65 Scientifc Annals of Polish Society of Animal Production - Vol. 9 (2013), No 4, 65-71 Duty period and discharging reasons of police dogs Joanna Kania-Gierdziewicz, Sylwia Pałka, Konrad Kozioł, Maciej Gierdziewicz University of Agriculture in Krakow, Faculty of Animal Science, Department of Genetics and Animal Breeding, al. Mickiewicza 24/28, 30-059 Kraków; e-mail: rzkania@cyf-kr.edu.pl The purpose of the paper was to estimate duty period and reasons for discharging of police dogs. Starting age, duty period, age at and reasons for discharging have been examined for 71 dogs, released from duty in the years 2001-2006, at one of Cracow Police stations. The mean values of age at entering and leaving service period, age at entering and leaving service period and frequency of leaving reasons have been estimated. The dogs entered service main- ly at the age of 1-2 years. Over half the dogs have been used for 7 to 10 years and most of the animals have been on duty for 7-8 years. The average discharging age was 8 years. Over half (55%) of the dogs released from duty have been handed over to their former handlers. Other dogs have been put to sleep or died in another way (45%); the main reason in both cases was poor general health condition. KEY WORDS: offcial duty dogs / performance length / reasons for culling / police In many countries worldwide dogs are the most popular pet animals. The presence of a dog in our surroundings, apart from the companion role, brings tangible benefts alle- viating stress and promoting the sense of wellbeing in the owner [14]. Moreover, for ages dogs have been used in hunting, guarding homes and livestock, in sleighing and recently also as guide dogs for the blind, rescue dogs during natural disasters, assisting animals in therapy as well as in the role of animals detecting explosives, drugs and other substances [6, 8]. The latter dogs serve as detection animals in police units and fre brigades, customs agencies and the military. The common characteristics of working dogs include boldness, gregariousness, stamina, courage, intelligence, the ability and willingness to learn as well as ability to work under various conditions and around strangers [1, 3, 16]. Medium sized dog breeds seem to be most suitable for this purpose (German and Belgian Shepherds, La- brador Retrievers, Rottweilers, as well as Border Collies, Golden Retrievers and Beagles). The process of selecting puppies to become working dogs and their training should be started at week 8 of life, not later than at the age of 9 months [13]. Occasionally some