Puppy Tales

In their last week at the kennels our pups have been busy - so busy, in fact, that you may not have seen much of them on the webcam. They've been out enjoying the great outdoors and meeting and greeting their new handlers.

So it's time to close the shutters on the puppycam. Instead, we've got new photos in the Pup-perazi gallery and an update on their last week's activities. Next week we'll have some farewell photos in the gallery and a hint of what's to come for the pups.

Puppy News

Last week was a hectic one for the pups and included their first live celebrity appearance.

Three lucky winners spent a half day with the pups. The winners were treated to a display by the dog branch, followed by a behind-the-scenes tour and the chance to meet (and cuddle) the pups. The winners all agreed it was a fantastic day and that the pups were ‘the best'.

Standard Entrance Test - The Canine Version

The pups have coped with fame extremely well but it's been a testing time in other ways. Like a lot of students around the country they've had to deal with their own ‘exams' and waiting for results.

The pups are hopefully all destined for a career with the police. But like any would be police officer or cadet, they have to pass certain selection procedures first. Their first big assessment - a puppy aptitude test called the ‘Volhard Test' was this week.

The Volhard Test measures areas such as social attraction to people, willingness to follow, ease of handling, dominance, touch, sound and sight sensitivity, retrieving and structural soundness.

The pups are given the test in order to assess what type of police dog they might become.

Fortunately, all our pups passed with flying colours. They're now ready to be matched with individual handlers who will take them home and get them started on developing the skills they'll need later. They'll get lots of socialisation over the next few months and will be taken into as many different environments and circumstances as possible.

Next week we'll wave a final farewell to the pups. We'll also find out which special ‘canine cadet' we'll be following over the next year on our kids' website at spstation.co.uk.