Wanted: Pedigree dogs for paramilitary forces

The paramilitary forces are looking for fresh recruits for their dog squads. But just any mangy mutt won’t do. They want dogs with pedigree. And only those less than six months old will make the cut as anything older would be hard to train.

The paramilitary forces are looking for fresh recruits for their dog squads. But just any mangy mutt won’t do.

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They want dogs with pedigree. And only those less than six months old will make the cut as anything older would be hard to train.

Four breeds come highly recommended by the committee on augmentation of police dogs — the labrador retriever, German shepherd, golden retriever and cocker spaniel.

The National Security Guard has recruited two cocker spaniels and the Indo-Tibet Border Police (ITBP) plans to follow suit. “Cocker spaniels have a good sense of smell and make great sniffer dogs. They are also small and get around narrow spaces easily,” said Deepak Pandey, spokesperson for the ITBP.

“Our major constraint has been finding pedigree dogs,” said Vijay Raman, Special DG, Central Reserve Police Force. “Kennel clubs and breeders from across the country are helping us. We would be more than happy to receive pedigree dogs in donation but we are willing to buy them too.”

“Sniffer dogs are a crucial part of operations for us, which is why we are training them extensively in Madhya Pradesh,” said IG M.I. Khan, who trains dogs for the BSF.

For the CISF, the maximum requirement for sniffer dogs is in Delhi as there are a large number of areas to patrol — such as the airport, government buildings and power plants.