Service Dogs

Anybody who has even the slightest knowledge about history will know that the subject would be totally different had it not been for the horse.

The horse has been responsible for shaping our entire history and even the designated boundaries of the world we know today.

We are not here to talk horses, but it gives an insight into the importance animals play in our human lives. Let us consider dogs.

Barely a mere 50 years ago, the grateful thanks these dedicated dogs received from man for faithfully doing their duty, often in mortal danger, being maimed and killed, was to be killed off. We got medals, they got the bullet. Same with horses, mules and all animals in service.

Nowadays we are "supposed" to be more humane and considerate. At least in Western civilisations. Eastern ones - status quo I am afraid.

So, my fellow Forum members, what happens to the dogs currently in service with the military, police, security services and such ?

I often get it said that they are retired with their handlers or found homes. SOME ARE !, but some are not. Thank you Bonzo - BANG !

Your views or even better, occupational experience or practical knowledge is awaited.

John Bull

I hope you get more than the guess work I can give. I can only say the handlers bond strongly with their dogs. I am afraid you might have to shoot the handler first.

Im not sure about the others but i do know police dogs are usually either retired with their handlers(id say 90%) or are rehomed to a member of the public if they are deemed suitable(usually through force contacts)
I have known one incidence of a GSD retiring from duty and his handler was unable to keep him and it wouldve been highly irresponsible of the force to rehome him to the public so he was PTS. But i believe that was a one off or extremely rare occurance as most force dogs are loved family pets when at home and so adapt well when retired.

Quite agree.

I have personal experience of police dogs, and would say based on that experience, that 99% of retired dogs stay with their handlers as much loved pets. The same can be said for dogs used in the prison service.

I have no experience of dogs used in the military or in security so wouldn't like to comment on those.

Not exactly what you were talking about, but I thought you might be interested.


During World War 1, the Briard distinguished himself as a valuable war dog serving in many ways. He was particularly revered as a canine who could search out the wounded on a battlefield, and legend says that if a Briard passed a wounded soldier, the poor soul was beyond help. Briards also served as message carriers and patrol dogs, their keen sense of hearing alerting their handlers to enemy approaches long before human ears could attune to such sounds. But because the Briards were so valuable to the war effort, many lost their lives in the service of their homeland and the breed was in danger of becoming extinct.

I don't know about service dogs...
But I do know about hounds......
Hunt hounds are very much pack dogs, they are quite undomesticated too.... when the hunting ban came in I know that a lot of hounds were shot as they could not live in a domestic house,
A dog bred to kill is not much good on a farm either.....
Hounds generally live a happy working life, but many faced a very bleak future when the hunting ban came in..... I know as was friends with a local kennel hand who was faced with unemployment and was traumatized at the prosect of what was going to happen to his dogs.
Thankfully, dispite the ban his hunt yard choose to ignore it and he kept both his job and his dogs......
But many hunts disbanded........ i shudder to think!

From what I know from my friend who trains police dogs, most of the time, the dog is retired with his handler. Because of the way these dogs are trained, they cannot be rehomed to the general public. It wouldn't be safe. I know Search dogs, drug dogs, etc are often rehomed with handlers as well, unlike Police dogs, they can be rehomed to the general public.

I have no experience with military dogs so I honestly don't know. But I do know in ONE case I just read about in a magazine. It was a military dog that was working in Iraq where he was wounded and his handler was killed. The handlers family petitioned to adopt the dog and he was retired and sent to live with them.

Thats good to know!