They can operate in support of the Special Forces, with goggles and bulletproof vests, parachute jumps together with their handlers and, thanks to their sense of smell, signal the presence of explosive substances, weapons and ammunition, but also of people overwhelmed by landslides and avalanches.
They are the canine units of the Armed Forces.
The Army, Navy, Air Force and Carabinieri can count on their "four-legged friends with stars" in many cases to deal with the most diverse emergencies.
in dog centers of the Armed Forces dogs are selected from puppies, through an assessment of their abilities and their character nature. Entrusted to a military handler, with whom they will share their entire "career" (but, often, also their retirement, since more and more frequently the military then ask for custody of these dogs at the end of their service), they carry out a training course and training.
During the course, the animal, in addition to establishing a very special relationship with its handler, through the game and the associations related to it, learns to search for, identify and appropriately report the presence of explosive substances, narcotic substances and to carry out all tasks assigned to him.
Over the years, the use of canine units has affected various sectors: for example, within national military contingents their sense of smell has become essential to counter the danger of improvised explosive devices (IED).
The dogs are also trained for the surveillance of strategic objectives for the country, the search for weapons and ammunition and the "reclamation" of areas and infrastructures. They are employed in public order services and in the search for drugs, weapons, explosives, missing persons, corpses, traces of blood, poisons or poisoned baits.
