Not all canines have what it take to be a police dog.
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They need drive, determination, a nose for tracking and the bite strength to latch hold of a criminal.
It is not easy but it is a job, Grace, and her patient yet firm handler Sergeant Justin Holl love.
Grace, the newest four-legged recruit of the Illawarra and South Coast dog unit, recently showed she has all the makings to become a great police dog.
Even though she is playful, too friendly and sometimes a "bit of an idiot" as Sgt Holl described, Grace knows when it is time to work.
The German Shepherd was purchased as a puppy at 14 weeks old and after a two-week assessment, she underwent environment training where she got used to being in busy and noise shopping centres, train stations and other places with people and dogs.
"We used a lure to see if she would happily chase it in order to test her drive, and she had to bite a tug toy so we could assess her grip and mouth strength," Sgt Holl said.
"We do that for 15 months then, if successful, the dog will do a 16-week intensive course which includes grass paddock tracking from 20 metres to one kilometre away.
"The dogs also do building searches, open searching into bushland for human scent, locating property and criminal apprehension where a handler will put on a suit and the dog has to bite the arm.
"The dog is supposed to take hold until a handler can arrive to arrest the person."
There is a large fail rate for police dogs. Only 60 per cent of dogs, which are usually German Shepherds, Malinois or Dutch Shepherds, succeed.
If they don't pass, the dogs are rehomed, generally within the police force.
"It can be very difficult to train the dogs," Sgt Holl said.
"Initially there is a food and play reward. Then we take away the food and it becomes solely a play reward using a soft tug-of-war or fetch toy.
"We are trying to train Grace's friendliness out of her. But when she is switched on, she is good."
Sgt Holl said Grace had attended a number of search warrants and went to the scene of an armed hold-up where she tracked and found property.
But she is still waiting for that big arrest of a criminal.
"My old dog, Quake, apprehended an offender at Dapto High School and he did the same at a construction site in West Wollongong this year," Sgt Holl said.
"I've been to jobs where alarms have gone off during a break-in and I've attended with a dog after officers have been inside and we located offenders."
Sgt Holl said one of his officers and his dog went far into the Royal National Park a few weeks ago and located a man over the edge of a cliff and they saved him.
All the dogs live with their handlers and their families. The dogs are allowed to switch off and become pets but then once the car boot is open and a harness goes on, it is time for work.
Sgt Holl's former partner, Quake, now lives happily with him and still loves a ride in the car and to go for a run.
He said the dogs are often retired after about eight years, usually because of hip dysplasia from jumping into and out of the car.
He has also worked with drug dogs and as a general dog handler.
He now supervises a team of five working from Helensburgh to Batemans Bay.
"Our dogs are general purpose search dogs and their main roles are criminal apprehension, building and property searches, locating missing people and supporting local police," Sgt Holl said.
"Some of our dogs are also cross-trained in drug, cadaver or blood detection.
"I like having the freedom to work with an animal in a supportive role to general duties police.
"There is nothing more satisfying than seeing the results of training and your dog succeed."
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