The National Security Guard (NSG) is in the process of inducting the ferocious Belgian Malinois dog in its canine unit, according to a report in the Indian Express. The NSG’s Labrador squad will gradually be replaced by Belgian Malinois, a breed of herding dog that is known to be highly intelligent and alert.
So far, NSG’s Black Cat commandos used Labradors for sniffing and tracking, while German Shepherds are used for attacking. The Belgian Malinois dogs are now being trained to carry out all three tasks – sniff, track and attack.
The Malinois squad will help India’s elite counter-terrorism unit in anti-terror operations, sources said. They will also be trained to take part in hostage situations.
The training of the Belgian Malinois squad began in August 2023, said Lieutenant Colonel R B Sharma, who is in charge of NSG’s K9 canine unit.
“The squad has three breeds of dogs at present — Labradors, cocker spaniels and Belgian Malinois. We have 20 Labradors (aged 4-7 years) currently. We are not acquiring more Labradors since we plan to retire them gradually,” Sharma was quoted as saying by the Indian Express.
“As their replacement, we have acquired 14 Belgian Malinois and they are now our lead dog squad. Belgian Malinois is the preferred breed of the best forces in the world. The US forces that hunted down (al-Qaeda chief) Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan had Malinois dogs in tow,” he added.
The Belgian Malinois has, indeed, become increasingly popular with police and military forces. This breed is used by special forces in the United States, Israel, Australia and UK, among others.
Lt Col Sharma elaborated on the benefits of deploying the Malinois vs Labradors. Labradors, he explained, are more docile but have impressive olfactory senses, which makes them great sniffing dogs. On the other hand, Belgian Malinois dogs have greater alertness and can be trained to ‘attack and paralyse’ terrorists.
“Labradors get tired very easily and can get playful during operations. These are not issues we face with the Malinois. Labradors are constantly looking for affection and are eager to please their masters. They also want treats constantly. Malinois are more professional that way,” Lt Col Sharma added.
Major Rishi, the main dog trainer and second-in-command at NSG, said the Malinois are more agile and trainable than other canine breeds. Major Rishi said they can be trained to follow laser beams, so the handler can point a beam towards a bag from a distance and the dog will go fetch it. This reduces risk to the soldier, he explained.
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