K9 teams take on national champs

A dozen police patrol dog teams – including entrants from Tauranga and Whakatane – are competing for national honours this week in the National Police Dog and Detector Dog Championships, along with ten specialist detector dogs and handlers.

The hard working canines from Police, Customs, Corrections and Aviation Security are being tested on tracking, agility, obedience, searching, and detection capabilities in a series of demanding challenges at locations in the Hutt Valley, Wellington and southern Wairarapa.


Senior Constable Ben O'Connor and Ox – the 2014 patrol dog champions who are out to defend their title. Photo: Supplied.

The dogs and their handlers have been selected from regional trials, and each team has gone into the nationals with a set of points. Marks are deducted for any mistakes made during the realistic scenarios.

The Police patrol dog section features three teams from Auckland, one from Gisborne, two from Bay of Plenty, one from Whanganui, two from Wellington, two from Canterbury and one from Tasman.

Another six teams – two from Police (Bay of Plenty and Canterbury), two from Corrections (Auckland and Wellington) and two from Customs (Auckland and Wellington) are vying for the narcotic detector dog title.

It's also an inter-agency test in the explosives detector category with 2011 champions Senior Constable Hamish Todd and Cindy from Wellington up against three Aviation Security teams.

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