The role of police dogs as companions and working partners

Written responses to a questionnaire by 255 officers who used canines in po lice work were assessed. Almost all officers frequently played with, talked to, petted. and brushed their dogs and believed the dogs benefitted their health and well-being. Officers whose dogs slept indoors, often in the same bedroom, generally said they loved their dogs and they described their Jog s as calm rather than active, as indicated by a multiple correspondence ana lysis. These 96 officers more than the 154 officers whose clops slept outdo ors or in kennels also planned to remain in canine work. Although departmen ts often assumed responsibility for purchasing the dogs. the more experienc ed officers usually were involved in the final selection of dogs (logistic regression: p<.0001). Compared with 94 officers not involved in selecting, their dogs, 106 officers with a specific role in selecting their dogs plann ed to stay in canine work, as shown by a multiple correspondence analysis. They believed the dugs had saved their lives (p<.01). Over-all, officers re ported spending 4.1 hr. on-duty anti 2.9 hr. off-duty per week training the ir cloys, and also played with them for 6.5 hr. per week, assuring a regula r pattern of exercise for the officers. Virtually all officers valued canin e service and believed the clogs enhanced che department's effectiveness. T his study showed that both close companionship with the dog and involvement in selecting the dog were associated both with satisfaction with the dog a nd with working as a canine officer.