List of police dog breeds
The following is a list of dog breeds that are or have been used as aids in police forces. There are a number of different jobs that a police dog can do, including public-order enforcement, illicit-substance detection, tracking, and cadaver or survivor searching. Some police forces use only one breed of dog for every one of these tasks rather than using, for example, one breed for tracking and another for illegal-substance detection. In some cases, a single dog may be trained and used in a number of these tasks.
All police dog breeds used in law enforcement
These dogs have the job of chasing a fleeing suspect and detaining the suspect until officers arrive; or restraining suspects from some action by threat of the dog being released and causing harm. This is the traditional image of a police dog
- Airedale Terrier
- Akita
- Belgian Malinois
- Belgian Sheepdog
- Staffordshire Bull Terrier
- Border Collie[1]
- Bouvier des Flandres
- Boxer
- Doberman Pinscher
- Dutch Shepherd
- German Shepherd
- Giant Schnauzer
- Indian pariah dog[2]
- Labrador Retriever
- Rottweiler
- Weimaraner
- Bloodhound
Illicit-substance detection dogs
These dogs sit with their handlers in airports and other transport hubs, sniffing the passengers from afar to detect any illegal substances a person may be carrying on their person or in luggage or carry-on items. The substances are most commonly drugs and explosives, although many nations also interdict foreign food items.
Tracking dogs
These dogs are used for sniffing the trails of lost or missing persons or objects. These dogs follow the scent left behind on a person and/or and object. These dogs are often used if a suspect runs and hides. There are also search and rescue dogs who also work with the police.
Cadaver-sniffing dogs
These dogs are trained to detect the odor of decomposing bodies in order to find corpses and human remains. Their noses are so sensitive they have been known to smell a dead body under running water.[8]
- Collie (a.k.a. Rough Collie, Smooth Collie, Scotch Collie)[6]
See also
References
- Allsopp, Nigel (2012). K9 Cops: Police Dogs of the World. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-921941-81-8.
- Sen, Adrija (5 March 2019). "This Rescued Street Pup Is Now A Part Of The City's Elite Canine Squad". Times Internet. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
- "Police Dogs - Dog Breeds". www.dogbreeds.net. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
- Archives, The National. "The Discovery Service". discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk. Archived from the original on May 7, 2018. Retrieved 24 September 2018.
- "Totana acogerá en octubre el primer encuentro de perros policías". Retrieved 24 September 2018.
- A Celebration of the Working Collie, by Cindy M. Dorsten, c. 2002
- Sole, Sarah (4 February 2019). "New K-9 Amigo has nose for law enforcement". ThisWeekNews.com. GateHouse Media, LLC. Retrieved 29 March 2019.
- Taylor, Rosemary (Jun 7, 2008). "Cadaver dogs, how reliable are they at detecting death?". Retrieved February 9, 2016.