West Midlands Police pups are an arresting lot and they're up for fostering

The force, who rely heavily on dogs, are looking for the public to act as 'puppy walkers' for the new breed of police dog.

Families are asked to look after and play with the dog until it reaches a stage in its development, usually 12-15 months, where it'll go back to West Midlands Police.

The police run their own breeding programme to ensure that there is always enough dogs when required, as opposed to having to rely on sales and donations.

The dogs, which are are German shepherds and a small number of Rottweilers, live with a family until they are 12-15 months old.

Families are advised to allow the puppy to experience the noises of household appliances like vacuum cleaner, TV and washing machine.

They should also socialise the puppy with other people by taking them for walks and introducing them to the sight and sound of traffic, as well as other animals. All that is asked of puppy walkers is that they give the puppy a lot of play time and are normally at home to look after it for most of the day. While all equipment, food and veterinary care is paid for by police.

Veteran puppy walker Dave Edwards said looking after the dogs gave him a sense of satisfaction, though it was sometimes difficult to say goodbye to them. He said: "Taking them back is the hardest part because you do get very attached to them, but you normally come away with another one.

"We get regular visits from the officers who come to see how they're doing and when you hear about a dog you've trained playing a part in catching a criminal, it's nice to think you might have played a small part in that."

Like many other police forces in the UK, West Midlands Police started using dogs after the end of the Second World War. Then it was recognised that trained dogs using their natural instincts could play a major role in maintaining law and order and catching offenders.

From those early beginnings, the dog section began to grow and in 1959 they moved to their first real home. It was an old farmhouse affectionately known as 'Home Farm' within the grounds of Harborne Golf Club, Birmingham. Specialist search dogs are used extensively in the West Midlands to locate drugs or firearms and explosives.

Dogs are also continually recruited from rescue centres and from the public.

Anyone interested in looking after one of the puppies can email breedscheme@west-midlands.pnn.police.uk