Battersea runs an open intake policy, which means we see a wide variety of dog breeds, medical conditions behaviours and individual needs. Certain working breeds that come through our doors require significant mental stimulation and daily activity, to avoid the development of behavioural issues. To ensure these dogs live fulfilling lives, we may need to consider alternatives to normal pet homes, such as working outlets. We can then rehome Battersea Dogs into the best home for them, where they will receive the individual care and attention they require.
We work with organisations across the UK to rehome dogs into working homes. These include:
- HMPPS (Prison service)
- Ministry of Defence
- Police Service
- Medical Detection Dogs
- Assistance and Therapy dog Charities - e.g. Support Dogs
- Security
- Fire Service
- Urban Search and Rescue
- Agility, flyball and other sporting organisations
- Support Dogs
Identifying suitable dogs
As soon as dogs of certain breed, age and behaviour traits arrive at Battersea, we investigate whether they may be best suited to a working home, or whether they’d prefer to snuggle up on a family sofa. They go through the same assessments as all dogs at Battersea, which are carried out by our kennel care groups and behaviourists, as well as a thorough check over by our team of vets and nurses. We then test if they have natural search, agility or support ability with simple assessments on site. By gently gauging their motivation and passion for working, and their attitude towards food and toy rewards, we can then complete more training to keep them fulfilled whilst in our care. The Animal Partnerships team will then contact appropriate outlets, to find potential rehoming spaces, and arrange introductions with the organisations.
Dog breeds we have rehomed into working outlets include:
- Belgian Malinois
- German Shepherds
- Dutch Herders
- Labrador Retrievers
- Cocker Spaniels
- Springer Spaniels
- Mixes of the above
Success Stories
Chase - Ministry of Defence
Chase had just turned 1-years-old when he was brought to Battersea by one of our Local Authorities after he was found straying by a member of public. While at Battersea, Chase showed a great fondness for scent work, and was in his element when his care group set up search games for him. He also loved playing with his toys and was highly motivated by them. Chase arrived to us with some small injuries to his paws and eye and needed to spend some time with our vet team to ensure he made a full recovery. Once he was given a clean bill of health, we contacted our friends at the Ministry of Defence to see if they wanted to meet him with a view to taking him on and training him as a police dog.
After a successful introduction and trail period, Chase quickly qualified and is busy working in Cyprus!
They’ve said the following about him:
“Military Working Dog (MWD) Chase is currently employed as a Royal Air Force Police Dog, living his best life at RAF Akrotiri, Cyprus. Since completing his training at the Defence Animal Training Regiment, he has been putting his skills to use to ensure that the Service Personnel and their families at RAF Akrotiri are safe. Being a trained Police dog, MWD Chase can be employed for a variety of tasks including locating missing persons, stolen articles, building searches and detaining fleeing suspects. He has settled into his role well and, when not on duty, enjoys the sun, sea and sand that Cyprus has to offer.”
Jax success story – HMPPS
Jax was just 3 months old when he came to us. When he arrived, he showed a very high motivation for toys, well above the average puppy and was happiest while playing search games. Due to Jax’s exceptional drive, we asked our Animal Partners at HMP Belmarsh if they would be interested in taking on a puppy, and fortunately they were! Jax is now a licenced passive drug dog at HMP Belmarsh.
Contact us if you can rehome one of our working dogs!
If you’re an established organisation and are interested in rehoming a working dog from us, please get in touch via our email below, and we can discuss the rehoming process animalpartners@battersea.org.uk.
