Nottinghamshire Police welcome new dog and handler

A new police dog and handler have been welcomed to the force after months of challenging training.

PC Chantelle McDowall and her 14-month-old German Shepherd, Max, were formally welcomed to the team at Nottinghamshire Police HQ after completing their final accreditation checks.

The crimefighting duo are now looking forward to fulfilling all the roles expected of them – from hunting down criminal suspects to finding missing people and property.

PC McDowall joined the police seven years ago and most recently served on a specialist knife crime team before applying for the position in Dog Section.

She explained: “Ever since I joined the force, I have had an eye on joining the dog section but was never sure I’d get the opportunity.

“So, when a vacancy came up I jumped at the chance to apply. As the public would expect, the selection process is very competitive so I was delighted to get chosen.”

Candidates for the dog handler course must first attend a two day assessment exercise where their affinity for dogs and other natural attributes are assessed, followed by a formal interview panel before going forward for training with expert handlers.

If they haven’t already done so, successful applicants must then pass an advanced driving course before they move onto the 13 week dog handling course.

Dogs also have to come up to standard and will – as PC McDowall discovered – be replaced if they fall below expectations even in one area.

She added: “As a dog handler you have to have absolute faith in the animal you are working with to do what you expect of it and keep you safe. If any doubts arise about a dog in training then we change it because we can’t take the risk.

“Max is actually one of several dogs I worked with on the course but he is absolutely brilliant. He is still very young, but he’s done really really well. He’s a very happy, confident dog and I have a lot of trust in him for the future.

“It’s been a lot of hard work to get to this point but it’s been amazing to see how much a brand new dog has progressed in the past few weeks and how many skills he has learned.

“I am really proud of what we have done together and I am looking forward to us getting out there and serving the public together.”