K-9 Units (Police Dogs)

Today I thought I would talk about a different type of service animal all together, one who serves everyone, rather than just one person.  I thought this would be a good idea because, these service animals sometimes go unrecognized for their duties.  Duties that I might add, are very dangerous, and yet they risk their lives anyway to keep us safe.  The service animals I am talking about are police and border patrol dogs (K-9 units).  I have the privilege of knowing a few because of where I work, and it is incredible the commitment, the training and the respect that goes into these amazing dogs.  

A K-9 unit is typically made up of one dog (canine/ K-9) and one handler.  The dogs and handlers are constantly together, whether it be on the job, training or at home. Therefore, these dogs are very loyal to their handler and they have formed some sort of bond with them.

Both handler and canine have a job.  They work together to get that job done. Their job requires them to be able to find lost people or criminals, search for drugs or explosives, alcohol and contraband

The reason that dogs are so effective on the job is that their sense of smell of a dog is much greater than ours, approximately 1000 to 10 000 000 times better depending on the breed.  Not only do they have a great nose, but their hearing is also really good.  Dogs can hear things up to 4 times further than humans can. They can also hear things at a higher frequency or pitch than us.  (Dog Senses)  

Their training also plays a big part in why they are so great at their jobs. For certain situations, they are taught that when they find any illegal substances such as drugs or alcohol, or fruits and vegetables (typically when crossing the border), they will be rewarded with a favorite toy.  They must train multiple hours a week to maintain the dogs title as an officer.

It is nice to know that because of how sensitive they are, they are keeping everyone safe and everything under control.