Two of Moose Jaw’s very own canine unit officers and their dogs are heading to Camrose, Alta. for the CPCA Trials. 

CPCA stands for Canadian Police Canine Association. The CPCA hosts an annual international competition of police canine trials. It invites canine teams to show off and demonstrate their skills, their dogs, and their bonds.  

Cst. Aaron Woods with his dog True and Cst. Curtis Amiot with his dog Argo will be traveling to Alberta for the trials from September 7th – 10th.  

“It’s a competition for dog teams and handlers all across Canada, the U.S., and even Europe... It’s just a big fun competition for everybody to test themselves and their dogs and just learn from each other and things like that. It’s pretty cool,” says Woods. 

The trials consist of a wide variation of training and tactical skills. 

“The events are all based on our validation profiles which we have to validate yearly as police dog handlers. So, for Curtis and I, we’re going to be competing in tracking, evidence searches, compound search, building search, obedience profiles, and apprehension,” says Woods.  

Some other events include drug detection and explosive detection.  

The trials took a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic but this year will be the first time Moose Jaw officers have attended the trials since two officers and their dogs brought home awards in 2012. This is the very first time that Woods and Amiot will be participating. 

However, the CPCA trials will be more than just a competition.  

Woods says that there will also be guest speakers, demonstrations, and opportunities to observe other dog handlers and teams.  

“We train a lot with Regina Police, Estevan Police, and the conservation canine unit. So, this is a cool opportunity to get out there with Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, and I saw a few teams from Ontario are coming. So, just to see them and then you get the chance to sit down and trade ideas like training ideas or scenarios and then you bring that back,” says Woods.  

Woods says he’s excited to challenge himself and True and learn from other officers from across the country.