Suffolk police puppy Mason starts sniffer dog training

Mason may be adorable, but he is currently training to be a sniffer dog as part of the Puppy Programme for Norfolk and Suffolk Police. 

"He's currently cute, but he is going to be giant," laughed PC James Wells, manager of the puppy programme.

Mason is a cross between a Dalmatian and a spaniel (Image: PC James Wells)

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Mason is currently living with puppy walkers in Suffolk and is between 12 and 14 weeks old. 

Their training starts immediately, but it doesn't look like how you might expect.

"We just want our puppies to have a high play drive," said PC Wells. 

"Their walkers get them used to different sounds, floors and noises.

"Then, when we take them for training, we just want them to be able to find a tennis ball."

Mason is currently cute but will likely grow to be a really big dog (Image: PC James Wells)

Not all of the puppies can do this task and end up failing the training. 

At the moment it is unclear whether Mason will be trained to find explosives or drugs, cash and weapons.

"It depends on what we need at the time," explained PC Wells. 

"The fundamental ability that they should have is to be able to search for and find the ball."

Mason has visited the police constabularies, where he is very popular (Image: PC James Wells)

Mason is still very young and will be left with the puppy walker until he is around 20 weeks old. 

"He will be played with in the meantime," said PC Wells.

"They are often brought into the constabulary to play with the staff."

There are several puppies going through the training program currently, including Loki and Bruce, who are German Shepherds.