Glasgow's police dogs and handlers prepare ahead of COP26

Nearly 200 canines from across the country will merge in the city to keep dignitaries and delegates safe during COP26.

For the first time, the general purpose and specialist dogs will have a dedicated care plan to keep them well rested during the 13 day conference.

Chief Inspector Cath McNally said: "In the main, you won't see them out and about because the dogs would only be used in high levels of disorder in a public order situation.

"Those dogs will be in reserve because, of course, we plan for worst case scenario but we hope not to have to use them.

"In my lifetime, this is the biggest deployment of police dogs I have seen so that takes a lot of planning, a lot of factoring in rest breaks for dogs and handlers.

"Making sure the officers and the animals have proper breaks means the biggest spreadsheet ever.

"And it's also vitally important that while we're focused on COP26, we're also making sure we're still looking after business as usual."

Dogs will take part in various duties in preparation for and during the conference, which will see one of the biggest mobilisation of police assets in the UK.

Some of the police dog deployments will include helping to seal and secure key venues and sites associated with COP26, assisting with vehicle searches and providing public order support.

There are three types of police dog - general purpose dogs for crowd control, finding missing persons and to pursue and detain suspects in relation to criminal activity.

Specialist dogs are used to search for drugs, money, guns or ammunition and explosive detection dogs are skilled in searching various locations and venues for devices.

PC Davie McIntyre has been a police dog handler for seven years and says he does the "best job in the world".

He teams up with German Shepherd PD Rudy, sprocker spaniel PD Eddie and is also training puppy Vader to take over from Rudy when he retires.

Davie said: "They can do everything a human can do but better and faster. When it comes to managing crowds the larger German Shepherd dogs can neutralise a crowd just by coming out of a van.

"An explosives dog, his nose can pick up things we can't see.

"It's not only the best job in the police, it's the best job in the world.

"Not only do the dogs get to come home with us, training is a big game for them and for us - the only limits are your imagination."

In the run up to COP26, training has intensified with public order training becoming an increased focus for the team.

But Davie said they are feeling confident as the event draws nearer.

He added: "You don't get nerves. As a dog handler you need to remain relaxed and calm, as a police officer it's exactly the same way.

"However, as a dog handler, everything I'm feeling flows down the lead to the dog so if I become apprehensive or worried about what I'm doing then the dog can become worries so I need to remain calm and impartial.

"We just play it cool and that allows the dog to play it cool."

Over the 13 days, some 2,587kg of dog food will be required for police dogs - equal to the average weight of 73 fully grown male German Shepherds.

Different breeds of dog will be performing different roles.

General purpose dogs include German Shepherds, Dutch Malinois, Dutch Herder and cross breeds.

Labradors, Springer Spaniels and Cocker Spaniels are used for specialist search roles.

A Police Dog & Horse Welfare Strategy has been created regarding the welfare of our police service animals to ensure that they have sufficient rest, food, water and exercise, notwithstanding their day jobs.

The force said that this is a first for Police Service Animals involved in an operational event.