Perth criminals have been put on notice as WA Police showed off its latest batch of police dogs in training on Tuesday morning.
The 14-week program at Maylands Police Complex is currently putting drug detection dogs and general purpose dogs through their paces to assess their suitability.
WA Police dog handler George Bogunovich said the dogs start training early, between the ages of 14 months and two and a half years old, as many of them have a limited career span.
"We're looking for a high drive dog, one that's been well socialised, has environmental training so we can take it to different surfaces and locations, " he said.
"They're highly regarded, they do a great job. These guys work alone with their dog as a partner and they go to places where most people won't go."
There are more than 40 dogs in Western Australia currently on the beat and training is just the start of a career that tends to last until around the age of nine.
"Pretty much every year we have a replacement program where dogs need to be replaced due to age and injury," Mr Bogunovich added.
"Some of these dogs will [train] shorter because they have some basic training into them already, so it's just a matter of us developing it into a policing model."
Once the training is complete they will join their handler in the field and senior sergeant Glen Potter had some simple advice for anyone being hunted by an officer and dog duo.
"Stand still...You wouldn't want to be running away from a police dog, it would be rather foolish," he said.
"They only have to pick up the scent of someone having been there, unlike the movies you don't need to leave something for a dog to be able to track you."
