With demand for Police and detector dogs at an all-time high, there¡¯s a lot going on at the Police Dog Training Centre in Trentham.
Following the success of its German Shepherd breeding programme, Police¡¯s dog section is now self-sufficient, attracting attention from several countries and agencies looking to emulate its success.
For Inspector Todd Southall, National Coordinator Police Dogs, it¡¯s recognition for his team¡¯s hard work and dedication.
¡°This year is probably the first time we¡¯ve met demand from the districts, which is fantastic as we¡¯re about quality not quantity,¡± says Todd. ¡°It¡¯s critical that our handlers have the best dogs to look after them and the community.¡±
This has allowed Police to work with Australian Police state dog sections around breeding, equipment and supply of pups as potential working and breeding stock. It¡¯s important the relationship with Australia is strong as this will bring significant benefits to both countries, says Todd.
Work is ongoing with Corrections, Avsec and Customs on a possible collaborative multi-agency approach to breeding and training detector dogs. An international detector dog breeding programme is already under way.
Trentham¡¯s first detector pups were born in April after the Australian Border Force gifted their Labrador mum Piper to Police. The Border Force has gifted a second pregnant bitch Nova, who has recently given birth to eight pups.
This emphasises the importance of the trans-Tasman partnership - not just with police but other agencies, says Todd.
¡°There¡¯s a critical shortage of detector dogs worldwide and we need to be ahead of the game. The current world environment is putting huge demand on detector dogs.
¡°It¡¯s not just about looking after Police. My goal is for New Zealand to be self-sufficient and for all agencies to be able to source good-quality detector dogs within New Zealand within the next three to five years.¡±
The Pacific Police Dog programme will also benefit, with New Zealand-bred detector dogs potentially being deployed to Tonga, the Cook Islands, Samoa and Fiji in the near future.
¡°The introduction of detector dogs in the Pacific, particularly Fiji, has been really successful and we hope to expand that,¡± says Todd. ¡°It¡¯s about helping protect our neighbours. The Asia-Pacific is us and if we¡¯re protecting their borders, we¡¯re protecting our borders.
¡°It¡¯s a very busy time but our dog section is in a really good place. We¡¯ve got great handlers, great supervisors, and we¡¯re always looking at how to be better. Working with other agencies is an important part of that. I¡¯m excited about the future.¡±