The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Skills of man’s best friend tested

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Wednesday, Aug 06, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Skills of man’s best friend tested

A Doberman jumps to catch a ball during the State Police Duty meet on Tuesday.

MANGALAGIRI: The obedience, loyalty and perfection in work were under the scanner at Andhra Pradesh Special Police 6th Battalion meet here, not for police but their canine colleagues.

The bonding between the handler and its partner was scrutinised on eight different aspects like obedience, acceptance of food, ground search, vehicle search, building search, human body, luggage check, explosives and tracking including overall compatibility between the Man and the Animal.

As part of the 51st Andhra Pradesh State Police Duty meet that got underway here and Vijayawada simultaneously, skill competitions for Dog Squads was organised in the APSP Auditorium where 33 bounders qualified for the final test. “It is the sniffer dog species that police utilise in dog squads for various duties ranging from tracking a thief to detecting a narcotics sachet in a bag at airports,” says Dog Squads Deputy Superintendent of Police Varun who conducted the show.

Labradors , German Shepherds and a lone Doberman vied for the top honours in the day-long process.

S.M. Basha with his tall black and brown Doberman was the main attraction of the entire event. Lyca the Doberman stuck to the left side of Basha during all the test instructions and kept exact pace with him. Jimbo the Labrador was most charming with its shining black eyes keeping a vigilant watch on the surroundings. “If a dog requires to be instructed twice it is unfit and also should not accept food from any outsider,” Varun told The Hindu.

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Andhra Pradesh