CRI Presents: China's Canine Cops

In the Changping area of northwestern Beijing is a modest and rural training school for police dogs, nestled between mountains and the countryside.

Here you'll find some of the most well-trained, obedient and ferocious dogs in Beijing, if not all of China.

Hao Wuxing is a 65-year-old retired PLA soldier. He enjoys calligraphy and reading modern world history. He also plays the Erhu, or the Chinese violin, in his spare time. But what Officer Hao enjoys the most is raising and training special breeds of dogs to be police.

Now, Officer Hao is the manager and de facto leader of the school. The school is about 15 years old. A few years ago he was assigned to another school in a different location, but working there made Old Hao too tired.

Hao says he continues to work because he likes to contribute to the police force and to Chinese society. He does this mainly for maintaining the security of society and to raise good dogs for the police to keep the peace.

In the school, mainly the dogs are busy training, both for some practical, everyday uses and for intimidating dangerous or fleeing criminals. For example, the dogs are used to patrol the subways or roads for bombs and drugs. They are also used to locate survivors after disasters.

The dogs are very friendly and are first trained to be obedient to their masters. You can often find them in public view during holidays or major national events. Do not be afraid of them; you can go up to them and pet them if you like!

These are pure bred dogs. They train German Shepherds imported from Germany and Labradors, also from abroad. The Labrador's job, for example, is to look for bombs and sometimes helps blind people.

To be a police dog, a dog must be special. The first requirement is their breed, and the second is their physical stature. They must be smart and have quick reactions. They must be brave and energetic.

They must start training from a very young age - after they are half a year old - and not more than two years old. The dogs will then be raised in the school.

The main job of the staff then is to keep these new puppies well-fed. When they feed them, they naturally introduce bomb sniffing and criminal pursuit skills into the feeding times. For example, they will gesture for the dog to come over to eat. This is a form of training for the dog to learn to respond to commands. This way it can learn slowly but surely.

When they are about six or eight months old, they will begin training. After half a year's training they are eligable to become a police dog.

Their day-to-day lives at the school are quite simple. Every day is training. Each day at times they are free to walk around the camp for exercise and leisure.

After training, they are qualified. First, their job is to help old people. They are trained first to be friendly. When they are at ease, they are very obedient to their masters. They will never hurt or threaten people for no reason. The dogs listen to their masters' command.

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