Dog specialisations At present, the federal police have about eighty specialised dog teams. Half of these teams work in the Dog Support Unit. The other teams are employed in other federal police services, such as the Special units, the Railway Police and the Waterway Police. Each dog team (dog + dog handler) that is trained by the Dog Support Unit, can specialise in one specific discipline: Dogs at the Dog Support Unit The TRACKING DOG works on the basis of the smell of living persons.           The tracking dog can be used for several tasks: It can pick up and follow one person’s specific human smell. In this way, the tracking dog can be of extra value to the police services, especially in the case of worrying disappearances and escaped offenders. In a certain zone, this dog can look freely for the smell of a random person who would be (or would have been) present there. The tracking dog can also trace small objects carried by a person and containing the smell of that person. It also traces living persons that are buried under the rubble. It indicates where the rescue workers have to start digging and may save lives in that way. Some tracking dogs also carry out identification tests. The dog tries to link an object found on the crime scene to a suspect. The dog handler asks the suspect and a number of neutral persons to each rub four tubes. The dog then compares the smell of the tubes with the smell of the object found. If the dog chooses the tube rubbed by the suspect twice, this means that there is a positive identification. The PASSIVE DRUG DETECTION DOG searches for illegal drugs with persons and sits down in front of the person with whom he notices a suspicious smell. This dog is mainly deployed to check big groups of persons like in schools, prisons, discotheques, airplanes, trains, during festivals, ... The ACTIVE DRUG DETECTION DOG searches for illegal drugs in open and closed spaces and in cars. It barks when it notices drugs or the smell of drugs and is deployed in house searches, road checks, … The HUMAN REMAINS DETECTION DOG is used to trace dead persons, physiological liquids and blood. If there is a chance that the person is still alive, a tracking dog is deployed during the first 72 hours. The ACCELERANT DETECTION (ARSON) DOG is deployed to trace fire accelerants in case of fires that were probably started deliberately. tracking dog passive drug detection dog active drug detection dog human remains detection dog accelerant detection (arson) dog     Dogs in other police services The PATROL DOG is an all-round police dog that is deployed within the scope of community policing. It is used to patrol and to maintain law and order during football matches, big happenings … Both the Federal Police (Waterway Police and Railway Police) and the local police make use of this discipline. The EXPLOSIVE DETECTION DOG is part of the Special units and searches for explosives, ammunition and used firearms. The ATTACK DOG, which is part of the Special units, is considered a weapon and is deployed to neutralize dangerous persons. The MIGRATION CONTROL DOG is deployed to trace illegal immigrants in buildings and in big means of transport. It belongs to the Waterway Police. patrol dog attack dog explosive detection dog migration control dog