Did you know that, on average, police dogs can find hidden drug samples after only 64 seconds of searching time? Police dogs are incredibly smart creatures that are capable of more than just that.
Have you ever wondered about K-9 units? If so, you’ve come to the right place. Read on to learn about everything you need to know about K-9 unit police dogs.
Where Does the Name K-9 Unit Come From?
Police dogs get called K-9 because it is a homophone of canine. Any dog can be referred to as a canine, but only police dogs get referred to as K-9.
What Makes Good Police Dogs?
The police K-9 unit must have a few key characteristics to do the job right. They begin as puppies who are curious enough to sniff out their surroundings. Once they become adult dogs, they are more skilled and can operate under many odd conditions.
The most common traits the military K-9 unit series and the capitol K-9 unit series have are intelligence, powerfulness, obedience, and strength. It is also important for these dogs to be social in certain settings. However, they need to have enough aggression placed in the right area.
The most common breeds of police dogs are German Shepherd, Golden Retrievers, and Belgian Malinois. Pit Bulls are also becoming more common in K-9 units.
How Are They Trained?
The true blue K-9 unit in Brooklyn and the Boston police K-9 unit will train their police dogs in different ways. However, every K-9 unit must go through basic obedience. If a dog cannot master the right commands, it will get removed from the program.
Along with keeping their behavior in check, they must get used to certain situations that not all dogs may go through. For example, they have to often ride in cars, hear loud noises, and get surrounded by a crowd of people. A dog who is nervous in any of these situations won’t make the best police dog.
Including basic obedience, a K-9 unit will run through endurance and agility training. This prepares them for working for long periods of time.
Dogs that are used for a specialized concept must go through additional training. In this training, they will learn the necessary skills. For example, a K-9 may get trained in bomb detection while others are not.
How Long Is Training?
Although dogs are smart, training them for a K-9 unit takes a lot of work and time. Typically, training takes around eight months to one year.
After the general training gets completed, a K-9 gets matched with a handler that will teach them additional things. This extra training takes about three to six months to complete. Specialized training, such as narcotics training, can take even longer.
Do They Bite Hard?
A police dog is trained to use a lot of force and continue to apply it when they come across a criminal. In short, yes, a police dog will bite hard.
You Know Something About Police Dogs!
Being interested in police dogs is something every animal lover has thought about at least once or twice. There is a lot of training that goes into creating a K-9 unit, but it is important to complete it successfully to keep our streets safe. Congrats on knowing more than you did before about police dogs!
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