Four bloodhound puppies bounded toward a camera on the first day of training for the York County, South Carolina Sheriff’s Office K9 team.
The sheriff’s office published the video to its Facebook page, and though it appeared that the puppies were spending more time playing than training, according to the video, the pups’ skills were being evaluated.
“Handlers are looking for specific characteristics for elite tracking dogs,” the text over the video read as the puppies are seen continuing their lesson. “Drive, courage, determination, loyalty and natural instinct.”
Different aspects of the lesson are shown, including climbing up a hill, walking across some rocks and following an officer.
“So far everyone is making good grades,” the video claimed as the video showed the puppies running through a field.
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According to the American Kennel Club (AKC), police departments may have a number of different types of breeds that work on the K9 team, including bloodhounds, German shepherds and Labrador retrievers.
Some dogs are trained to do one specific task while others can do different jobs, but they all are known for their working abilities, the AKC said.
According to the AKC, police dogs may assist in suspect apprehension, search and rescue and detection.
“When it comes to criminal activity, dogs are often taught to detect various drugs, explosives, accelerants (when investigating arson) and other crime scene evidence,” the piece published with the American Kennel Club said. “The dogs are able to perform their tasks anywhere and are most commonly searching airports and border entries for explosive and illegal drugs, large events for explosives and even civilian vehicles that have been pulled over.”
And, while many dogs are born with natural instincts, it takes time for them to be trained and to develop their skills.
A piece published by dog information website Doggysaurus said it can take about four to six months for a police dog to be ready to go into the field with a police handler, though that time frame can be longer for some dogs. Puppies may be specifically trained for law enforcement and can receive this training through organizations that specialize in this training.
Many people watching the York County Sheriff’s Office’s video loved to see the puppies go through their first day of training.
“Adorable! I think all the pups passed!” wrote Facebook user Angela Allen.
Other commenters hoped to see more videos of the puppies and said the video made their day. Although training has only just begun, one asked how they can adopt a puppy in the event that it does not pass training.
Newsweek reached out to the York County Sheriff’s Office for further comment.
