Top dog honours were on the line at Saturday’s National Police Dog Championships at Sadlon Arena in Barrie.
“This is a great opportunity to kind of showcase all the training that we put into our dogs and our abilities,” said Const. Matt Abofs of the Barrie Police Service (BPS) Canine Unit.
But the competition is there as well.
“It all comes down to bragging rights. Certainly, we’re always told to have fun, but because of our A-type personalities, everyone is competing. If not with someone else, it’s most certainly with yourself, to do the best that you can,” said Abofs, who’s been with the BPS Canine Unit for nearly a decade.
The 45th annual National Police Dog Championships were being held in Ontario for the first time, said Agata Czajkowski, strategic communications officer with Ontario Provincial Police (OPP).
The championships were hosted by the Canadian Police Canine Association (CPCA), a not-for-profit organization that represents police, military and other government-run canine units. The CPCA asked BPS and OPP to host this event because of the large number of canine teams located throughout the province.
The dogs and their handlers competed in categories that included agility, fastest dog, and obedience skills.
Abofs said the police dogs generally have a good response to the competitions.
“It would be so much easier if they could talk, but I think ... depending on the time that you put into the dog, you’re going to receive that response. We train them to offer behaviours and we reward them,” he said.
“To have that control over the dog and to do it in an environment where these dogs have never seen, in this arena, in front of a crowd … There are probably 36 dogs we will go through and there will probably be 36 different reactions in how they’re going to perform.”
BPS Chief Rich Johnston praised canines and their training.
“That is a different breed in terms of an animal,” he told the audience.
Abofs is transitioning from Serge, now more than 10 years old, to Radar, who is about five. He was scheduled to compete with Radar on Saturday afternoon.
Abofs noted the list for police dog abilities is a long one — from tracking, criminal apprehension, building and article search to finding narcotics and explosives.
“They are certainly not pets; they are service animals and play a very, very important role in helping us locate missing people, or criminals that have been running, or dangerous items that are out there,” he said.
“With all the advancements that we have, we still rely on their keen senses to make our job easier.”
The CPCA hosts the National Police Dog Championships each fall, with the first few days involving canine teams from across Canada — participating in training and competition — and the public attending on the final day of the competition.
