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Two-year-old Guinness and 20-month-old Max (pictured) have been showing off their skills - and their partnerships with Police Officer's Peter Falla and Dan Thomas respectively.
The two German Shepherds are part of a five strong Guernsey Police dog unit.
They are each assigned to an officer, who they live with and are closely bonded.
As well as Guinness and Max, the police dog team includes four-year-olds Del and Ozzie and six-year-old Boss.
Max is the newest member of the team, having recently completed his off-island training to gain his national qualification allowing him to work with the police.
Pictured: Guernsey Police officer Dan Thomas and PD Max.
As well as off-island training to become licensed as patrol dogs, each member of the Guernsey Police dog section must maintain ongoing training.
Exercises were staged at Rue Mangy yesterday.
Max was tested on his detection skills.
In this exercise, something had been buried along the path before Max was allowed out of the van. He and PC Thomas walked along the path in front of other officers, photographers, videographers, and journalists who followed.
Max quickly found the item and laid on top of the area where it was buried.
PD Guinness demonstrated skills which are rarely put to use in Guernsey but which are needed to pass the national qualification to become a police dog and to remain licensed for work.
PC Russell Winslade acted as a 'suspect' while PC Falla can be heard directing Guinness off camera before approaching the 'suspect'.
In the first exercise, PD Guinness demonstrates how a police dog will apprehend a suspect but not make contact with them, allowing the police officer to approach the individual. Secondly, PD Guinness shows how a police dog will make contact with a suspect when necessary but will stand down and allow their handler to approach the individual once they have control of the situation.
In the third exercise, the 'suspect' did not comply with PC Falla's instructions and started to struggle when he approached, meaning PD Guinness immediately returns to action to help apprehend him.
Guernsey Police stressed the techniques demonstrated by PD Guinness are very rarely used in Guernsey, with the canine team most often used in searches for missing or vulnerable people or for tracking down missing items, or individuals wanted in connection with investigations.
PD Guinness has grown since he was first introduced to the community last March, with both Guinness and Max now fully trained and working with their partners.
Inspector Adam Miller, who is in charge of the police dog section said all of the animals are worked hard, but to them it is a game that they are specially trained for.
They are well looked after, and rewarded for all of their efforts.
"They certainly really enjoy working, you can see their tails wagging," he said.
"To them it's a game, to us it's really hard working. In the circumstances where we're looking for a vulnerable, missing person, obviously that's really serious, and there's a lot of pressure on us, but the dog doesn't know it's a person, it could be another training exercise, it's still the 'how do I find this person game'.
"So yes, they're working really hard, and you can see they're very fit. They're work for a long period of time, but for the dog, it's a game. That's what it's all about, trying to get the dog to be happy as if the dog's happy playing their game, we're actually getting a product at the end of it, which will help us deliver the service that we need to deliver to the community."
PD Max recently completed his three month training in the UK to be licensed as a patrol dog, said Inspector Miller.
That training was done with PC Thomas, and Max now lives with the Thomas family and works alongside his handler.
"It's not just about the dog being licensed, it's also about the handler, and they need to be licensed together and paired together," said Inspector Miller.
"They don't just live with their handlers, they work together, they are together all the time.
"I spend a lot of time supporting the dog handlers and their families because it does become part of their lives, and I think they all have very close bonds with their dogs, and it's a really beautiful relationship between the two of them, because they learn to live and work together."
Pictured top: PD Max.
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