2017 National Police Patrol and Detector Dog Championships
New Zealand’s top dogs and their handlers will compete next week in the 2017 National Police Patrol and Detector Dog
Championships.
Starting on Monday 11 September, Inspector Todd Southall will referee the 23 teams competing.
“We have teams from New Zealand Police, Customs, Corrections, Aviation Security and New Zealand Army all contesting for
trophies,” he says.
“The teams have travelled from all parts of the country and were selected following the competitive regional trials.”
Waikato Senior Constable Blair Spalding and police dog Rush will be defending the Patrol Dog Championship after their
win last year.
They will compete with 10 other Police Patrol dog teams from Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, New Plymouth, Hawke’s
Bay, and Whakatane.
“Also joining us again this year is Auckland Senior Constable Owen Davies and his dog Quid and Whakatane Senior
Constable Dave Robison, now with his dog Falcon,” says Inspector Southall.
“Last year, Dave competed with his previous dog Isaac but he’s made it to the finals again this year with a new team
mate.
“Owen and Dave finished third and fourth in last year’s Nationals, then went on to win the 2016 Australasian
championship in Melbourne.”
In the Narcotic Detector Dog category, NZ Police, Corrections and Customs will each have two teams competing.
For the Explosive Detector Dog championship, the six teams come from NZ Police, Aviation Security and NZ Army, three of
which competed last year. Wellington Aviation Security Officer Nicholas Hunt and Jake finished third in 2016, and
Auckland Police Senior Constable Christopher Clarke and Kea finished fourth followed by SPR Aidan Cornwall from NZ Army.
Inspector Southall says the competition involves a range of activities designed to test the unique skills of the dogs
and their handlers.
“These are the challenges we train our dogs for and we try to ensure the scenarios are made as realistic as possible,”
he says.
“They include some tough situations, including day and night-time activities throughout the Wellington and South
Wairarapa regions.”
The competition will finish with a ceremony at the Police Dog Training Centre in Trentham, where Deputy Commissioner Viv
Rickard will present the prizes for the winners of each category.
The prize giving will take place at the Police Dog Training Centre, Dante Road, Trentham, at 2pm on Wednesday 13
September.
ENDS