SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Watch out criminals - Taz, the new RCMP dog, is on duty in Yellowknife and has the bite to back up his bark.

Cpl. Craig Matatall stands with Taz, a four-year-old police dog in Fritz Theil Park. The two joined Yellowknife's detachment on April 1. - Ian Vaydik/NNSL photo

The four-year-old German shepherd has been on the force since April 1, and will be searching for missing people, clues on crime scenes, helping apprehend criminals, and assisting the police as they search for drugs.

Taz comes from a lineage of police dogs, and was born and bred in Innisfail, Alta. He and his trainer, Cpl. John Matatall trained there and then operated out of Vancouver, and finally were assigned this year to head North. The only trouble for Taz has been adjusting to operating in the early-April snow.

Otherwise, all the training Taz has needed has just been very basic to keep him in tip-top shape, and the black canine with tan paws is chock-full of police grit, according to Matatall.

"I'm not concerned with his courage. He has proved himself on the street. I know what his capabilities are and I'm not concerned with his courage or drive," said the dog's trainer, who is also now in the Yellowknife RCMP.

Matatall is originally from Saskatchewan and has enjoyed coming back to a smaller city.

"I started my general duty policing in Saskatchewan and it's more what I know and what I like. I like the smaller detachments, it's more my lifestyle," said Matatall.

Right now a big part of Matatall's job is educating the other members on what the dog can and can't do. "Once the members are educated, the calls go up," said Matatall, speaking of the increasing role of Taz in active cases.

Another duty for Taz and Matatall has been to help train Charlie, a 14-month-old German shepherd assigned to Const. Jason Muzzerall, a dog handler in-training.

Muzzerall has been working toward this position for four years and if he gets in he'll most likely be transferred south, to British Columbia or Alberta, as there's only one position for a dog handler in the NWT, and Matatall is already on the beat.

"I'm hoping to be in soon, but it's a process," said Muzzerall.

Matatall knows this well, and says it's a long one.

"First it's five years of raising dogs and working with young dogs. You find out if you have that aptitude to work with them," he said.

Dogs like Taz are a strong breed, according to Muzzerall.

"A lot of RCMP dogs like Taz are of Czechoslovakian blood lines. They are built more square and don't have the hip problems that North American breed German shepherd, which are black and tan colour do," he said.

Matatall said the foundation to training them is ingraining in them obedience.

"These dogs have very high prey drives so it's bringing out the basic instincts and using obedience to rein them in. It's all positive reinforcement," said Matatall.

The trainer and dog have been well-received by the Yellowknife RCMP.

"All the feedback is very positive," said Matatall. "The members are excited to have a dog and haven't had an operational dog in a bit."

The Yellowknife RCMP retired their previous policing dog, another German shepherd by the name of Lasse, last year. All Matatall would say about Lasse is, "Lasse has been retired from service."

Now the paws are back on the streets, and Taz is set to sniff out crime as Yellowknife's canine sleuth.

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