Meet the dogs, handlers of Townsville District Dog Squad’s

They are on the frontline of the most dangerous police call-outs, having responded to 1500 jobs across Queensland in this year alone — watch the dogs in action.

They are on the frontline of the most dangerous police call-outs, having responded to 1500 jobs across Queensland in this year alone, picking up 150 tracks and making 68 arrests.

If it were not for criminals jumping in getaway cars, police say that strike rate would be even higher.

They are Queensland police’s dog squad — and in Townsville their power is never under estimated, according to Veteran police officer Senior Constable David Sloane.

Police dog Drago, 6, and handler Senior Constable David Sloane. Picture: Leighton Smith.

In North Queensland the dog squad includes the trackers – four German Shepherds and their officer handlers – along with the drug detection dogs – one handler and her two Labradors.

Constable Sloane joined the police force 25 years ago before transferring to the dog squad 10 years later.

His K9 companion Drago, 6, is a constant panting presence at his side, both at work and after knock off, when they return home together.

It’s a career that isn’t for the faint-hearted with officers and their trusty sidekicks required to travel an average of 7km on foot, per shift.

Constable Sloane says when the dogs are initially selected as puppies, “they’ve got to be confident and they’ve got to be really highly driven to want to work when you’re tracking”.

He said the canines also need to be energetic — Sloane has clocked up three million steps during seven months of 2022.

Constable Sloane said the dogs also needed to have a “bit of defence in them” to look after themselves and their handler, and a “toy drive”, where playing with toys is an effective reward system during the training process.

The dogs go through intensive training including dramatic “bite work sessions” where K9 agitators armed with a piece of metal and protected by a padded sleeve deliberately antagonise the dog until they react.

On one occasion, joined by police dog Uzi, 2, and handler Senior Constable David Forrest, Constable Sloane and Drago both took turns demonstrating obedience training before launching into a dramatic “bite work session”.

Armed with a piece of metal and protected by a padded sleeve, K9 agitator Constable Nickolas Andersen advanced menacingly towards the dog squad teams as warnings were issued before releasing the hound.

Yelling out in feigned pain as the dog latches on, Andersen followed Constable Sloane’s instructions, falling to the ground before Drago ripped the padded sleeve off his arm.

Police dog Drago and handler Senior Constable David Sloane demonstrate how they catch criminals with the assistance of agitator Constable Nickolas Andersen. Picture: Leighton Smith.

The drug detection dogs are equally impressive.

Yin, 6, and Violet, 8 with their handler Senior Constable Julie Butler – another 25 year veteran of the police force — have been based in Townsville for the past four years.

Constable Butler said her canines were trained by Border Force in Brisbane to detect drugs and the smell of “burnt powder” from firearms.

Drug detection dog Violet, 8, with handler Senior Constable Julie Butler. Picture: Leighton Smith.

The dogs work in tandem, with their ability to find drugs and burn powder varying, depending on their level of interest, the heat, and other environmental factors.

They are mainly used during the execution of drug warrants but were also deployed to help with other offences like property crime.

“These dogs love it and they will work because they want to,” Constable Butler said.

“If a dog starts to lose interest, we have some techniques to try and build them up and get them more excited but … you cannot make a dog work if it doesn’t want to work.”

Nose to ground, demonstrating her sniffing prowess at the Townsville Police Academy, Yin had no problems locating where a canister containing ice (methamphetamine) was hidden in the bushes.

She sat down, with her nose pointed to the stash, and was rewarded with a wrestle of her favourite toy.

“You can train the dogs with different responses to show you an indication … called an active response,” she said.

“They’d scratch where they thought the odour was but we’ve now trained them and they’ll find the odour, they’ll sit their bottoms down, and put their nose towards the strongest part of the odour and sit and stare at that.”

At the age of eight, drug detection dog Violet is getting close to retirement. She has a strong bond with handler Senior Constable Julie Butler. Picture: Leighton Smith.

Rather than using artificial scents, the constable revealed the dogs were trained using real drugs that were evidence and destined for destruction after court cases.

Depending on the type of drugs and how they were stored, she said the odour of the drugs differed in potency and dispersed in varying manners, with some upwards and others downwards.

The Townsville District Dog Squad’s demonstrations were an intimidating display of canine force and capability, enough to make the city’s prospective criminals reconsider their life’s choices.

Originally published as Meet the dogs, handlers of Townsville District Dog Squad’s