Police dog and handlerRecognized as the premier police dog service in the world, the RCMP Police Dog Service teams train and work alongside:

  • Tactical Teams
  • Emergency Response Teams,
  • Explosive Detection Units, and
  • Provincial Search and Rescue Organizations
  • Canadian Avalanche Rescue Dog Association (CARDA)
  • Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA)

Dogs are trained to detect human-laden scent articles, weapons, explosives and narcotics. 

RCMP Police Dog Service work profiles include:

  • retrieval,
  • tracking and searching for lost persons, criminals and evidence
  • avalanche search and rescue operations
  • criminal apprehension of fleeing or dangerous suspects and protection of handlers and the public
  • searching for narcotics, explosives, weapons/shell casings, minute and large articles and lost property
  • crowd management in conjunction with Tactical Teams
  • assistance to Emergency Response Teams in hostage, barricaded, or fleeing suspect situations
  • response to bomb threats - searching aircraft, ships, vehicles, land, containers and structures
  • police community relations presentations, demonstrations and youth education.

photo of a police dogFacts and Stats about Police Dogs and Handlers:

  • A new dog handler requires a minimum of 750 hours or four months of training.
  • Today, multi-purpose dogs are German Shepherds and specialty narcotic dogs are Labrador retrievers
  • The RCMP Police Dog Service implemented an in-house breeding program in 1998. The RCMP Puppy Program located in Innisfail, Alberta produces on average 120 German Shepherd puppies a year from proven stock. Children across Canada name each of the dogs through the Name the Puppy Contest.
  • Over 50%, or 70, police dogs currently working in the RCMP were bred in RCMP Puppy Program.
  • Another 70 that were raised in the program are now with other agencies worldwide
  • Police Dogs can indicate a person up to 300 to 400 yards away.
  • The dog has a sense of smell that is a thousand times greater than that of humans. They only need one part per million of scent to get a detection.
  • A dog can search a car in approximately three minutes
  • Dogs can work up to four hours with rest intervals.
  • Currently, there are 125 RCMP dog teams across Canada
  • There are currently 79 Police Dog Teams across E Division (British Columbia) and 44 in the Lower Mainland which is integrated with the Abbotsford Police Department.
  • Healthy police service dogs cost less than $1,000 annually to maintain.