Understanding our pawed friends

February, 2019

As the region’s leading provider of integrated security solutions, SGA takes pride in providing comfort, peace of mind and happiness to both homes and institutions. Among the ways SGA is able to provide protection and detection is through our Canine services popularly referred to as the Dog Section.

SGA Dog Section provides trained security dogs and dog handlers for the protection of people and property. With close to 200 dogs at our Unit, we complement existing security services such as guarding services to be able to meet our clients’ diverse needs. We train and deploy canine teams that meet your business requirements, whether it involves guarding premises, searching persons entering a building, protection from intruders or examining high-risk areas for hidden explosives.

Our work is to ensure that our pawed friends are fit by providing proper training, clean shelter and timely feeding schedules. This is made possible with professional staff on site such as trainers, handlers, cooks and a veterinary physician among other staff.

Dogs are a great deterrent to any external threat. They have the ability to pick up voices, unusual noises and even body languages when trained well. They can, therefore, detect danger faster than a human being can sense it. The dog handler will, in turn, interpret the alert from the dog and inform the guarding unit or the alarm response unit of the danger.

With the high demand for K9 services in the security industry to supplement guarding efforts, one can select a tailored service that will be able to meet the needs of one’s property.  For example, one can sign up for patrol or guard dogs which are paired with a professional handler and are usually used at events, to guard homes and institutions, especially in high-risk areas to offer added security due to the canine’s excellent olfactory system. This is what is commonly used in most properties with the sign mbwa kali hapa!

We also have sniffer dogs that detect explosives, narcotics and any other threatening materials for domestic searches and scrutiny of vehicles, buildings and cargo at entry points of a location. We usually come across such dogs at the airports, railway stations or in areas with high traffic.

In addition, SGA Dog Section has specialized trained dogs that assist in crowd control especially in events that attract large numbers in order to promote harmony and restrict movement to certain places. For example, we can employ such dogs at presidential events or in concerts to restrict movement to certain authorized-only sections.

We are able to provide such services through proper training of our dogs. The training begins with basic obedience teaching that aims at enhancing basic commands such as “fetch”, “sit”, “down” or “stay” for a minimum of two weeks. Once this is successful, the dogs then proceed to complex training which is continuous through the years, such as defense training ideal for patrol guard dogs, sniffer training, search work and attack work.

“In my experience, the success of dog training depends with the trainer. We believe in showing unconditional love to our dogs so that they can be able to reciprocate this in training. We even reward obedient dogs for good behaviour,” remarked Clifford Brown, SGA Dog Section Manager. “It is also important to learn a dog’s strength so that we can be able to harness the best of its strength. A great sniffer dog cannot excel as a defense dog!” he added.

Apart from offering K9 services, the Dog Unit is also involved in other activities aimed at raising awareness of the importance of dogs and changing the societal perception about dogs. The team visits various schools often to enlighten children on how to take care of dogs. They also participate in the East Africa Kennel Club Dog Shows and SGA dogs are known for their excellent performance at such shows. For one and a half years, the SGA Rottweiler won the Top Test C a remarkable seven times in his career.