Canine Wonders: Dog Squads To The Rescue

Man's best friend is certainly going places. From being the caveman's companion to soldier's mate - the journey has been a long one.

Man's best friend is certainly going places. From being the caveman's companion to soldier's mate - the journey has been a long one.

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Dogs donning the khaki colours have become true-blue professionals in their own right. And dog squads are now an irreplaceable part of the Indian security forces.

"Dogs are a great help in many ways. Be it detection of explosives, narcotics or even search and rescue operations, dogs are our best bet," says Dr Milind Wase, Chief Veterinary Officer, ITBP.

But getting inducted into the force is no child's play and no ordinary puppy can aspire to military greatness. Training periods vary among the forces but pups are usually ready to begin training at the age of six months.

"After an initial obedience training of six to nine months if the dog is found suitable, it is then trained in its specific vocation for the subsequent nine to eighteen months," says Major Inderjeet Singh, Commanding Officer, National Security Guard Dog Squad.

A dog's nose is upto thousand times more sensitive than the human nose, which makes canines perfect for a job like detecting explosives or narcotics.

"When the dog becomes aware of the presence of explosives, it immediately alerts its handler by barking. It has been trained not to touch the object or retrieve it," says Wase.

"Not all dogs are chosen for such tasks. Different pedigrees have different temperaments. We usually select Labradors or German Shepherds for our requirements," says Wase.

"The NSG has sixteen Labradors. We prefer this breed because they are the best sniffers, are obedient and easy to train. Moreover, they can adapt to any climate and require least maintenance," says Singh.

The canine members of the NSG dog squad may be forgiven for being a bit snooty. After all, they are put on sanitisation duty for VIP events like the Republic Day period.

"Before the 2002 Republic Day parade, one of the other squad's dogs thought it had found an explosive device on the Rajpath while the NSG dog didn't indicate anything. Ultimately, it was found there was nothing there. Detection of explosives is an immense responsibility and our dogs have to be accurate all the time," says Singh.

Dogs also have to learn to adapt to new situations. During the dress rehearsal for an ITBP parade, the dogs were irritated whenever the television cameramen came near.

"They needed to be made accustomed to anything new. Just before the actual parade, we practised with a dummy camera so that the dogs could get used to the cameramen," explains Wase.

While most dogs are on call 24 hours a day in case of emergencies, they do have regular working hours and as many breaks as necessary.

"They work for around four to five hours daily with intervals of around 30 minutes," reveals Singh.

And what's in it for the dog?

"Well, the dog handler gets a cash award in the event of successful detection of the explosive. And he in turn rewards the dog with a tidbit or something the dog particularly likes as an incentive," says Wase.

Wanna buy one of these super dogs? One might as well aspire to buy a motorbike. These canine wonders are worth around Rs 85,000 in the prime of their life.

"In fact, some of the best dogs may be worth around three to four lakhs," reveals Singh.

Like human beings, dogs have their retirement age too.

"Our dogs generally retire by the age of ten. They are then auctioned off or donated to somebody who can take better care of them in old age. In case, they are suffering from incurable ailments, we have to sometimes resort to mercy-killing," says Wase.

While each dog in the ITBP squad has one personal handler, the NSG squad boasts of two handlers per dog. In fact, the handler is the dog's companion for life and is considered part of a close-knit family.

Given the fact that dogs are the most loyal creatures around, there's obviously nothing the dog won't do for its handler.