Top dog: Canine cops test their mettle at Edmonton competition

Bender, an Edmonton police dog, will test his mettle against Canada's finest canines this weekend.

The police service dog will join hundreds of his counterparts as the Canadian Police Canine Association descends on Edmonton for its annual competition trials on Sunday.

For a chance at the win, Bender will be using his nose.

"That's the biggest reason we have them, to have them use their nose and find people," Bender's handler, Const. Lauren Croxford, said in an interview with CBC Radio's Edmonton AM. 

"We catch a lot of people based on the fact that they can track, use their nose and catch the bad guys."

The agility training and obstacle course at Re/Max Field will offer crowds a glimpse of the daily grind that K-9 units face across the country. The public is welcome to attend.

Dogs and their trainers will demonstrate their tracking and searching skills, ability to sniff out criminals, and even take down a fleeing suspect.

At the end of the competition, the team with the most points through all the events is awarded the coveted title of "Top Dog."

The dog and handler are scored as a team, not individually.

• Cop dog competition held in Calgary

"We're going to be competing in agility, article search, tracking, obedience, compound search, as well as the protection side of things," said Croxford.  "We should do fairly well, I hope."

As a "general purpose" dog, Bender isn't yet trained in more advanced skills, but will be learning to sniff out narcotics and explosives within the year, said Croxford.

Police look for dogs that are loyal, even-tempered, have good listening skills and the ability to learn new commands.

She said Bender is very social but when it's time to go on duty, it's like hitting a switch. He transforms into a focused, working animal.

'Bender uses his nose'

Bender and his handler trained together for five months before hitting the street this spring. 

Since then, they've worked countless crime scenes across the city, helping catch criminals who would otherwise evade arrest, said Croxford. 

"From break and enters, to robberies, to homicide, to spousal assaults where someone leaves out the door and we have to track them down," said Croxford.  "We basically go to calls where anyone has left on foot, leaves a crime.

"Whether they're still in a building after breaking in and they're hiding — whether it's on the roof or in a closet or under a bunch of clothes, Bender uses his nose and he can find them."

Listen to Edmonton AM with host Mark Connolly, weekday mornings at CBC Radio One, 93.9 FM in Edmonton. Follow the morning crew on Twitter @EdmAMCBC