Luca, a German Shepherd, and handler Jim Tortorella are a Certified Drug Detection Team.
Following an intense three-month onsite training regimen, Jim Tortorella obtained a certificate as a Certified Police K9 Trainer through North State K-9 Academy and is Certified with his German Shepherd dog as a Certified Drug Detection Team through the NTPDA (National Tactical Police Dog Association).
At Tarheel Canine Training, Tortorella’s areas of study included:
- Basic and advanced pet obedience using motivational methods and positive re-enforcement
- E-collar and clicker methods
- Working with high-drive police dogs to achieve bite and protection skills using the latest techniques and equipment
- Canine scent theory to train drug and bomb detection dogs for law enforcement
- Scent Discrimination and multiple imprint separation
- Vehicle searches, building searches
- Advanced problem solving
- Canine tracking and trailing
