Police dogs?

[Jodie9]

I was wondering what every though about police dogs.

Are they mistreated?
Is it mean to use a dog for this type of work?

So, what do you think? I will give my opionin on this topic later, I need to going.

[Oggyflute]

I have never had any direct association with Police dogs, but when in the Air Force, I had a mate who was a defence guard, and they treated there dogs extremely well, a member of there family as such. I can only assume that the Police would treat there dogs in the same fashion, as it would hardly make any sense otherwise. I guess there are always exceptions, but I would think it unlikely and rare.

[dukedogsmom]

Our dogs are very well taken care of and are also family members. I have mixed emotions about them as they can get hurt before an officer but they also do wonderful things like find lost people(bloodhounds). They can find drug stashes that would otherwise go unnoticed by the police. They protect the officers and are given officer status themselves. Overall, I think it's alright. I know some animal rights people don't agree. It would be different if they were mistreated, though.

[lbaker]

There are more breeds and uses for dogs in the force as there are problems. A bloodhound, when finding the one they are after - for example - would just as soon lick the person's face as get angrrrrry ;) Lost? Fugitive? They don't care. They, like most hounds just want to be loved and run. The sheps and dobbies etc. mostly have to be trained to "protect and serve" and are so intelligent they will obey on command. Usually, in my experience, the trainers love their dogs and would be hard put to do anything but use them as backup. The sniffing dogs just want to use their sensitive noses to do their job. Dogs like to have jobs

[smokey the elder]

My brother in law was in K9 for awhile, and part of his job was training and socializing the dogs, and also fostering the retired dogs until homes could be found. Demon was a HUGE shepherd, whose temperament belied his name. He was intimidating by his sheer size, but would more likely lick a perp to death as anything else!

[sammy101]

It's rare to find police dogs mistreated.Police dogs go home with there handlers,they live a normal life as a house dog at home,and go to work.They do wonderful things,catch criminals,sniff out drugs,etc,find lost people,do everything!I dont mind it at all!:)

[binka_nugget]

The ones I've met are treated like family members and are well loved. Some of them eat better stuff than I do! :p

[Glacier]

My parents' neighbor is a canine officer. He has two police dogs. One is full time and older. The other is a younger dog who is still learning. They are treated like family pets when they aren't working. He actually has three dogs as when his last canine partner was injured (torn ACL) he adopted her as a pet.

A man I work with has a police trained dog. She didn't quite make the cut for full time police work, so she was adopted out by the training academy. She's 2 years old now. Was adopted out at about a year. She amazing! Knows all sorts of commands, well trained, well socialized, beautiful! Her flaw for police work is that she could not be trained to bite on command. She just won't bite! So not a good police dog, but a perfect family pet!

[cocker_luva]

it isnt cruel to use them for police purposes, since most K-9 breeds they use where bred for guarding and protection in the first place.

also in my family we've experienced many police dogs, since my aunt works for the sheriff. any questions i'll be happy to try and answer.

[dukedogsmom]

Glacier, I would love to get pics and maybe some patches if your parent's neighbor wears them. I know Canada doesn't use a lot of patches. If you talk to them and they're interested, let me know and I can give you my work email to them. I can send them some things from Florida.

[Soapets]

The police dogs here are treated very well, and live with the officer, and his family, who is assigned to them. They are considered a part of a team, and seem to love their jobs. This past year a child initiated a fund raiser that raised money for bullet-proof vests for the police dogs in our town. The police dogs do a wonderful job sniffing out drugs. They do demonstrations in local schools and at other law-enforcement education events. They are a wonderful asset to our community.

[schteve_d]

I have "known" two police dogs and they were treated as any other family pet when off-duty, but just like the officers themselves, they ARE placed in danger at times. They are amazing animals. I remember in Nanaimo a police dog got shot and killed and the funeral was exaclty the same as it would have been for a human officer: parade, 21 gun salute, tons of officers in formal dress uniform. I don't think it's cruel, if you ever get a chance to spend time with one, they love nothing more than doing what they are trained to do. Again, it's unfortunate that they do get placed in dangerous situations from time to time, but no more than the human officers who do the same thing daily and we think nothing of it.

[carole]

I am glad to say it is the same here in NZ, police dogs do indeed get treated well and live with the officer's family, on retirement they become family pets.

The one that disturbed me most, was the wonderful dogs sent to the war, who after finished their job as bomb dogs, were never returned to the US , but PTS and buried overseas, that is heartbreaking stuff, especially for the handlers, one in particular set up a monument for his dog, in honour of him, he was in tears telling how this all came about,now that really bothered me.

[dukedogsmom]

I agree, Carole! I saw that documentary a few years ago and just balled. There were grown men crying over those dogs that were left behind. Broke my heart for both the dogs and the men. Check out one of the guy's sites at www.wardogs.com