chief, Patrick Nogier.
The PAPS will be participating with service dogs Pando and Ares to demonstrate their training and capabilities, such as tracking, building searches, compound searches, criminal apprehension, and article searches.
“I think it’s a good opportunity to network. So handlers get together and share best kind of practices when it comes to how do you train dogs, how do you put them into the operational sphere? What can you learn from one another to ensure that we’re doing what we can in law enforcement?” said Nogier. “So having the opportunity to go to trials and compete against one another for bragging rights is something that I know dog handlers look forward to.”
In terms of public awareness when it comes to police dogs and their role in policing, Nogier said, “it’s a good opportunity to interact with the public and showcase exactly what our K9 teams are capable of doing.”
“I think sometimes there’s some misconceptions about what they can do, how they can react, what the expectations are when they show up at a scene,” Nogier said. “So I think canine trials really puts a real life situation for the public to observe and give you a better appreciation for exactly what the dogs can and cannot do.”
Nogier said the trials will be based on real life scenarios.
“An officer can learn just as much from watching their counterparts operate as they can from actually going and competing. Not to mention it’s always good under pressure,” he said.
The Canadian Police Canine Association (CPCA) Trials will be hosted by the Saskatoon Police Service in Saskatoon until Sept. 13.
“It supports law enforcement, but more importantly, it supports our K9 units. It’s a good opportunity to go and see how they operate in those certain environments,” said Nogier.
