10 Best Police Dog Breeds From Around The World

Origin: Belgium
Specialized: Protection, Ground-Based Tracking, Air-Based Tracking, Locating Human Remains, Locating Drugs, Locating IEDs, Locating Evidence

Here we have one famous police dog breed that can do so many things that they are among the best. They might look like a German Shepherd with a black mask, but this breed is super cool. Police usually train them to detect odors like explosives, accelerants (for arson investigation), and narcotics. This dog breed can also track humans for suspect apprehension in police work as well as search and rescue missions. Not to mention that the US Secret Service also uses them to guard the grounds of the White House, they are awesome.

This dog breed is active, intelligent, friendly, protective, alert, hard-working, and energetic which is simply perfect to be police dogs. That is not a doubt why European countries like Belgium, Germany, and the Netherlands recruited them for their armies in World War II. Their capabilities and potentials are so incredible they are popular among armies, law enforcement agencies, and special units.

Origin: Germany
Specialized: Patrol, Detect Narcotics

The Boxer actually has a long history of service to mankind as a police dog, war dog, and service dog. This dog breed is unique due to its incredible ability to spring up in a jump that not every dog can do. This gymnastic type of dog is so flexible it is always up to a challenge when it comes to new tricks. That makes it easy for the police force to train them for certain purposes in duty without taking too much time.

Origin: Belgium, France, United Kingdom
Specialized: Odor-Specific ID, Tracking, Locating Bombs, Drugs, Evidence

When it comes to the best police dog breeds with a great sense of smell, no breed can beat Bloodhound. Back in the old days, this dog breed was used for hunting deer, wild boar, and other animals in the wild. With its keen sense of smell over great distances and tenacious tracking instinct, it also makes an awesome police dog breed.

Police and law enforcement all over the world train and use Bloodhound to track escaped prisoners, missing people, lost children, and lost pets. More than that, this breed is the dog that stands firm and straight to the command of its trainer. Having them as part of the team makes the work more effective and fast. Bloodhounds have been working with police in many countries for years, and their service is amazing.

Origin: Germany
Specialized: Protection, Attack Dog

With such looks, we can easily tell why this breed is perfect to work in the police force. But the look alone is not the quality, Doberman is also intelligent, alert, strong, and tenaciously loyal. This dog breed has great courage plus their intimidating figure that can perfectly serve alongside humans.

The great part is that obey the command from their handler very well when trained properly. Mostly, they are trained to hold a suspect until commanded to release without causing injuries if he does not fight or struggle. Plus with their great running speed, they are one of the best police dog breeds that always ensure a definite catch.

Origin: Netherlands
Specialized: Protection, Attack Dog, Odor Detection, Explosive Detection

Just like most shepherd dogs, Dutch German Shepherd was originally bred to herd sheep flocks. As for this breed, their main job was to keep the flock away from crops by patrolling the borders of roads and the fields. With their characteristics of being loyal, reliable, alert, watchful, active, and intelligent, they become police dogs as time goes by.

The awesome thing is that Dutch German Shepherd is very obedient and well-disciplined which allows them to work with any task independently. More than that, they are neither aggressive nor shy which makes this dog breed one great companion on missions. Plus, they can serve in the police for years compared to other dog breeds which is why they are among the best police dog breeds.

Origin: Germany
Specialized: Protection, Locating Human Remains, Locating Drugs, Locating IEDs, Locating Evidence, Ground-Based Tracking, Air-Based Tracking

The famous of them all, the German Shepherd is a large, agile, and muscular dog breed with noble character and high intelligence. As you can tell by the name, this dog breed was originally bred for herding sheep only. However, their strength, intelligence, trainability, and obedience enable them to do more better things than just herding sheep. German Shepherd is a dog breed that can do many types of work like disability assistance, search-and-rescue, police and military roles, and even acting.

Police and military usually train German Shepherds to search and rescue, and they can follow instructions with perfection. Once in the force, this dog breed knows its job and does its work at its best. This member of K-9 is usually trained with an array of skills to assist police in the field.

Plus, they are super adorable and versatile while taking their duties seriously. On top of that, a German Shepherd is also a great companion at home if not in the police force. This dog breed is totally one of the best, and no doubt why many people love them.

Origin: Germany
Specialized: Ground-Based Tracking, Air-Based Tracking, Locating Drugs, Locating Evidence

It is a versatile hunting breed that is suitable for both land and water due to its powerful and strong legs. That makes this dog breed move rapidly and turn quickly on any surfaces that their legs are on. Police can easily train them since this dog breed is enthusiastic, bold, and very intelligent along with a keen sense of smell. The only downside is that this member of the best police dog breeds tends to die quickly due to commonly suffering from gastric torsion.

Origin: Germany
Specialized: Protection, Odor Detection, Patrol, Air-Based Tracking

With a height of up to 65 – 70 centimeters, this dog breed can really intimidate criminals who stand in their path. Usually, this dog breed is often trained in the military or air force to search rooms, luggage, vehicles, and aircraft equipment. Giant Schnauzers were used by the Air Force as military working dogs in World War II. For now, they are trained and taught to detect odor and search rooms because this dog breed is difficult to train.

Origin: United Kingdom, Canada
Specialized: Protection, Attack Dog, Locating Bombs & Drugs

Not every police dog breed has to look fierce and stern, Labrador Retriever aka Lab is somehow adorable to look at. Their main skill is to detect drugs, bombs, and many more things due to their clever noses and ears. Lab is also a type of gun dog with an even temper and good behavior around young children and the elderly. So that brings them a part-time job as a service dog apart from a police dog.

Law enforcement and police usually train them for detection work as well as tracking human suspects. This intelligent dog breed is also very powerful, and they are also very good swimmers with tolerance in cold water. The combination of their abilities makes them one awesome and best police dog breed for many countries around the world.

Origin: Germany
Specialized: Protection, Attack

Because of their aggressiveness and fierce temperament, Rottweiler is also among the best police dog breeds. As a matter of fact, Rottweiler is a canine specimen that is a perfect match for almost every job description as a police dog. Some forces train Rottweiler to take care of policemen by protecting them from any possible danger. That is because this brave dog breed has strong bites that not everyone wants to mess around with.

Apart from that, investigator teams who solve crimes also prefer this dog breed in their team and train them to do certain things. That involves severe offense cases or drug trafficking because Rottweiler is strong and alert as well as clever. The only drawback is that Rottweilers tend to do a lot of damage and injuries on their job. That means they pose a lot of threats which is not ideal for the long run, but Rottweilers are still among the best.

K9 Dog Criteria

1. Size & Bite Force: The dog has to be big enough to stop a man but not too big to control and train. As for bite force, it is determined by the size of the head. The bigger the head, the harder the bite so the aim is to subdue the target not to mutilate them.
2. Bite Drive & Trainability: The key is that the dog has to be willing to bite and let go on command. Pitbulls and Bulldogs are not on the list because these dog breeds tend to be stubborn.
3. Health: No policemen would want to train a K9 that has a short life expectancy or get sick too often. Most police dogs spend their first three years which equals one-third of their lives just in training. Plus, police dog breeds are expensive, so trainers need to make sure that the money is worth the service from the dogs.
4. Nose: The best police dog breeds have to have a nose that can sniff out bombs, drugs, bodies, etc.
5. Athleticism: It is not just about their sniffing skills, their ability to run and go anywhere for the job also counts. That means the dogs have to have the stamina to keep them going until the job is done.

With such requirements, only some breeds out of over 100 are eligible for the tasks. That is why these 10 breeds are the among best police dog breeds for policemen in the world.

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