“A loyal comrade”
Joining the police dog training team last May, Lieutenant Nguyen Trong Nghia from the school’s Military Dog Training Department has only three months of experience with his “partner”, named Ben Xin.
Lieutenant Colonel Hoang Ngoc Sang, Head of the department and Head Coach of the team, said that the Belgian Malinois breed has many good features that meet all conditions and requirements of the competition.
    |
 |
|
A dog practices crossing obstacles |
Besides the Nghia-Ben Xin pair, the four other pairs of Major Vu Khac Bien-Mai Loc, Non-commissioned Captain Luu Van Phuong-Ju Ka, Non-commissioned Lieutenant Nguyen Duc Thuan-Lin Ban, and Senior Lieutenant Nguyen Viet Duong-Mu Ra have been working hard for the Games.
It takes from nine months to a year to train necessary skills for a police dog. Therefore, the school has had to work out solutions to shorten the training time but still satisfy the qualification requirements of the competition for both handlers and dogs.
According to Lieutenant Colonel Sang, handlers taking part in the competition should have good physical strength, as well as be good at dog-handling , and shooting skills. The dogs should also practice hard to improve their physical strength and hone their professional skills.
Because of hot weather, each training session lasts from early morning to 10am and the dogs often drink enough water.
Overcoming challenges
This is the first time the service dog training team will take part in this Army Games event and the competition’s categories are different from the school's training programs.
In school, the dogs are trained to fight, detect drugs and, explosives as well as spies, and implement search and rescue work. However, during Army Games 2020, the team has to compete in categories such as individual dog race, 300m obstacle course race, guard duty, and dog relay race.
In addition, they also need to overcome difficulties related to the hot weather conditions to complete the training program.
Over the past time, the school has implemented a series of training programs, including combat readiness training, COVID-19 prevention and control work, preparation for the Army Games 2020, among others, as instructed by the Ministry of National Defense, General Staff and the Border Guard Command.
For the upcoming Army Games 2020, the school’s team is determined to put forth their best effort for the country despite the difficulties they face.
Translated by Minh Anh