List of police dog breeds

The following is a list of dog breeds that are or have been used as aides on police forces. There are different jobs a police dog can do: public order enforcement, illict substance detection, tracking, and cadaver searching. Note that some police forces only use one breed of dog for every one of these tasks, such as German Shepherds, rather than using one breed for tracking and another for illegal substance detection.

Public Order Enforcement Dogs

The job these dogs hold is to chase after a fleeing suspect and hold it for officers, or detain suspects from some action by threat of the dog being released. This is the traditional image of a police dog.

• American Bulldog
• American Pit Bull Terrier
• Belgian Shepherd Malinois
• Doberman Pinscher
• Dutch Shepherd Dog
• German Shepherd Dog
• Rottweiler

Illict Substance Detection Dogs

These dogs sit with their handlers in airports, sniffing the passengers from afar for illegal substances, most commonly drugs.

• Beagle
• Basset Hound
• Foxhound
• Labrador Retriever

Tracking Dogs

These dogs are used for sniffing the trails of lost or missing persons.

• Bloodhound
• Coonhound

Cadaver Sniffing Dogs

These dogs are used to hunt down corpses and human remains. Their noses are so sensitive, they can even smell a body from under running water.

• Beagle
• Bloodhound

See also

Police dog