The North Cowichan-Duncan RCMP’s newest and youngest recruit is getting a feel for taking a bite out of crime.
Mira is learning the tasks of a police service dog with her handler, Constable Tom Peters.
They began working together in September of 2019, when she was just two months old. It is the first step in a long process to become a fully trained police service dog.
Constable Peters says he teaches her how to track using food as a reward and she’s reached the point “where she can track someone for about 100 metres.”
Peters says they also do aggression training, “which is biting.” He puts on the big body suits to take bites. “She is getting better at catching me now, which wasn’t so bad until she grew in her adult teeth.”
Constable Peters learned how to do the training at the Police Dog Service Training Centre in Innisfail, Alberta, where all RCMP dogs and handlers start their training.
Then, he brought Mira home for crate training, bonding, and learning how to get along well in public.
Mira will go back to the RCMP Police Dog Service Training Centre when she is about 18-months old to hone her skills with an experienced handler.
She will learn the specific tasks needed by a police dog.
The work that Constable Peters does right now with Mira gives her a strong base in order to help her later training be effective.
Once Mira successfully completes her training, she will transfer to an RCMP police dog service unit somewhere in Canada.
