Police
Puppies Face their First Test
Merseyside
Police's newest recruits faced their first test this week before they
go on to do their formal puppy training.
The 8 month old German Shepherd puppies sat their Bronze award before
they start training at the Mather Avenue Dogs Section.
The Q litter - Quiz, Quinn, Quinto, Quaser, Quest and the only girl Quila
were put through their paces by a judge on Tuesday 22nd July. The puppies
have to walk calmly with their handlers, stay in position on the floor
for one minute, wait at a door before being invited in and generally interact
well with other handlers and their dogs.
The puppies are just at the beginning of their police career. At the moment
the dogs are in the homes of volunteer puppy walkers, who care for them
while they undergo their initial training. At eight to nine months old,
they are then assigned to a dog handler. Dogs live at home with their
handlers as well as working alongside them.
Formal training
Once they reach 14-16 months old, they will then start their formal training
and if they complete the 13 week course and assessment successfully, they
will then become registered police dogs.
Inspector Neil Davies, Head of the Dog Section, said: 'All our dogs have
an important role to play in policing and we're excited about introducing
the new puppies into our training programme.
'Registered police dogs can help track down offenders or even vulnerable
people and also assist with crowd control at large events. Some even have
extended training and can work alongside officers in the firearms department.
'The force also has a number of specialist dogs, which carry out a variety
of roles from detecting drugs through to explosives.'
