South African trained dogs sell for about R100 000 each outside the country. (Photo by Lefty Shivambu/Gallo Images/Getty Images)
The demand for highly trained police dogs is outstripping supply, resulting in some South African companies selling high-end hounds for more than R100 000 each.
The shortage is fueled by local and international demand for a range of dogs with specialist training, anything from fierce German shepherds who tackle armed robbers to smaller breeds with a nose for drugs and explosives.
Internationally, the demand for South African dogs stems from comparatively low production costs and the country’s reputation for meeting high certification standards.
Locally, dogs are in demand by private security companies because the police dog-training programmes have faltered on budgetary constraints.
In Durban, a private security source who works with the SAPS’s specialised units and eThekwini’s Metro Police said top cops were increasingly turning to private companies for help.
“The city police has one certified dog left. His name is Jet and he retires in December. There is huge demand for dogs because they are so effective in tracking serious and violent criminals.
“Private security companies are paying between R50 000 and R100 000 for a dog. Planning in this business is critical. The dog has a working lifespan of 10 years. You have to train it in its first year to get the most out of the animal.”
Ethekwini Metro Police senior superintendent Geraldine Steven confirmed Jet was the city’s only active dog and he was retiring. She said the metro police had four dogs awaiting training, which would be paid for by SAPS, once an agreement was signed. She said the metro police had 14 dogs before the budgetary cuts.
Graeme Dow, a director of Marshall Security, said there had been a “huge increase” in the use of dogs by private security firms in the last two years.
“The expectations of us in KZN since the riots and the floods are massive but I know the demand is similar nationally. The police still have some great guys but they just don’t have resources and their situation isn’t getting better anytime soon.
“So, communities look to us to fill the vacuum. The demand for dogs is a classic example of this. Entry-level guard dogs cost you R20 000. They are a big deterrent; really vital. It is much easier to search a car for illegal firearms using a dog – let alone catching a suspect on foot.
“This all comes at a cost but, if you pay a top dog-handler between R60 000 and R80 000 a month, and he has a highly trained dog worth R100 000, you get results. The police take our teams up in their choppers now for search-and-recovery missions. They really are in high demand.”
Dow’s comments were echoed by Magma Security and Investigation’s Shaheen Suleiman, who said it was “massively advantageous” to use dogs in response to serious and violent crime.
“Well-trained dogs are prized. You pay between R50 000 and R100 000 for a top working dog. Passionate and skilled dog handlers are in equally short supply. Not many guys are willing and able to go after the criminals once you’ve let the dogs loose.”
Suleiman said the demand for a specialised response such as the canine unit was indicative of how private sector solutions had emerged from public policing challenges.
“We work well with the police and their specialist units. They have some amazing guys … but more private security companies are willing to pay top salaries for skilled and dedicated officers.”
In 2016, a parliamentary committee heard how desperate the SAPS canine situation was.
At the time, MPs blamed a lack of planning for the critical shortage of dogs after it emerged that there were 95 patrol handlers, 84 explosives handlers and 31 narcotics handlers without dogs.
At the time, 65 patrol dogs, 69 explosives sniffer dogs and 41 narcotics sniffer dogs were being retired.
Parliament heard the national shortage was 636 dogs of a total complement of 1 243.
Attempts by the Mail & Guardian to get up-to-date SAPS canine statistics proved fruitless.
Pretoria-based John Greyvenstein owns Braveheart Bio-Dog Academy, which trains dogs and handlers across five gradings – DH1 to 5. Grade 1 is an entry-level patrol dog and grade 5 is a search-and-rescue dog able to detect drugs, guns and explosives.
Using dogs and dog handlers without proper registration is a criminal offence and training institutions have to be registered. Greyvenstein’s son and co-director, John H Greyvenstein said the company sold dogs for between R7 500 and R85 000.
In the last three years, they had sold 250 dogs and trained 700 dogs, and as many handlers, for local and international clients for personal protection, tracking and detection work.
Greyvenstein said it cost between R2 500 and R18 000 to train a dog.
Genesis K9 Group is owned by former soldier André le Roux and policeman Thys Klyn, who have worked with dogs in Bosnia and Afghanistan.
This year, Genesis trained 55 sniffer dogs for the international market. Pre-Covid, the firm did similar levels of global business.
South African trained dogs sell for about R100 000 outside of the country and are about 50% more expensive in the UK and the US because costs are higher there.
“Our dogs are in demand because the process of certification here is extremely onerous,” Le Roux said. “Our clients have United Nations contracts and that is the most difficult accreditation. Most of our dogs do final-stage training overseas with military-grade explosives and drugs.”
Genesis sells about 50 dogs internationally a year.
Le Roux said it took about 12 weeks of intensive training to produce a DH5 dog and handler. The cost of training the handler was about R41 000.
“We are seeing a very high demand for dogs,” said Le Roux.
“Last year, we certified about 50 DH5 level handlers. In the Covid period, it was down to about 35. We also lease about 80 dogs in South Africa every year to security companies that don’t have the facilities to kennel them.
“The demand for dogs is very high because there is a shortage and only a few training facilities with high levels of accreditation.”
Imtiaz Sooliman, of Gift of the Givers, said he had been alerted to the shortage of police dogs when his organisation responded to the floods in KZN.
“We saw in the chaos of the floods how badly they needed dogs. What few dogs they have are old. There is a huge shortage and there’s no money for dogs but they are critical for police.”
That spurred Sooliman’s quest to find dogs. He was initially told the police could only source dogs in Pretoria for R50 000 each but he was able to get certified dogs for between R15 000 and R25 000 in the Western Cape.
“We have promised SAPS 60 dogs and we have made a start with four. The dogs are trained in 11 different disciplines – a range of things from ammunition to drugs. We have a good relationship with SAPS and they need the dogs.
“Dogs can’t be corrupted; they catch criminals. We will help. It was terrible to see how dog handlers had lost motivation without dogs.”
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