From search missions to rescue operations, skilled canines have crucial roles to play

Police dog Doubao, meaning red-bean bun, took part in 16 searches for missing people in Wuhan, Hubei province, last year. The 3-year-old German Shepherd serves as a tracker dog at the Jiangxia district sub-bureau of the city's public security department.

"Initially, we introduced the dog with the thought that it could assist us in tracking down criminals who…would abandon their vehicles and flee into the nearby mountains," said Xia Mengmeng, deputy chief of the Zhengdian police inspection station. "Such individuals have not appeared, but Doubao has proved to be invaluable in serving the community."

Doubao's most recent successful mission was on Nov 29 when he helped a resident surnamed Wei locate his 83-year-old father. Wei reported to police on the evening of Nov 27 that his father had gone missing at an agricultural market.

After several hours of unsuccessfully searching the site, police sent Doubao and his handler Zhang Zhou to join the operation.

Under Zhang's command, Doubao sniffed an item of clothing from the missing man and tracked a scent trail from the Haijixing agricultural product logistics park to a street several kilometers away. However, the trail was lost around 2 am and the search was stopped.

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The following day, during a search of the area between the market exit and a gas station two kilometers away, Zhang observed Doubao's excited behavior. The search area was narrowed down, and after 35 hours the team located the missing man about 300 meters from the gas station.

"He was sent to hospital immediately. A medical examination showed that his vital signs were stable," Xia said.

A dog's sense of smell is approximately 1,200 times stronger than that of a human, allowing them to accomplish tasks that humans cannot, he said. Other estimates put a dog's sense of smell up to 10,000 times more precise than a human's due to their far greater number of olfactory receptors.

"Although tracker dogs are generally not as useful in urban areas, they can play a role in rural areas with a mix of urban and natural landscapes," Xia said.

Doubao has been involved in searches for the elderly, children, and disabled people.

While many missing people have been successfully located, there have been occasions where individuals were found dead.

"Factors like traffic and rain can cause scent trails to disappear. Starting a search within eight hours of a person going missing is crucial because the scent remains strong, increasing the likelihood of finding them," Xia added.

Doubao's first mission was on Feb 11, 2024, when he helped locate the body of a missing septuagenarian.

"Before setting out, I was quite nervous because real-life scenarios are quite different from training," recalled the 27-year-old trainer Zhang. "I didn't expect his performance to exceed expectations."

After getting a scent from the man's clothing, Doubao tracked through streets and forests, ultimately leading to a small grove.

"After making inquiries, we learned that the man had planted trees there. Doubao lingered there for quite some time. Later, he burst out of the grove and stopped in front of a major road," Zhang recalled.

Based on Doubao's prolonged lingering at three locations, police officers and villagers involved in the search continued to narrow down the search area. Unfortunately, the elderly man was later found dead.

Great partners

Due to their outstanding performances, Zhang and Doubao came second in the police dog tracking category at the Wuhan public security bureau's police dog technical competition in June 2024, outshining over 40 teams.

"It was very rewarding. Upon returning (to the station), I gave him extra meals like boiled chicken legs and canned beef, and played games with him, " Zhang said.

The pair started training in November 2023, when Doubao was a mischievous puppy. "He had a playful nature. After he finished eating he would chew on wooden boards or carry a stainless steel tray around, tossing it and making a loud clanging noise wherever he went," Zhang recalled. "At that time, he needed to be sternly reprimanded."

Whenever Doubao misbehaves now, Zhang only needs to give him a look or raise his voice with a questioning "hmm" sound. Doubao immediately calms down or obediently walks over to him.

"Through our rigorous training and progress, we have developed mutual trust and understanding," Zhang said, adding his own life has changed because of Doubao.

"The most noticeable change is in my physique. I used to weigh around 100 kilograms. Over the past year, I have lost 25 kg because of running with him, and I have also developed a habit of exercising regularly," he said.

Before Doubao, Zhang handled a riot dog for three years. The Rottweiler was retired in 2023 and due to the limited need for riot dogs, Zhengdian station introduced two German Shepherds, Doubao and his sister Tianlang (wolf in the sky) who serves as a drug detection dog, for police work.

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Zhang attended a tracker dog skills training program at the Wuhan public security bureau's police dog base for four months.

The Wuhan base, which was established in 2017, now houses more than 100 police dogs ranging from German Shepherds to Labradors and Rottweilers. The dogs are trained to undertake patrols, search for explosives, drugs and blood stain as well as tracking and other tasks.

From the day he took charge of Doubao, Zhang's mentor emphasized the importance of establishing rapport with the canine. Spending every day together, the duo quickly developed a bond.

Sometimes, when Zhang stepped away briefly, other people would notice Doubao behaving like a child afraid of being separated from its parents.

After two weeks, the pair began training on specific skills. Each day at dawn, they would head to a nearby forest for training. It would start with a game of fetch followed by basic commands such as sit, stand, lie down, and jump, before moving on to tracking.

"Doubao is very intelligent. He gets very happy every time he understands a command or learns a new action," Zhang said.

The duo would move between training grounds and forested areas, tracking items ranging from clothing and towels to cards, bottle caps, cigarette butts, and nails. They overcame numerous challenges, eventually leading to Doubao becoming qualified as a tracker dog.

In addition to search missions, the pair also conduct regular patrols.

Many passersby are fascinated to see a police dog on patrol and often greet the canine, take photos, and record videos. Doubao remains calm and composed throughout the interactions.

"Unlike the riot dog, which had an aggressive nature and was kept away from interaction with civilians, this tracking dog is quite different, serving as both a warning to and being friendly with people," Zhang explained.

The duo have continued daily training, which is adjusted based on Doubao's physical condition.

Other tasks include training to deliver a life buoy to a distressed person in the water.

Doubao will reach his peak performance at around four to five years and retire when he is seven to eight, Zhang said. The dog can either return to the police dog base for retirement or be adopted.

"Most likely, I will accompany Doubao until retirement, and when the time comes, I will apply to adopt him. I hope it works out," Zhang said.

Ahead of the pack

At the police dog training base of Ezhou public security bureau's criminal investigation detachment, nine police dogs are partnered with different handlers.

German Shepherd Xuanfeng, or whirlwind, and handler Yin Ziyang are considered one of the best teams.

"Xuanfeng is a responsible and strong police dog, skilled in bloodstain detection," said Yin.

In May 2021, over 1 million yuan ($137,015) in funds was stolen in a burglary in the city. Xuanfeng played a crucial role in finding the suspect from a drop of blood.

In March 2023, Yin became Xuanfeng's handler after a colleague was transferred. He felt under immense pressure as Xuanfeng was a star police dog.

The canine was proficient in tasks such as explosives detection, search operations, and security checks, and had served in security roles at important international conferences.

In 2018, Xuanfeng secured fourth place in the 5th National Police Dog Skills Competition.

Yin said at the start of their partnership he was not sure whether the dog could accept a new handler.

However, he invested a lot of energy and time into learning how to cooperate with the canine. Yin arranges Xuanfeng's food intake and diet, organizes regular health checks, administers vaccinations, deworms the dog, and interacts and plays with it every day.

"Handlers should constantly monitor the physical and psychological well-being of their dogs," he said.

Huang Chuanhua is an experienced police dog trainer with a deep understanding of canine psychology. He works at the police dog training base of Dangyang public security bureau.

"To cultivate outstanding police dogs it is not enough to just have excellent physical training. What is more important is to develop the psychological qualities of the dogs," he said.

Huang started to train Luhu, or tiger on the road, when the dog was only six months old.

Initially, Luhu seemed a bit slow to respond to various commands and would make unexpected movements. So Huang changed his approach and used more playful training methods, which gradually increased the dog's interest in learning and its obedience.

Luhu is now nine years old, and the duo has participated in numerous missions.

In March 2024, they won first place in the tracking category at the inaugural police dog skills competition held by the public security bureau of Yichang, Hubei province.

Expert handler

Yang Wentao is captain of the police dog training brigade in the criminal investigation detachment of the Huangshi public security bureau, which has 35 police dogs.

After graduating from the police dog technology department of the Criminal Investigation Police University of China, Yang has handled seven police dogs.

Every day, he feeds, trains, and washes the dogs, willingly devoting himself to his passion for the past 25 years.

"What's going on? Kunlun doesn't seem to be in a good mood today, the dog's lacking focus during training," Yang shouts to a young handler.

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He later learns that Kunlun was upset after seeing the handler interacting with another dog.

"The intelligence of some police dogs is equivalent to that of a four or five-year-old child," said Yang, adding that understanding canine psychology is essential to effectively train police dogs.

"Sometimes, they pretend not to understand what you're saying when they want to slack off. They are actually very clever," he said.

Yang said it generally takes five to 10 months to train a police dog. The maximum service life of a police dog is around eight years.

After retirement, the police dog base allows the canines to live out their remaining years in comfort at the base.

"In my view, each police dog is a hero dog," said Yang.

Contact the writers at liukun@chinadaily.com.cn