Boardman Township police dog Kylo is rewarded Tuesday with his toy after he successfully alerts to narcotics during training with his handler, officer Daryn Tallman.

BOARDMAN — Using an empty building, police dogs trained Tuesday — sharpening their search skills.

The police dogs and their handlers performed exercises, sniffing through rooms at the former Market Street Elementary School.

Working on Tuesdays throughout the month, Boardman Township police officer and handler Brian Cionni said the opportunity allows handlers from across the Mahoning Valley “to share off one another,” seeing which tactics work with their dogs.

In the revolving roster of this week’s practices were: Cionni and his partner, Leon, a Belgian Malinois; Boardman officer Daryn Tallman and Kylo, also a Belgian Malinois; and Beaver Township police officer Chris Albert and Argo, a German shepherd.

Such training is ongoing for handlers and their dogs, said Tallman. Tuesday’s training included detecting narcotics that were hidden around rooms.

Cionni and Tallman said that Boardman started its police dog program in 1991, among the first.

Most of the law enforcement agencies in Mahoning County now have a police dog, Cionni said. For those that do not, or if a department’s dog is off duty, neighboring agencies assist with mutual aid.

Police dogs can be used for tracking people as well as searching for articles in a pursuit, Tallman said.

Tallman explained that when a police dog is working a site and successfully alerts to a substance during a legal traffic stop, that action gives the officers probable cause to search the vehicle.

For a dwelling, a warrant is still needed to search, he added.

If a police dog is called to your neighborhood, the Boardman Police Department has these suggstions :

• Keep household pets inside, as this limits distractions to the police dog.

• When a police dog and his handler arrive, stay inside and wait for the officer to greet you.

• Do not go outside to check on a suspicious noise or see where a suspicious person has gone prior to the police dog arriving. This can hinder tracking efforts by the police dog.

• Keep outside lights off if it is dark out. Police dogs and their handlers are familiar with working in the dark.

afox@tribtoday.com