WA Police are in the middle of training four dogs to have the skills to track, locate drugs, engage an offender and equally importantly, disengage when instructed.
Among the intake is Police Dog Candidate (PDC) Digger (pictured with his handler, First Class Constable Mark Arnold).
Digger is a substantial male Malinois, sourced through a supplier in Perth at 12 months of age.
His genetic background relates to the Koninklijke Nederlandse Politiehond Vereniging, in English the Royal Dutch Police Dog Association, which has a history going back to 1907.
Constable Arnold said Digger was also an extremely motivated dog for play and biting things.
“Digger has a very powerful grip. All his toys have their construction fully tested during play. Even the bite suit is operating on its upper limits,” he said.
Constable Arnold arrived at the unit some months ago and has been heavily involved with the development of the dogs leading into the course, displaying exceptional flexibility in doing so.
He has embraced his partnership with Digger, which is evident during their play sessions. They are loud and somewhat hectic, but most importantly the relationship is genuine and Digger can tell.
They are fast becoming an excellent team.
Digger continues to improve across all facets of training. His speciality at the moment is detection. He has a keen nose for it and Constable Arnold’s play sessions maintain a high level of motivation.
