HARNESSING THE HIGH DRIVE POLICE DOG

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Michelle Lyman

K-9 Supervisor, K-9 Handler, Decoy, Trainer

Michelle has been a Police Officer with the Raleigh Police Department in North Carolina since 

2004. She joined the canine unit in 2010 and is currently the unit supervisor and one of the lead 

trainers on the unit. She has worked a total of five different dogs during her canine career and 

currently works both a dual-purpose narcotics patrol dog and a single purpose tracking, evidence 

detection and explosive detection dog. She is a certified police dog trainer and currently oversees 

the canine unit’s weekly in-service maintenance training, assists with new canine/handler 

selection, updating/writing canine related policy, runs basic police patrol dog schools as well as 

facilitates regional training for her area. Her unit’s patrol dogs are all integrated with and regularly 

work alongside their two full time SWAT teams as well as several other specialty units within the 

department. Michelle is an active member of the USPCA’s Region 2 and is a member of the 

USPCA’s Best Practices Working Group. She prides herself in being a lifelong learner and is always 

eager to learn new approaches and techniques to better her skillset and the teams she works with. 

Dave Green

K-9 Handler, Professional Decoy, Teacher, Trainer

In 1993 Dave joined the United States Marine Corps and worked his way into the Military Working 

Dog program. Dave is a graduate of the Department of Defense’s Detector Dog and Patrol Dog 

Courses.

Upon leaving the Marine Corps, Dave joined the City of Raleigh’s Police Department. He quickly 

became a Field Training Officer and NC State Certified Law Enforcement Instructor. For more than 

two decades, Dave has taught several courses including: law enforcement tactics, force escalation 

and de-escalation, advanced building search, low/no-light tactics, scenario-based training and 

development, report writing and other specialty subjects. He is a NC Specialized Firearms and 

Active Shooter Instructor. Dave continues to author and teach various in-service trainings to the 

department, including several blocks of instruction for RPD’s Basic Recruit Academy. He has also 

been a guest lecturer at NC State University and has taught at area community colleges.

Currently, Dave works his dual-purpose police service canine and is a certified trainer for RPD’s K9 Unit. In his trainer role, he is responsible for canine team training, weekly in-service training and 

EDD unit training. Dave also assists with new canine/handler selection, policy writing and doctrine, 

uniform and equipment development, and the advancement of canine integration into tactical and specialty teams.

Dave is an active member of the United States Police Canine Association. He has competed, 

certified, and/or judged in USPCA’s Region 2 since his first membership in 1997. He currently 

represents Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, the Caribbean, 

the Virgin Islands and the Bahamas as the USPCA Southeast, National VP.

HARNESSING THE HIGH DRIVE POLICE DOG

This is a one-day course designed to assist handlers with the proper handling and harnessing of the highly sought after high drive police dog. This course will provide the student with foundational 

knowledge and understanding of how to channel their dog’s drives while not diminishing them. We 

will bridge this foundational knowledge with skills necessary to operate in high stress and often 

chaotic situations where it’s essential to have a quiet, calm and stable police dog. Each dog team 

will get dozens of reps while learning drills that can be practiced regularly and taken back to their 

respective agency. These drills can and should be utilized on a regular basis to achieve the 

prepared and capable police dog that we all want. Everyone wants to be an elite dog team, but you must be willing to put in the foundational work necessary to get there. 

EQUIPMENT REQUIRED:

- Harness

- Long line 

- Reward toy(s)

- Normal K9 Deployment Gear for dog and handler