RCMP dog Jammer will be making appearances around the Southeast.

Constable Justin Neufeld says he transferred to the Steinbach detachment in early November and part of his job is to train puppies, also known as imprinting, from eight weeks old to about one year old before they return to Innisfail, Alberta and are given further training with their permanent RCMP dog handler.

Jammer is almost a year old and Neufeld notes he may be seen around the area trying to introduce Jammer to different environments or situations he may encounter when he's working in the field. He adds he's also looking for businesses who are willing to let him train with Jammer.

"One of my jobs is to socialize the dogs, to bring them to different environments they may encounter. This could be anything that could be manmade such as slippery surfaces, tile, gym floors, those kinds of things. Then also crowds, different scents, smells, distractions, all that sort of thing. They need to experience the world and that's my job."

Neufeld says he took a course in Innisfail which qualified him to imprint puppies and get them ready for further training.

He notes the public is more than welcome to watch him train with Jammer or any of the future dogs he may have by his side, however, the public may not call the dog, pet him or feed him.

"If I'm able to answer any questions I'd love to, I love talking about it and the process that's involved with it," says Neufeld. "But basically, if they happen to see me around town, they can feel free to watch just try to refrain from trying to call the dog, pet the dog or feed the dog because he is a working dog and we're teaching him what it takes to be a police officer. So, just to keep in mind to benefit him and his training, ideally, it would be beneficial to me to be able to control the environment as much as possible."

Neufeld says he has been able to make contacts to go out into the community soon, whether it be different businesses or schools.

"It's kind of like, as we go to school and we grow up we are taught about things that are about the world, but we have the ability to communicate it through words. Whereas, with him I almost need to take field trips with him to teach him and show him about these things. To describe a school bus to him is almost impossible. I need to actually take him to a school bus and show him what it looks like so he understands what it is."

He adds it's also important for the dog to be exposed to loud noises to show him something may make noise, but it won't hurt him.

Neufeld says once the dog is about a year old they're considered by the RCMP to return to Innisfail and continue training with the officer who will become their permanent handler.

He notes, just like it takes a village to raise a child, "literally this is an opportunity here where it takes a whole community for me to be able to imprint this dog. So, anybody who is participating in the procedure, I really appreciate it."

Neufeld adds it's these experiences which help a dog like Jammer become the next Enzo.