Cumbria Constabulary will welcome their newest, youngest and fluffiest recruits next week. The three German Shepherd puppies, who are 8 weeks old, will arrive from the Isle of Man to start their training as police dogs for Cumbria Constabulary.
The pups were donated from the dog breeding programme at the Isle Of Man Constabulary and join the existing 12 General Purpose police dogs, 12 drugs dogs and explosives dogs currently assisting the fight against crime in Cumbria.
For the next six months, the new recruits will work alongside their handlers to form a bond, socialise with a diverse range of people and gain experience in a variety of environments and locations.
The pups, two female and one male, are replacing three police dogs which are all due to retire.
PC Steve Jones, PC Simon Hodgkinson and PC Jonathan Chappell will each receive one of the new pups and will start their training as soon as they arrive.
Sergeant Mark Yielder, from the Dog Unit at Cumbria Constabulary, said: “The next six months is all about familiarising the dogs with as many new people, places and experiences as possible, so that they are able to deal with any situation they’re faced with when they start work.
“We spend a lot more time playing with the dogs than you would a family pet, and rather than fluffy animals and balls, these dogs have sets of keys and tools as toys, so that they get used to the kinds of materials and objects they will be expected to search for at crime scenes in the future.
“They are also exposed to loud noises by playing recordings of thunder, lightening and firework noises on a stereo so that they get used to the unexpected, and grow into bold working dogs.”
It will be at least a year before the pups begin training in earnest, and around 18 months before they start working, giving them the time they need to grow in confidence and strength.
Once trained, the dogs will be used during public order incidents, to locate missing people, search crime scenes and hunt for offenders.
Sergeant Ian Kelly, from the Isle of Man Police, said: “It is great to see these dogs going to a force which we have such a good working relationship with. We work closely with our colleagues in Cumbria and attend training courses held by them and have our dogs independently licensed by their instructors when we can. We mutually assist each other in searches, for example, they helped us with security searches last September when we hosted the Commonwealth Youth Games and we have assisted with searches for Royal visits”.
“The parents of these pups are both working police dogs within the Isle of Man. Dad is called Bodie, aged three and a half years and their mother, Saxon is two and a half and both are pedigree Kennel Club registered with lines going back to Slovakia and Belgium. The pups should hopefully adapt to the role of a police dog, although nothing is ever guaranteed with puppies.”
Members of the public will be able to follow the progress of the pups on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/cumbriapolice and Inspector Matthew Kennerley has launched a new Twitter site: www.twitter.com/policedogunit which will provide updates on the puppies progression, information on the Dogs Unit, handlers, training and the incidents they attend.
Details of a competition to guess the name of one of the puppies will be added to Cumbria Police’s Facebook page and the new Dogs Unit Twitter site. The prize will be a visit to the Dog Unit at Cumbria Constabulary where they will meet the puppies and the police officers who work there.
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