The rookie cops bred with a nose for tackling street crime

IT looks more like the perfect family pet than a ruthless dog bred to fight crime.

But this German shepherd is destined for a life chasing criminals, catching thieves and searching for missing people.

A litter of seven are the latest recruits to join Lothian and Borders Police after officers set up their own breeding programme.

The force now plans to supply police dogs throughout Britain. The puppies are being cared for with their mother at a secret location in the Lothians and will be dispatched to separate handlers before beginning intensive training at 18 months old.

Breeding programme manager Brian Thomson said: "This is a massive step for us. It's a guaranteed way to get a supply of working dogs.

"In years gone by we relied on donations of unwanted dogs. In recent years we have received highly trained dogs from other countries, mainly from Holland.

"The plan is we'll keep three puppies in the force. One will be a future breeding bitch to keep our breeding programme going and the other two will be trained up as general police dogs."

At the age of seven weeks, the puppies will undergo tests for alertness, assertiveness and sociability. If they prove suitable, they will undergo training.

Mr Thomson, who has worked with police dogs for ten years, said: "It's not like being a pet dog.

"They'll be brought up as police dogs from day one. We have to desensitise them to the noise of fireworks and traffic, and get them used to being in strange situations. In later life, we will be relying on them not to be scared.

"They'll start the 12-week course when they're mature. They are trained to detain criminals and take on violent people if they have to. It's quite intensive but our dogs love it."

The puppies will be given names beginning with the letter "A" as they are the first litter from the breeding programme, which began in August.

Mr Thomson said the bitch came from a good blood line and the male was a working police dog from the Netherlands.

"When we used to take on stray dogs, we were basically taking on people's problems," he said. "You never know what a dog's been through. We've now got a blank piece of paper."

The puppies will join 38 dogs already in the force.