Police and military dogs serve critical functions in law enforcement and armed forces worldwide. Their welfare requires the same attention given to companion animals, with additional considerations for their unique working conditions.
Working dog welfare requires recognising that service and performance requirements do not override welfare obligations. Military dogs exposed to combat environments including explosives, gunfire, and casualties show stress responses including hypervigilance, separation anxiety, and fear responses that parallel human PTSD. Police dogs using force-based training methods show higher baseline stress and fear responses than those trained with reward-based methods, with no performance advantage. Retirement planning for working dogs is critical: high-drive animals trained for specific work require careful transition support and appropriate matching to retirement homes. The handler-dog relationship quality is both a welfare determinant and a performance factor, making welfare investment in working dogs rational from operational as well as ethical perspectives.