PROBABLY best not to mess with these fellows. They are Ministry of Defence police dogs, taking part in a dog training exercise at Armishaws’ storage depot in Netherhampton, Salisbury.

Led by PC Ian Sawyer, the exercise involved five dogs, two of which are from the first litter (of nine) to be bred and owned by the MoD police. The litter is known as the Tree Litter, as each dog bears the name of a tree.

PC Sawyer and his 19-month-old Malinois, Elder, gave a practical demonstration of how to search a vehicle with a dog, looking for people hidden on or within a vehicle. The vehicles were searched in a controlled manner, both externally and internally, the dog indicating the presence of any concealed person by barking.

Malinois is a breed of Belgian Shepherd dog, used in preference to German Shepherds, which tend to suffer more from hip dysplasia, thereby shortening their working lives..

PC Sawyer has been ‘walking’ Elder since he was 14 weeks old. Elder now lives with him. He said: “Elder is a different animal at home – a gentle giant – but get him working and I wouldn’t want to be on the wrong side of him.

“He’s very intelligent and I hope to train him to a very high standard.”