"22 seconds! Perfect score!"
Recently, in the 6th National Police Dog Skills Competition, Li Xindong, a police dog handler from the Shandong Public Security Team, and his bomb-sniffing dog "Dou Dou" achieved a perfect score in the individual bomb-sniffing event, ranking second in the country and winning the first prize.
No one expected that "DouDou," the police dog who was about to "retire," would perform so well. This competition was its last...
"Dou Dou," a police dog, is an 8-year-old English Springer Spaniel. Her handler is Li Xindong, a police officer from the Tianqu New District Branch of the Dezhou Public Security Bureau. Recalling his first meeting with "Dou Dou," the usually reserved Li Xindong instantly became very talkative.
"At that time, I had just transferred to the police dog unit and knew very little about dog training. While others selected police dogs based on hard criteria, I chose based on first impressions, since they would become close partners in the future."
In 2017, Li Xindong accompanied the police dog brigade to the Nanjing Police Dog Research Institute of the Ministry of Public Security to select police dogs. "At that time, 'Dou Dou' was a fluffy little thing at 3 months old. It was very timid. When it saw a lot of people, it would shrink into a corner in fear. Its big eyes kept staring at me." This "stare" touched Li Xindong's heart.
When "DouDou" was first taken out of the kennel, it completely ignored him, lying motionless in its cage. Even after being pulled out with great difficulty, it slipped back in almost immediately. Although the first meeting didn't go smoothly, the inexperienced Li Xindong secretly resolved to tame this "coward." From that day on, "DouDou" began its life as a "work dog."
To become a qualified bomb-sniffing dog, one must possess qualities such as a keen sense of smell, endurance, strong resistance to interference, a gentle personality, and emotional stability, and be able to adapt to rapidly changing on-site situations. However, young "DouDou" was almost riddled with problems: timid, shy, and sensitive. To help "DouDou" desensitize, Li Xindong tried many methods, consulted a large amount of information, and constantly explored training methods suitable for "DouDou," exposing her to the most people, the loudest noises, and training her to be extremely bold.
“From basic behavioral training for police dogs to complex bomb detection techniques, each training session involves thousands of repetitions.”
Through the changing seasons and the passing of seasons, after a year of training, "DouDou" has finally become a professional bomb-sniffing dog. It has completed over a hundred site bomb-proof safety inspections, participated in bomb-sniffing security work for various large-scale conferences such as the BRICS Summit and the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing, and made significant contributions to solving many cases at thrilling crime scenes with its outstanding professional skills.
This national police dog skills competition was unprecedented in scale, bringing together elite competitors from all over the country, making the competition exceptionally fierce. Li Xindong, with his dog "Dou Dou," went through layers of selection and ultimately represented Shandong Province in the bomb detection competition.
In preparation for this competition, they underwent six months of closed training. The weather in June was exceptionally hot, so to maintain "DouDou's" optimal training condition, Li Xindong chose to train in the relatively cooler early mornings and after 10 PM. Every day at 5 AM, while most people were still asleep, Li Xindong and "DouDou" arrived at the training ground to begin their challenging day.
As an older dog, "DouDou" was experienced but not as strong as before. Li Xindong supplemented its nutrition and checked its health every day. However, just a few days before the competition, due to the high-intensity training, 8-year-old "DouDou's" legs became severely bent, and its pace slowed down significantly. "Watching it weave through the obstacles with its legs bent, my heart ached. I even considered giving up, but I couldn't bear to see its efforts go to waste." A complex emotion flashed in Li Xindong's eyes, a mixture of sadness and heartache.
"The maximum working life for a police dog is eight years. Time flies by. For me, it's the transition from youth to middle age. For 'DouDou,' completing this competition is its physiological limit."
On the day of the competition, Li Xindong gave "Dou Dou" painkillers, hoping it would be able to complete the race smoothly. Unexpectedly, thanks to their excellent technique and seamless teamwork, he and "Dou Dou" finished the race in just 22 seconds, performing at their best. When the results were announced, Li Xindong hugged "Dou Dou" tightly, as if saying, "We did it!" At that moment, all their hard work had paid off.
“It’s retiring this year, and it did a fantastic job in its farewell battle! I want to spend the rest of its time with it and hope it’s healthy and happy. There may be other police dogs named ‘DouDou’ in the future, but my ‘DouDou’ is one of a kind!” Li Xindong said.
