# Military Police K9 Units



## WEng87 (6 May 2018)

Since accepting my VOT I've been doing some thinking far far into the future, as I know getting into the specialties of the MP world are a ways off for me just yet.

Just wondering if anyone knows how many K9s the MP world has at the moment and what the turn over rate usually is?  I would imagine it's probably one of the hardest specialties to get into.  I know when I first got to the fleet in Halifax the Det there had at least 1 K9, but I haven't seen one around in years.

EDIT****   Nevermind, just found my own answer.  Vimy is the only K9 in the MP World.


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## coyote489 (6 May 2018)

Well let’s just say you met the one and only K9 in the entire MP branch. Once ole Vimy is retired, the K-9 unit, as far as I know will be dissolved. I just saw your edit so I guess you found out some other way.


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## Inspir (7 May 2018)

My dad was a handler back in the day before he retired both dogs. After Baden closed they were temporarily retired while he was posted to Calgary. When Calgary shut down he was transferred to Edmonton where the guardhouse provided a budget line for a K-9 unit of two dogs and one handler. Coyote could probably chime in more than me but I think a K9 service is determined (i.e. funded) at the guard house level.


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## RedcapCrusader (8 May 2018)

Our outgoing Provost Marshal BGen Delaney spoke recently about his desire to revive the K9 program, and that his successor is also interested in doing so; but it will be quite some time. There are a number of stakeholders that don't want the program to go the way of the Do-Do. There is talk of one handler and one dog at each major base: Esquimalt, Halifax, Edmonton, Shilo, Pet, and Gagetown. Allegedly, a number of Base Commanders and Div Commanders also want to see the program revitalized.


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## brihard (9 May 2018)

LunchMeat said:
			
		

> Our outgoing Provost Marshal BGen Delaney spoke recently about his desire to revive the K9 program, and that his successor is also interested in doing so; but it will be quite some time. There are a number of stakeholders that don't want the program to go the way of the Do-Do. There is talk of one handler and one dog at each major base: Esquimalt, Halifax, Edmonton, Shilo, Pet, and Gagetown. Allegedly, a number of Base Commanders and Div Commanders also want to see the program revitalized.



What scent profiles? People/guns, or dope? My understanding is dogs usually won’t do both? It seems to me that drug dogs would be what’s called for investigationally...


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## RedcapCrusader (9 May 2018)

Brihard said:
			
		

> What scent profiles? People/guns, or dope? My understanding is dogs usually won’t do both? It seems to me that drug dogs would be what’s called for investigationally...



Well judging from Vimy's success, it'll be drugs. But that's just the start. It may grow larger afterward because the Comd CA has an interest in Bomb Dogs as well.


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## WEng87 (10 May 2018)

Well this is all good news. It will definitely take some time like anything in our outfit.  It’s a goal/dream to work towards I guess.  But like I said in the op, that is a long way off yet.  Just things on the distant horizon.


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## CountDC (10 May 2018)

Didn't know it was done away with.  Use to see an MP training with his dog in uplands when I was there in 06 - 12 (don't recall which part of the period he was there).  He was a bit annoying though as he had him on a super long lead and roaming into the PMQ yards unexpectedly.  Not fully appreciated when you have small children and pets.

Hopefully they do bring it back but do a bit better when training.  At minimum do a door knock day of letting people know in order to avoid the shock of a strange dog standing in your front yard looking like it is hunting something.  First time it happened my son thought it was one of the local wolves.


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## Inspir (10 May 2018)

.


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## garb811 (14 May 2018)

CountDC said:
			
		

> ...Use to see an MP training with his dog in uplands when I was there in 06 - 12 (don't recall which part of the period he was there)...


Don't know who that was but it wasn't a MP.  The only dogs MP have had recently were in Esquimalt, Halifax/Greenwood and Halifax/Pet/Halifax.

It is possible that one of the former handlers, who had been posted from Greenwood to Ottawa, was doing something with his retired dog, but if he was, it probably wasn't sanctioned.


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## garb811 (14 May 2018)

LunchMeat said:
			
		

> Our outgoing Provost Marshal BGen Delaney spoke recently about his desire to revive the K9 program, and that his successor is also interested in doing so; but it will be quite some time. There are a number of stakeholders that don't want the program to go the way of the Do-Do. There is talk of one handler and one dog at each major base: Esquimalt, Halifax, Edmonton, Shilo, Pet, and Gagetown. Allegedly, a number of Base Commanders and Div Commanders also want to see the program revitalized.


I'm not sure where you were when this information was passed but this is an exceptionally low priority in the Branch right now.  So low, it isn't on the radar of the ongoing/upcoming projects, although it is talked about quite a bit in various venues.  

The reality is, the current dog program only existed because the three dogs were paid for by the Navy without any real input from Ottawa prior to C2 happening, much like Halifax went rogue back in the day and started wearing OPD prior to it being approved simply because they were able to convince the Base Commander to pay for it out of "his" money.  An attempt to run yet another "trial" by an individual unit would quickly be shot down.  At some point, you have to stop trying to obtain a capability by running multiple trials over and over without actually doing anything to make it a trial other than calling it that, and we are at that point.

In order to formalize the dog program would have required a proposal to Chief of Force Development as it is a reallocation of MP resourses into something "new" and a new capability for the CAF as a whole.  The Branch/CF MP Gp just doesn't have the staff horespower to pull this off with all of the other, higher, priority items CF MP Gp HQ is struggling to get done (SBA, CF MP Gp Orders, Pistol Replacement, Reserve FEC, new MP Selection Process, Force Structure...).  Best bet would be if someone else, say the Engineers, were to champion a dog program for IED detection and then the Branch might try to piggyback an approved dog capability on that initiative, but it's been almost 8 years since that IED detection capability would have been useful and nothing has happened so I wouldn't bet any money on that avenue either.

End of the day, once Vimy is gone there will be nothing done to bring another dog in.


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