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IT was not all play and no work for the dogs from the police dog unit (K9) during the recent launch of a new badge design for the unit.
Police Principal assistant director of the Technical Aids Division Asst Comm Dev Kumar said police dogs normally underwent four months of training under the supervision of dog handlers before they were ready for official duty.
“Among the tasks the dogs are assigned to are tracking criminals and sniffing for drugs, weapons and explosives,” he said after witnessing the launch at the Police Training College (Pulapol) in Jalan Semarak recently.
ACP Dev Kumarm said the unit now had 145 dogs nationwide, including 30 which had just been bought from Germany and the Czech Republic.
It is learnt that German Shepherds were good at attacking and detecting criminals while Labradors were capable of sniffing out drugs, firearms and explosives.
Normally, tracking dogs outlive their full potential after eight years before they are retired, he said, adding that each tracking dog was priced at about RM30,000.
At the same ceremony, 11 dog handlers received certificates for their contributions, including three who recceived commendation letters from the Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan.
Good dog: Corporal S. Sanmugan demonstrating how Hyker can respond to hand signals.Corporal S. Sanmugan, 43, from Kuantan was awarded the trophy for best K9 dog handler in the country by Federal CID director Datuk Seri Bakri Zinin on Wednesday.
He achieved the feat by training his German Shepherd named Hyker to follow instructions merely by hand signals and pass a competition with a judge brought in from Hungary.
“The dog must first learn the normal commands and verbal instructions before you can attempt to train it non-verbally.
“It was very difficult in the beginning but after Hyker mastered the hand signals, it was a joy to work with him,” the dog handler with 15 years experience in the K9 unit said.
Source: The star