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Hooch - army detection dog
has a nose for danger
By Dick Meredith, Editor, London Press Service
Picture: Alan Chandler
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| Hooch sniffs out a cache of explosives during training at military HQ. |
DETECTION dog Hooch and Lance Corporal Andy Sinclair of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps complete their intensive training course in the United Kingdom before being deployed to Kosovo in support of the United Nations force.
The duo (pictured) is one of six British detection dog teams to go to Kosovo to help UN peace-keeping efforts. Their prime task is to clear a safe route to casualties trapped in minefields, a recurrent problem in Kosovo, where civilians unwittingly stray into landmined areas and are killed or injured.
Dogs such as Hooch have consistently achieved 100 percent detection rates in training at the Defence Animal Centre at Melton Mowbray near Leicester in central England.
The Defence Animal Centre is the point of acquisition and training of all animals required for service by the British armed forces. Primarily used for training dogs in protection and search roles, the unit is also the centre for horses used by London ceremonial units and also provides expertise and support for other UK agencies and commonwealth forces.
Military staff at the centre - both Army and Royal Air Force - reflect in their training the skills, experience and knowledge gained on operations with military dogs in Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Kosovo and other theatres.
Protection dogs are trained to provide controlled aggression in the apprehension of intruders at restricted military installations. Arms-and-explosives search dogs have proved invaluable in the detection of caches of weapons and bomb-making items, and drug-detection dogs have done much to deny the illegal passage of prohibited substances into the UK.
High standards are achieved by techniques that inflict no suffering or threat to the dog. Trainers draw out and reinforce the natural detection skills inherent in the breeds by encouragement and coaching. The dog is taught to associate achievement with verbal praise and his goal is to please his master as they go into action together.
Regimental Headquarters, Royal Army Veterinary Corps, Defence Animal Centre, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, United Kingdom.
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