Premier Support Services manages in-house dog handling teams as part of our security services in Birmingham, operating from Bromley Street in Digbeth. Canine units can be layered alongside an existing guarding, CCTV monitoring or patrol contract, or booked as a standalone deployment.

In each unit, a security handler works with a trained dog, patrolling a fixed or randomised route around a site. The handler reads the dog’s responses to scent and sound, which can pick up an approach or incident earlier than sight alone allows, especially across open ground or after dark.

Once the dog alerts, the handler assesses the situation and decides how to respond.

Where a trespasser is found on site, the unit can track and hold the individual at a safe distance until police arrive, which extends a site’s cover beyond what camera monitoring alone provides.

Dog handling and canine unit cover is scoped to sector and site at survey stage, and is used across:

• Construction sites
• Industrial and manufacturing
• Warehousing, logistics and distribution
• Retail parks
• Commercial property
• Corporate sites and events
• Education
• Farms and rural sites
• Utilities and critical infrastructure
• Public sector

 

Dog handling sits alongside the wider security services covering Birmingham, including guarding, CCTV monitoring and asset protection.

Dog handling is often more cost-effective when deploying multiple guards, since one canine unit covers more ground than an officer alone. The visibility of this service makes it an effective deterrent, with a marked canine (K9) unit van parked in a visible location on the site.

Using security dogs also provides faster detection and response than static cameras, particularly on large or low-visibility sites.

As with all Premier Support Services security personnel, dog handlers hold a current SIA licence and are screened to BS7858, the British Standard covering identity verification, right-to-work checks and a five-year employment history. Handlers also hold NASDU qualifications from the National Association of Security Dog Users.

Dogs used for patrol and detection work are typically drawn from breeds suited to the task, such as German Shepherds, Belgian Malinois and Dutch Shepherds for patrol work, and spaniels or Labradors for detection work.

Dog handling in the UK sits within the framework of the Guard Dogs Act 1975 and the BS 8517-1:2016 code of practice for the use of dogs in security work, and we follow industry standard character-testing, welfare checks and continuous training for the working animals.

Cost is set at survey stage rather than as a published rate. It depends on the number of units required, the shift pattern and hours covered, site size, and the risk profile identified at survey. A short-notice or single-event booking is priced differently from an ongoing contract, for example.

A dog unit can cover more ground than an officer alone, so fewer personnel may be needed for the same coverage; sites weigh this alongside the value of a stronger deterrent. A written, itemised quotation follows a site survey.