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Program Overview

Our programs includes handling K9 emergencies in both conventional and tactical environments, so you’ll be prepared to respond wherever and whenever you need to. Topics range from safe K9 handling and comprehensive assessments to treating the most common emergencies such as heat stroke and bloat/GDV, as well as tactical injuries such as gunshot wounds. Advanced Paramedicine skills include IO fluid admin and surgical airways.

 Skill stations, in our eXPERIENTIAL and iNTENSIVE formats, focus on a particular field skill and ensure that each student has accurate muscle memory to ensure skillful delivery long after the class is complete. Primary interventions are repeated until students can do them, literally, blindfolded. Each station is designed to build on existing knowledge and translation of human medical skills to the canine anatomy. Assessment skills are on live dogs and go beyond basic vitals and teach students how to conduct ongoing observations and trending through typical work cycles to identify and prevent injuries and illness early in development. Handling includes basic carries and constraints and can include advanced handling such as harness lifts and extractions.
 

Solo and Team Scenarios then put these skillsets into the likely field environment and require the student to put together an entire treatment sequence, problem solving the situation as they go. Scenarios are based on the skillset, equipment and mission profile of each team. For example GSWs, IEDs or collapsed building compression injuries may be included depending on the mission profile.

Program Formats

iNTERACTIVE Format

K9 MEDIC™ delivers an entry-level offering with our iNTERACTIVE format. Students experience interactive lectures and demos and also get hands-on with all-class practice sessions. The student ratio is 20 students per instructor, (so with many classes there is only 1 instructor).

eXPERENTIAL Format

For those wanting a more comprehensive hands-on and scenario experience, along with benefits of a diversified instructor cadre, K9 MEDIC™ offers the eXPERENTIAL format. In addition to the all-class practice exercises, the formats delivers additional rotations of hands-on skills stations and solo/team scenarios. And with ratios of 8:1, each student is sure to receive significant instructor feedback and attention customized to their specific needs. Finally, the increased ratio means that all classes have 2 or more multidisciplinary instructors including experienced tactical paramedics, field-savvy K9 Handlers

High-Fidelity Simulation Add-On

For those looking for the ultimate in learning experiences, K9 MEDIC™ offers a variety of Hi-Fi Simulation add-ons, the hallmark K9 MEDIC™ program which we have teaching for 10 years to the most demanding of clients. Hi-Fi Simulation options are based on your mission profile as well as facility considerations. Selections includes ethically sourced canine cadaver lab stations where we recreate conditions such as Bloat/GDV and Tension Pneumo. Other options include Hi-Fi simulation mannikans, plus the addition of environmental simulation such as flash bangs, sim rounds etc. This is a customized add-on, specific to your team.

Program Levels:

K9 Handler / First Responder

This scope of care focuses on Basic Life Support and the essential interventions that will make the biggest difference. We also teach “Handler Assist” skills such as how to restrain a K9 while another provider administers IV fluids.

K9 Handler / First Responder Advanced Scope

We offer the “Advanced Scope” option for those handlers and first responders that will face environments which require additional medical support. For example, we teach subcutaneous fluid administration, a simple skill that can help prevent heat injuries, a leading cause of death in Working K9s. We also include needle decompressions of the chest to treat tension pneumothorax and needle decompressions of the stomach to treat GDV/Bloat. IV fluid administration is also an option in the program level.

Paramedicine

This program level is designed to convert existing human skills to canine patients. It can be further scaled to the specific levels of the EMS provider such as AEMT vs Paramedic including whatever specific skills the provider is already certified in including intubation, surgical airways, IV and IO.

+ TEMS

This add-on curriculum component takes the skills learned in the above levels and puts them into the Tactical context following MMMARCHHH principles. K9 MEDIC™ has been teaching this component for more than a decade and stays current with the recent K9-TECC guidelines, as well as the former (no longer maintained) Canine-TCCC guidelines.

Special Operations

We understand that Special Operations teams have advanced skills needed to support their patients in extreme conditions. We will work with each group to transfer your specific team’s human skills to the canine patient.

Can Classes Be a Mix of Program Levels?

Yes! We’ve been working with handlers and medics for the past 10 years and, with extensive experience and the review of many different integration methods, have created ways to make a mixed program level course very successful. This is particularly true for handler/medic teams that will be working together in the field.

 

We Understand Your Challenges… And We Deliver


Maintaining all your training certifications and responding on missions is hard enough, and increasingly there is a need to support the canine element of the team to an increasing degree. There aren’t enough hours in the week to get all the training you need, and you need to get the most out of every training you do. And at the end of the day, the only training that matters is the training you remember when it’s dark, cold, crammed and you can’t hear because your ears are still ringing from shots fired.

Customized To Your Exact Needs

All lectures, skills stations and scenarios are customized to meet the exact requirements of your team. We develop each program based on the existing skills of your group, the equipment, supplies and medications that you carry, and the existing medical protocols which you follow. SWAT K9s with fast access to an ER, compared to MWDs expecting air evac, compared to USAR dogs supported by an on-site team veterinarian all have different injury exposures, treatment delays and evac procedures. Finally, we customize our programs to the level of educational intensity your team desires. Our programs range from comprehensive entry level first aid to advanced skills and cadaver labs.

Your Program Your Protocols Your Training

As your agency begins new initiatives to incorporate K9 preveterinary emergency medical support, we can support you every step of the way. Before training begins, we can work with you and your team to establish appropriate protocols for multiple levels of existing skillsets and specific to the needs of your teams, medical direction and any compliance legislature which may be applicable. We can also recommend any canine specific supplies and equipment you may need.

We Come To You

We understand that sending your entire team across the country usually adds an unwieldy burden of travel costs and scheduling challenges. So, we come to you. We ship the entire program, instructors, station setup, and all student supplies. You provide the classroom and training areas and we provide the rest in a completely self-sufficient operation. Are you located outside of the United States? No problem, we are ready and able to deliver the program almost anywhere in the world.

On Your Schedule

Need a class next week? We’ve done that. Need a class that runs over the night shift? Yeah, we’ve done that too. We understand that delivering an effective training program involves meeting your logistical needs as well as your educational needs. And, we have 20+ instructors and a logistics team to meet all your needs!

Continuing Education

We offer EMS and LE/POST continuing education in many areas. Ask us about yours.

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