K.N.P.V. Stands for: "Koninklijke Nederlandse Politiehond Vereniging:, in English: Royal Dutch Police Dog Association.

The KNPV is an organization which is 90 years old.The start of the KNPV was at a protection dog trial in 1907. It has started as an organization to bring people, who train their dogs, together and establish a good quality of working dogs. In the early days they would let their dogs do anything to proof their courage like jumping off a bridge. To he able to judge all the dogs in the same way they started to train a fixed program which resulted in the KNPV of today. The KNPV has not changed very much over the years. They always tried to hang on to the old training program. Now days slowly the KNPV head office is beginning to realize that some of the exercises will never he used in actual life. Also they start to think about the safety of the dog. Still this only has resulted in changes to the high jump. All the other exercises like the one with the helper trying to get away on a bike is still in practice. It seems like a normal exercise as you see all these Dutchman on their bikes but it will almost never happen that you send your dog after somebody on a bike because of the danger of the dog biting somebody else. It also can be a very dangerous exercises for the helper and the dog.

The KNPV is one of the two organizations which certificates are recognized by the government. The big difference between the KNPV an the other organization (The Dutch Association of Service Dogs) is that only the KNPV allows civilians to become members.

There are five different titles in KNPV:

Police Dog 1 (PH 1),

Police Dog 2 (PH 2),

Object Guarding Dog (objectbewking)

Search and Rescue Dog (Reddingshond)

Tracking Dog (Speurhond).


The PH 1 title is the most common one. It is the foundation of all of the other KNPV titles. These other titles are a diversion or compilation of the PH 1 title or they add a specific element for special needs. This PH 1 is the certificate the government demands if you want to work with your dog as Police Service Dog or as a Surveillance dog for a security company.

Object Guarding is the certificate designed for dogs who are going to be used as guard and or service dogs You need at least this certificate to be allowed by the government to use your dog for police and or security services. It is very often done by people who want to keep training and don't want to sell their already titled PH 1 dog.

Search and Rescue Dog is a more specialized certificate and requires a dog who will be able to search' locate and find victims underneath wreckage of houses and buildings. Just a handful of people train their dogs for this title.

Tracking Dog is a very specialized title. The dog has to be able to work out a human track (on a reliable basis) and also must be able to discriminate a specific human scent out of a line up of human scent samples.

In order to obtain a Police Dog Certificate you have to be a member of the "Royal Dutch Police Dog Association" (Koninklijke Nederlandse Politiehond Vereniging - KNPV).


What should a dog be able to do to obtain the PH 1 certificate?

PART 1 OF THE MORNING PROGRAM

Exercise A. Heeling on a leash (5 points).

Exercise B. Heeling without a leash, right/left (5 points).

Exercise C. Heeling next to a bicycle (5 points).

Exercise D. Down Stay (5 points).

Exercise E. Refusal of presented and thrown food (5 points).

Exercise F. Refusal of found food (5 points).

Exercise G. To be silent (5 points).

Exercise H. Free jump over an obstacle (5 points).

Exercise I. Jump over a wall (5 points).

Exercise J. Jump over a ditch (5 points).

Exercise K. Searching and retrieving three small articles (3 x 5 points)


PART 2 OF THE MORNING PROGRAM

Exercise A. Swimming across a canal (10 points)

Exercise B. Retrieving a large object out of the water (10 points)


PART 3 DURING A MATCH OR TRAIL, INSPECTION THESE EXERCISES ARE CARRIED OUT IN THE MORNING

Exercise A. Guarding the article (2 x 5 points)

Exercise B. Searching for an object (5 x 5 points)

Exercise C. Searching for a person (5 x 5 points)

Exercise D. Transport of a prisoner (3 x 5 points)

Exercise E. Stopping a person who defends himself with a stick (7 x 5 points)

Exercise F. Refusing to obey commands given by a stranger (4 x 5 points)

Exercise G. Transport followed by stopping the fleeing person (6 x 5 points)

Exercise H. To stop a person who shoots a gun (7 x 5 points)

Exercise I. Testing the dog regarding the throwing of objects at the dog (4 x 5 points)

Exercise J. Transport followed by defending the handler (6 x 5points)

Exercise K. Recalling the dog during a chase (3 x 5 points)

Exercise L. Stopping a suspect who flees on a bicycle (6 x 5 points)

Exercise M. Stopping the fleeing suspect (4 x 5 points)

Exercise N. Arresting a fleeing, but temporarily still standing suspect (feigned attack) (5 x5 points)

Kind of dog can be entered into the Dutch police dog training programme are All varieties of shepherds/Alsatians, Doberman, Riesenschnauzer, Bouvier, Airedale Terrier, Boxer and all cross-breeds of the above mentioned breeds.