The Garda Dog Unit

The Garda Dog Unit was established in 1960.

The unit is currently comprised of the Garda National Dog Unit based in Kilmainham, Dublin, the Southern Region Dog Unit based in Henry Street, Limerick and Anglesea Street, Cork and the North Western Region Dog Unit based in Galway and Monaghan.

The unit provides support to frontline operational members. The dogs attached to the Garda Dog Unit fall into three categories, general purpose, explosive and drug/cash/firearms detection dogs and are utilised in policing in the following areas;

Major Crime Investigation
Missing Person Search
Suspect Search
Drugs, Cash or Firearms Search
Evidential Article Search
Explosive/Security Clearance Search
Public Order
High Visibility Patrols
Community Engagement

Dog in Boat on river

The Garda Dog unit are an essential aid to the prevention and detection of crime and are available to frontline members to utilise when appropriate. They are an integral component of policing.

Dogs can do what no human or machine can, by virtue of their keen sense of smell. The unit have recovered drugs/cash/firearms and located missing persons which would not have been possible without their assistance.

After a dogs training is completed, the dog and its handler start operational duty immediately with ongoing training continuing on a regular basis. The dogs live in their handler’s home and build a relationship with their handler, although they understand the difference between work and off duty!

Dog Unit Directions

Types of Dogs and Specialities;

General Purpose (German Shepherd & Belgian Malinois).

German Shepherds are utilised in a wide variety of policing tasks including tracking humans, identifying property and evidence, chase and detain suspects, protection of handler and public order control.

Drug Detection , Cash and Firearm Recovery (Labrador or Springer Spaniel).

These dogs are trained to detect heroin, cocaine, cannabis and firearm residue.

Explosive Detection (Labrador or Cocker/Springer Spaniel).

These dogs concentrate on the detection of explosives.

doggies