What Abilities Are Required to Be a Police Dog?

Police dogs are a very important part of law enforcement, as they help officers stay safe, fight crime and bring people to justice. Police dogs can perform many functions, including contraband detection, patrol, security and criminal apprehension. The selection process for police dogs is very strict; only the very best are deemed suitable to work alongside a law enforcement officer.

  1. Intelligence

    • First and foremost, a police canine must be able to understand a wide range of commands. Police dogs are trained to perform many different functions, and as a matter of officer safety, they must be able to do so every time they are commanded. Alsatians are popular as police canines because of their intelligence. As a pastoral breed, they are naturally intelligent, but they are also strong, agile and brave.

    Agility

    • This Alsatian is demonstrating agility, an essential criteria for police dog work.

      In order to carry out tasks such as security patrol and criminal apprehension, a police dogs needs to be agile. Speed and athleticism are required in many law enforcement scenarios. Police dogs will be required to take down armed assailants, so speed and agility are essential.

    Temperament

    • Although police dogs must be prepared to tackle violent criminals, it is absolutely essential that they are not overly aggressive. Controlled aggression that the officer can turn on and off with a one-word command is required. Edgy, nervous and excessively aggressive dogs are difficult to train and control.

    Loyalty

    • Law enforcement officers have a special bond with their dog. For an officer to be able to rely on his dog, he needs to know that the dog is loyal. Some dogs are more sociable than others. Dogs that were originally bred for herding work such as Alsatians and Malinois have an instinctive loyalty.

    Obedience

    • A law enforcement officer must have complete faith in his colleagues. This includes his dog. If a police dog doesn't do exactly as he is commanded, it puts the officer and the general public in danger. This is why police dogs are subjected to rigorous and ongoing obedience training. Only the most obedient dogs make it.

    Bravery

    • Police dogs are often required to tackle violent criminals. If the dog doesn't have the right mental attributes and desire to do this each and every time it is commanded, it puts the officer and his colleagues in danger. Only dogs that demonstrate bravery at a very young age are selected for police dog training. Puppies are subjected to loud noises in order for trainers to monitor their instinctive response. Only the dogs that are inquisitive about the noise are selected for training.

    Scent

    • All dogs have a powerful sense of smell. Police dogs must be tuned in and responsive to their sense of smell in order to track criminals and detect contraband. Early training establishes whether a dog's scenting ability is good enough.