Being summoned to the minister's office can be a nerve-racking experience - but Corrections' newest recruits received a pat on the head when they arrived.
Brothers Coda, Baz and Jock were more interested in play fighting with each other than greeting Corrections Minister Louise Upston and her staff, who had eagerly anticipated their arrival.
![Corrections Minister Louise Upston with one of the trainee drug dogs. Picture / Nicholas Jones](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/HBAHWUYB4K6VEYDSNSC37QCFTI.jpg?auth=6c74b620b8e958b200a1cf9598e5b3848e1f54562af630b9f7d17ffc59e8ae18&width=16&height=12&quality=70&smart=true)
The five-month-old pointer crosses were chosen from their litter of nine to join Corrections' other 26 drug dogs, a team that sniffs out contraband in the country's prisons.
They are living full-time with their handlers Nick Rongokea (Coda), Mark Kilmister (Baz) and Mark Bourne (Jock), and if training goes well could be on the job by about their first birthday.