Canine

The Ottawa Police Canine Unit currently has 13 working dogs in service. Each dog is thoroughly tested before being accepted into the program and performs at a high level every day (or night!) they come to work.

Often police officers, as do members of the public, find themselves in harmful situations. Our service dogs provide additional protection to our officers and the public when called upon to apprehend offenders. 

Our dogs are trained for the most physically demanding tasks expected of a police dog by:

• locating lost or missing people;                                   
• tracking suspects and potentially dangerous individuals; and
• supporting police officers during tactical operations. 

The Ottawa Police also have several detector dogs in service. This specialized group, primarily Labs, is trained to detect items such as controlled drugs and substances, firearms and ammunition, and explosives. Although it is not as physically demanding as the general-purpose service dogs' tasks, detection is every bit as important for the safety of our community. 

Our canines provide support to all sections of the Ottawa Police Service. When they're not busy with day-to-day operations, the officers and their canine partners are often seen at community events, giving everyone a chance to see the dogs in action.