THREE dogs from All Creatures Great and Small animal sanctuary have now graduated as licensed police dogs.
Labradors Hunter, Missy and Max are among the four new recruits to Gwent Police's Dog Section.
The force ran a "recruitment" drive on social media earlier this year, and contacted the sanctuary as they were on the lookout for “energetic, driven” dogs that could be permanently rehomed with the team.
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The three Labradors were donated to the team by the rescue centre, while Maize – a Belgian Malinois – came in privately.
The dogs faced an intensive six to eight week course to determine whether they can join the force.
"We start by getting them to search small, uncluttered rooms for items related to play – like tennis balls, for example," said retired dog handler, Paul Booth, who led their training.
“In the next stage, we place a drug/substance next to the ball, so they become accustomed to smells and what they need to search for, before eventually removing the ball so their search is focused solely on locating illegal substances. All the while, we use a clicker to indicate they’ve achieved their goal and to reinforce positive behaviour.
“As the weeks go by, we improve their skills by hiding substances at different elevations – not just at floor level, but on chairs, desks and shelving units – introduce them to different smells/substances, then include stimuli that could ‘interfere’ with the search, things like different noises, scents and weather conditions.
“This ensures that the dogs can perform effective searches across changeable environments and remain focused.”
And after being put through their paces, all four dogs have passed their training and will join their handlers as part of the force's canine unit.
"We are overjoyed to see that Hunter, Missy and Max have successfully graduated and are now licensed police dogs with Gwent Police," said Angharad Williams, site and sanctuary manager at All Creatures Great and Small.
"All three dogs were a pleasure to have at our sanctuary. Hunter and Max came into us due to a change in their home circumstances whereas Missy was neglected and living out of someone’s car for quite some time.
"To see all three of them now living a wonderful life is absolutely fantastic and we cannot thank Gwent Police enough for giving them this wonderful opportunity."
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