Q. Is my dog suitable for a life in the services?
A. If it's a German Shepherd, Belgian Shepherd or a Gun Dog breed between the ages of 1 and 3 years of age it could well be suitable for service.
Q. What will happen when I phone up the Defence Animal Centre?
A. We will ask you some short and easy questions about the dogs’ personality and it still sounds suitable we will arrange a date for one of our collection teams to visit you and carry out an assessment. If the dog is successful they will collect and transport it to the Defence Animal Centre to start its training.
Q. What happens to the dog when it arrives at the Defence Animal Centre?
A. The dog will have a week to settle into life in kennels then it will be vet inspected and hip x-rayed to make sure they are fully fit before they commence training.
Q. What is the training like?
A. All our training is modern and reward based which the dogs thoroughly enjoy. We utilise the dogs' natural drives to train them to carry out their new jobs.
Q. How will I know my dog is cared for?
A. We have a full veterinary staff who ensure all veterinary matters are taken care of. The trainers are all Royal Army veterinary Corps soldiers or Royal Air Force Police Dog Handlers so it is in their nature and ethos to care for all canine related matters.
Q. What happens if my dog doesn't make it through the training?
A. If the dog turns out not to be suitable to become a service dog they can either be returned to their owner or we can find the dogs a loving home with someone from the database that we keep.
Q. Where will my dog go when they have finished their training?
A. Your dog may be employed with Army, Royal Air Force, Royal Navy, Military Provost Guard Service, Ministry Of Defence Police or Military Guard Service either in the UK or abroad in potentially life saving operations.
Q. What will happen to my dog at the end of their career?
A. After a full working life many of the dogs generally retire to live with their handler or are adopted into a loving home.