Nova Scotia RCMP puppy Hamer moves on to New Brunswick

Hamer, the one-year-old Nova Scotia RCMP German shepherd, is now in New Brunswick getting to work with an RCMPhandler who may become his permanent partner.

Nova Scotia RCMP took in Hamer and his brother Helo for its police dog service puppy program. The two puppies were matched with an RCMP memberinterested in becoming a dog hander butHelo died after complications from three surgeries.

The public has been able to follow Hamer's progress. Police uploaded videos of him to Youtube and reported updates on the training.

"He's a beautiful dog," said Cpl. Dal Hutchinson, an RCMP spokesman.

Hammer left Nova Scotia late last month. If all goes well in New Brunswick and he's able to bond with his new handler, Hamer's next stop will be Innisfail, Alta.,for more training in 2017.

'Still a lot of work to be done'

"Typically it runs for four to five months, the training[in Alberta]. There's still a lot of work to be done yet. It does take a couple of years for everything to work out," Hutchinson said.

"One of the things that we look for in our police dogs is theexceptional strength in tracking, criminal apprehension and narcotic and explosion detection. Dogs are regularly assessed and can be removed from the program at any time."

GlennBrown, a police dog handler with the RCMP based in New Minas,worked with Hamer this past year. His hope is that Hamer will eventually replace an older dog ready to retire.

"So far the guy who has got [Hamer] is happy with how he's progressing," Brown said.

• Nova Scotia RCMP puppies bound into service
• RCMP German shepherd puppy Helo dies after surgeries