What Breed of Dog Does the US Secret Service Exclusively Use?
Dogs have always been man’s best friend. The Secret Service Dogs were primarily used to screen the areas before the United States president visits that particular space. A respective breed of dog was used in the past by the US Police Department to screen the area by the name Belgian Malinois.
They are one of the best at detecting explosives and screening the entire area. The dog training is very intense and it takes almost 20 weeks to complete the requisite practice before the dog is put into the field.
After the dog is trained, it is made to work eight hours per week in the field. The dogs used by the Secret Service Department of the police always remain in the enclosure of the respective Department. The retirement age for the breed of dog is dependent on the body state of the dog, but the usual retirement age is after 10 years of being in service.
Interesting facts about U.S. Secret service dogs
The dogs can run very fast and the usual speed is 25 miles per hour. The biting capacity of each dog is more than a hundred pounds of pressure per square inch. The price at which the dogs are sold is very high. It is usually between $6,500 to $8,500. It is not even recommended to go near the dog if you are not ready to handle the ferocious nature of the dog.
The role of a secret service dog is not very easy. They are supposed to be very active and they are known to be very hardworking and one of the most dedicated canines. There can be other duties a canine can be put into as well.
This particular breed of dogs is used actively for the protection of the U.S. White House. If you must pass through 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, you might spot a secret service dog on duty. You can take a few moments to notice what the dog is up to and the kind of effort he puts into going ahead with his job. The secret service dog isn’t put into service all the time in a day but the time during which they are made to serve, they do their best.
The team that is involved in the protection of the U.S. White House is a US Secret Service Guards.
Ever since the White House was first occupied in the year 1800 by President, John Adams, the first and foremost team to manage the security of the White House is the U.S.Secret Service.
What should you essentially Know About US Secret Service Dogs?
There is a clear difference between the dogs used for patrolling and other kinds of security services and does U.S. Secret service dogs. The Secret Service dogs are particularly trained for the protection of us White House and they were first inducted into service in 1975.
As they show in movies, it is not easy to get into the U.S. White House. You have to pass through various levels of security checks and the secret service check is one of the most important ones among the rest.
Belgian Malinois
A lot of people assume the Belgian Malinois breed for German Shepherd. This is because both breeds of dogs look more or less the same.
Though Belgian Malinois dogs look more or less similar, there is a significant difference which is a black marking with very short mahogany hair.
The weight of a mature male dog is up to 30 kilograms whereas a female adult dog weighs up to 25 kilograms. The length of a male dog is up to 26 inches whereas that of a female dog is up to 24 inches. One of the top reasons why this breed of dog is used is very high in service is due to its loyal and hardworking nature.
Anyone who was planning to pet Belgian Malinois should be ready to handle the hyperactive nature of the dog. It sometimes behaves very brutally as well. It is a very sharp dog with high levels of focus on the target. It can also run very fast. The speed of the dog is up to 30 miles per hour. The agile nature of the dog helps it to scale fences and jump into cars’ windows. And it can also climb tall trees with the topmost speed and ease.
How to train Belgian Malinois dogs?
It is indeed very hard to train the Belgian Malinois dogs as they are ferocious. But the training process is straightforward. The expenses involved in training these dogs are quite high and it takes almost $50,000 to train a Belgian Malinois dog to become acquainted with the requisite skills.
Though it is a bit on the expensive side, it is indeed worth every single investment made on the dog. Once they are trained, they behave very obediently and they catch things fast. The dog is also very caring and it is not very surprising to see a Belgian Malinois dog pushing a baby stroller. The training of the Belgian Malinois start when they are in the pup stage and they are made to separate from their mothers to start the training. Once they are in the hands of the trainer, they are made to undergo extensive practice for detecting narcotics and thus making excellent use of their terrific sense of smell. They also possess great tracking abilities and that also makes this breed of service dogs top-notch rescue dogs. The Belgian Malinois dog also has one of the best visions. You cannot get surprised by looking at a Belgian dog that can see through more than 270 degrees at a stretch. They are one of the top choices for military dogs.
The training of these dogs starts a few days after they are born. Out of all the dogs that are bought into the service, only a few survive the training. Thus not every dog under the Belgian Malinois breed could provide the best Service as a U.S. Secret service dog, it takes some special skill set to project its intelligence, and of course, even the handlers themselves need to be very shrewd to handle these dogs. The training schedule includes a lot of elements like biosensors stressing for stimulating the sensor of the dog and could range different sounds like a motorcycle, gunfire, thunder, siren, etc. It is not a dog that can be very easy to domesticate. If you find Belgian Malinois, then it is better to use it as a guard dog than as a pet dog. Even after the dogs retire from service, it is never recommended to buy these for petting.
Considering all of these facts, one could easily figure out why this breed is used extensively and exclusively by the police department of the US and Europe. There could be other dogs used by the police department for sniffing and tracing whereas when it comes to high levels of security, there could be no breed that matches the skill set of a Belgian Malinois.
