The 2026 Canadian Police Canine Association Trials were hosted in Saskatoon for the first time in more than a decade over the weekend. The annual event brings together various law enforcement agencies from across the country to showcase the skills of their police service dogs, and the handlers who work with them. “It’s just healthy competition that brings us together. We share ideas, we also see if people have evolved training or different techniques or tactics and, and just like building community just so that everyone nationwide can grow and get better at the dog side of things in regards to policing,” Const. Jeff Willoughby with the Saskatoon Police Service said. Over the three-day event, the dogs and their handlers participated in a variety of events called ‘profiles’ that each showcased a different skill. The profiles included obedience, agility, tracking, searching, and narcotic or explosive detection. “We also fly in judges from different agencies as well. And they’re the ones that do all the planning and stuff like that. And we’re just hosting it this year, the last time I think we hosted it was in 2008. So it’s been a while,” Willoughby said. Saskatoon’s Merlis Belsher Place was set up for a variety of different profiles to be showcased in front of the hundreds of spectators who came to watch the free event. “We do our best to try and mimic operational deployments and things like that, but some of it’s just for fun. We see who can maybe train dogs to do unique things that that aren’t always operationally relevant, It’s just cool to see and do in practice and get better at and hone your skill,” Willoughby said. Willoughby participated in the event with his dog, Hyde. He explained that the process of training both police dogs and their handlers is one that requires patience and dedication. “We start our program off here in Saskatoon in general, for the basic handler course. So that’s spring to fall. And then we just get better and better and better and train in partnership with the dog. And we have a trainer training us. And we just slowly build up the different profiles. And then we enter into scenario kind of training that would mimic real life operational stuff,” Willoughby said. Willoughby shared that dogs typically work with police for nine years before they are retired. The constable added that police service dogs are a unique tool and they often receive a lot of attention from the public as well as those on the force. “I think everyone can kind of relate to it I suppose. Everyone loves pets, and it’s just kind of neat to see the different levels. And also, just like I think people enjoy healthy, friendly competition and that’s probably the reason why I think any of us join a unit too...people like dogs,” Willoughby said.
