Harms to Police Dogs: Barking Up the Wrong Tree 427 dogs need to work as a team and you must make sure that you don’t bring dogs along that don’t get along with one another It causes an unnecessary burden in your work’ (Janssen 2013, p 253) It is obviously important for a dog handler to have an amiable relationship with his or her dog During the training and the exam each dog and its handler are tested as one unit Officers who are deployed at a demonstration that threatens to get out of hand or members of an arrest- and support unit who are sent into a bank building with their dogs to catch hold of a raider need to count on their companions in such perilous situations Furthermore, after work the handlers take their dog home where they have their own kennel So, the dogs and their handlers spend many hours a day together both at work and at home It is, therefore, obvious that dog handlers tend to emphasise the personal relationship they have with their animals In the literature on human-animal relations, it is argued that the constant paradox is manifested in linguistic usage (Janssen 2013) A dog has no plug or a petrol tank but in some forces where there is a hierarchical system and thus considerable distance between those in the workplace and people at the top, there is the tendency to regard police dogs merely as tools A striking example is a statement by an official saying that a dog that was ill needed to be ‘repaired’ by the vet Another is a superior officer who wonders if his personnel are willing to work with smaller dogs, such as poodles According to this superior, these dogs are not considered to be very ‘masculine accessories’ That sort of language is not appreciated by the dog handlers who regard their dog as their best friend According to ReusIanni (1983), there is a distinction between managers who are relatively ignorant of the daily practice on the street and police officers in the workplace causing the latter to feel alienated from their superiors Some so-called management cops may in the past have had some experience as a police officer in a local precinct but by far not all the managers in the force have themselves ever worked with dogs That may well be a contributory factor when there are feelings of alienation Knowledge of possibilities and limitations in relation to the deployment of the dog are of essential importance in a dog handler’s job ‘Dogs have sensitive paws and the paws’ cushions are not suited for walking on hot tarmac or iron stairs with lots of little holes Therefore, it is important that it is absolutely clear how practitioners should react when problems like that are likely to arise.’ Another interesting point in this context is the value of police dogs in the field of public relations In many police forces, there is a sound awareness that these dogs are of advertising value Articles regularly appear in police publication and in the world of public relations and