Sniffing and pacing between rows of red lockers, a member of the Bismarck Police Department searches for drugs hidden at Century High School.

It wasn't an officer searching 250 Century High School lockers Monday - it was one of five Bismarck Police Department's K9s.

The brown and black German shepherd dog hits on a locker. Jumping up and scratching one metal locker, Bear alerts his handler, Bismarck Police Officer Nolan Canright, that he's found drugs.

Canright pulls out Bear's lime green toy as reward for the dog's good work. The officer responds with almost as much excitement as his four-legged partner.

"Good job, Bear!" he says in a high-pitched voice while playing with the dog. "Thatta dog, thatta dog! Good boy!"

Brian Woods, a master trainer at the North American Police Service Dog Association who has trained more than 360 dogs, said police dogs like Bear enjoy their work searching for drugs, bombs and bad guys. After hitting on something, the dogs know that it's time for fun, he said.

"It's the equivalent of a big game of hide and seek,"he said. "This is his pay - playing with Daddy."

Bear was one of eight dogs going through training and certification at Century High School Tuesday. Master trainers from the NAPSDA came to Bismarck to put on the training seminar at the request of Bismarck Police Sgt. Lyle Sinclair.

The seminar started Monday and will continue throughout the week. Police dogs and handlers from law enforcement departments across the state were invited to attend the seminar, but so far only Bismarck police and North Dakota Highway Patrol units have attended, said Bismarck Police Officer Dan Hughes. He said more units could show up during the rest of the week.

Woods said is to give units additional training, as well as offer opinions and ideas on different techniques. An outsider watching a dog and handler work is more likely to spot problems, Woods said.

"It's kind of like going back to school," he said.

The evaluators also see different ways of doing things and identify different problems that can come up, Woods said.

"It's a learning experience for all of us," he said.

The NAPSDA is one of several organizations that certify police K9 units. Woods said there are more than 3,800 NAPSDA members worldwide.

Canright explained that dog certification is important in proving the credibility of a dog. Having a dog hit on an object is probable cause for obtaining a search warrant, but judges want to know how successful the dog is and whether it is certified before issuing a search warrant.

Woods said the Bismarck Police Department K9 units "look pretty good."

While evaluating the dogs, master trainers would stop occasionally and offer suggestions to handlers. They told them to slow the dogs down when they sound like they're breathing instead of sniffing and advised them about different ways to use toys as rewards.

Dogs' noses are estimated to be between 200 and 2,000 times as sensitive as humans and can be taught to differentiate between smells, Woods said.

"That's why police dogs are so valuable to us," he said. "Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and steak is not what we're looking for."

Hughes said hyper dogs seem to be more successful as long as they can be directed.

"If they're crazy, that's good," he said.

Hughes said his dog, Annie Oakley, is a bomb-detecting dog. Annie Oakley is the only bomb dog that is always in North Dakota, he said, explaining that the Air Force has dogs that get called to other places regularly.

Handlers and trainers at the seminar said police dogs are in high demand and are expensive to buy. Price goes up with the amount of training that the dog has and can cost nearly $10,000.

Canright said the dogs are well worth the expense when they can find what they're looking for. The dogs are the handlers' partners, he said.

"They're looking out for us. They'll give their lives for us," he said. "It's cool to have a partner that you know will do that."

The dogs are more than just partners, though. They're 24-hour-a-day companions that live with the officers, go to work with them and even watch them write reports, Canright said.

"They're your partner," he said. "You get attached."