Tauranga police dog to star on TV tonight

Derek Orchard with dog Turk. Photo/supplied

A former Tauranga cop and dog will feature on the television programme Dog Squad tonight.

Dog Squad is a New Zealand reality TV show in its sixth season in which man's best friend keeps troublemakers on a short leash.

Senior Constable Derek Orchard and his german shepherd, Turk, took part in the filming in December, 2013 - tonight's episode shows a busy night for the team.

The pair tracked down a burglar and then sniffed out a group of teenagers who were firing laser guns in the Papamoa sand hills.

Mr Orchard said the "bad guys" came out to play at night and dog handlers often found themselves running into dangerous situations while everyone else was running out.

"You're chasing people. You don't chase people normally. It's against the human instinct. They are potentially armed."

Not only did they face dangerous situations, the job also took its toll on the body, Mr Orchard said.

"You jump over a fence with a dog pulling you and you don't know what's on the other side.

It might be six feet on one side and 12 feet on the other. It's very hard on your body physically."

The show will air tonight on TV One at 7.30pm.