How police dogs help officers fight crime
Police dogs have become a major part of any police force. They help officers solve crimes that would be otherwise impossible to detect. Police dogs, are normally certain dog breeds are very skillful and thoroughly trained. Hence, they are faithful and protective of their police officer partners.
Characteristics of a police dog
These pooches, wich are trained in a unit known as K-9 (homophone for “canine”), must meet certain special characteristics. The best police dog for excellence is usually the German Shepperd. However, some other big dogs with some specific tasks are trained.
The perfect police dog must have the following characteristics:
- Strength in order to better handle the police work.
- Intelligence to adapt well to specific training.
- A keen sense of smell to detect drugs or substances that go undetected by humans.
- Aggression or sense of alpha male. This is important when it comes to chasing criminals or putting themselves in dangerous situations.
Tasks of police dogs
As expressed before, service dogs undergo a very specific training. You could say that they are experts on what they do. The following tasks in the force are trusted to police dogs:
- Detecting substances. These dogs focus on detecting specific substances. Some of them are trained to detect explosives. But not only do they detect explosives but also know how to safely respond. Others dogs specialize in detecting illegal drugs. This helps officers identify illegal substances without having to go trough every piece of luggage.
- Tracking. These dogs are trained for years. They specialize in tracking down a specific person using their powerful sense of smell.
- Public enforcement. These dogs can help on different tasks to maintain orders. They can hold a criminal down while officers arrive or simply guard an area in prison to keep suspects from escaping.
- Cadaver dogs. These are especially trained to find dead bodies. This is a very useful and important function in the police force.
Police dogs are highly trained to perform specific tasks. If you have a pet at home, you do not need to train him that strictly. If you would like to learn tips and tricks on how to better train your friend, follow us on Dogalize. You will surely find the best advice on how to train your dog on basic tasks.