Police Dog Squad Qualifications

Dogs working for the police, called K-9 or police dogs, help detect drugs and bombs and search for missing persons. These dogs must be extremely well-trained and able to follow commands without hesitation. There are several qualifications that police dog trainers look for in their search for quality and capable K-9s.

  1. Breeds

    • Because of the physically exhaustive and often dangerous nature of police work, only select breeds are considered to be police dogs. These breeds (which include German shepherds, Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers and Belgian malinois) are usually selected for their size, intelligence and sense of smell. These dogs are large enough to be held on to in the event of a water rescue, keen enough in smell to detect drugs through a bag, and smart enough to learn the obedience necessary to save a life (possibly their own) in the event of a crisis or emergency. While many of these breeds are common and potential police dogs are culled from private owners and rescue dogs, many police organizations have begun breeding their own. This helps ensure the dog has traits positive for working with the police force.

    Train-ability

    • The situations a police dog will encounter are often tense and dangerous, with a real possibility of physical harm if control is lost. A police dog who acts out of turn can overdose on illegal drugs, harm an innocent person, reveal a police team in hiding or even get shot. For this reason, one of the most essential qualifications in a potential police dog is trainability. Like their human counterparts, police dogs are trained to move, speak, seek, attack and stand at ease only when directed. A dog can be strong, aggressive and smart, but without trainability and an even temperament, the dog will wash out of police dog basic training.

    Aggression

    • Dogs, like people, have distinguishing personality traits. Like a person, it takes a certain combination of traits to make a dog suited for police work. One of these essential personality traits is aggression. While successful police dogs have a temperament that allows them to be trained very well, they can also be ruthlessly aggressive when the situation or the commander calls for it. For this reason, many police dogs are male and have been left un-neutered (which helps them to retain the aggression-enhancing benefits of testosterone.)