Quote Originally Posted by KingWheatley View Post
Actually... Labs are used as patrol dogs.

My ex's department has two Labs, one German shepherd, and one other dog who I don't remember the breed of.

Also Lexington Metro Police Department just got a new Chocolate Lab as a K-9.

Herp Derp
No they are not. Labs are used as single purpose detection dogs in K9 units. NOT for patrol work aka bite work.

Single purpose dogs are cheaper and less of a liability which us why some police departments have them. Labs being hunting dogs have a great sense of smell and good prey/ball drive so they make swell detection K9s.

The patrol dogs are always of a breed that was selected to be civil (meaning it has a willingness to bite a person). Shepherds, malinois, and Dutch shepherds being most common. A handful of other herding and guardian breeds can be found but they are pretty rare.