Jobs working with dogs in public services

Seanf999

Hi I'm 17 and I've grown up with dogs all my life, granted at some times I didn't have much to do with them other then pet and mess.... But my mother always bred dogs and we've had 3 dog at one stage.

I would like I work with dogs as a career and I had previously taught of becoming a paramedic or Garda or something along those lines (public services)

Anyways what jobs are there in public services that I would work with dogs?

Nody

Garda dog handler, Military dog handler (are they used in the Irish forces?) etc. can be heart breaking though as you'll change dog every couple of years. You also have the likes of customs using them but I'm not sure what arm they would fall under. Your best bet is most likely going to be to find a job you like and get your own dog rather than trying to find a job with dogs and work and hope you might like the other 95% of your work.

Seanf999

Nody wrote: »

Garda dog handler, Military dog handler (are they used in the Irish forces?) etc. can be heart breaking though as you'll change dog every couple of years. You also have the likes of customs using them but I'm not sure what arm they would fall under. Your best bet is most likely going to be to find a job you like and get your own dog rather than trying to find a job with dogs and work and hope you might like the other 95% of your work.

From what I've seen you keep the dog after retirement, if that's not the case and you end up working with a dog for a year or two at most is a deal deal breaker...

And it seems like the defence forces don't use K-9 units..

I was also thinking maybe search and rescue?

DBB

Most dogs working for public services would have careers of 8-10 years, depending on the health of the dog. Generally, handlers are given the option of keeping their dog upon the dog's retirement. Otherwise the dogs are homed to private homes.
Gardai, Customs, Airport Police and Fisheries have dog units. The prison service are currently disbanding their dog unit. I'm not sure about the defence forces, I assumed they had one but not 100% sure.
In order to get into any of the dog units, you have to get yourself taken on by any one of the organisations first, and serve some amount of time before having a chance of getting into their dog units, spaces in which tend to be in seriously high demand! You need to know the job well before being let loose with a dog :-D
So, it's not impossible, but not easy, and there's no formal route to guarantee you'd ever get into one of the dog units.
Search and rescue is a private enterprise, but a great thing to get into. Again, they don't let you anywhere near "the field" with a dog (I think people source and train their own dogs) until you've got a fair bit of experience of the job in a dog-less capacity.

Alun

Seanf999 wrote: »

I was also thinking maybe search and rescue?

Search and rescue dogs here are looked after by a voluntary organisation, SARDA Ireland (http://sardaireland.com/), so that wouldn't be a full-time job.

If you wanted to get a feel for the work you could always volunteer to act as a 'dogsbody', i.e. hide somewhere up a cold draughty mountain and wait to be rescued I've volunteered myself as I'm a keen hillwalker and supporter of the local Mountain Rescue organizations, but I've never been called up. Maybe they've got more volunteers than they need.

Seanf999

DBB wrote: »

The prison service are currently disbanding their dog unit.

I had been thinking of this area as my dad's a prison officer (I got to go into the prison and they put a package of cocaine in my pocket and let the dog out to check me and he barked at set by me it's amazing how highly trained they are so that part the reason why I want to do this!)

My dad hasn't heard anything of it doe (he's out of the prison service a year now doe)
Are there any links o news stories r anything like that about it?

thegreatgonzo

OP you could check out ELISTA courses, I don't know much about them but I think I read that they have courses relating to training assistance dogs or something similar

alwayssideways

Small bit of information on the Revenue website on Canine Detector Dog Teams.

http://www.revenue.ie/en/customs/customs-drugs-watch-law-enforcement.html

Keep an eye out on Publicjobs.ie for dog handling positions.

tk123

Seanf999 wrote: »

I had been thinking of this area as my dad's a prison officer (I got to go into the prison and they put a package of cocaine in my pocket and let the dog out to check me and he barked at set by me it's amazing how highly trained they are so that part the reason why I want to do this!)

My dad hasn't heard anything of it doe (he's out of the prison service a year now doe)
Are there any links o news stories r anything like that about it?

I heard somewhere (possibly the prison service) had a contract outsourced to some company who were suppling/training the dogs and when it was audited a high percentage of the dogs didn't have any training at all to find stuff :rolleyes: A lot of the ones that did have training got "jobs" in the UK though so a happy ending for them

Seanf999

but is the Irish Prison Service shutting down they're k9 unit?

From what my Dad has told me it seems like a job I'd really like, cheers for the answer regardless, learn something new everyday!

DBB

Seanf999 wrote: »

but is the Irish Prison Service shutting down they're k9 unit?

From what my Dad has told me it seems like a job I'd really like, cheers for the answer regardless, learn something new everyday!

I don't think it was publicised, and perhaps it's not every prison they're gone from, but I was told from "inside sources" (lol) that they're gone altogether. They were offering their dogs to suitable homes, only a few months back now.
The system they worked was not ideal. For instance, the dogs were kept in kennels and each had several handlers. This system is not used by any other Irish or UK law enforcement agencies, and would not be common on a worldwide basis either. I don't know what possessed them to branch away from the industry best practise, but I wonder did this element contribute to rumours that the dogs were not properly trained (as per tk's post above)? It would really muddy the waters for detection dogs to have several different handlers.