Original subtitles

MEL GIEDROYCI Dogs.

They love and protect us through thick and thin.

Good boy. But some are more than just pets.

Some are super dogs. Show me!

From dogs that hunt out missing people...

Come on, where is she? Where is she? ..and help our emergency services...

Help. I'm trapped. BARKING

...to those that sniff out dangerous diseases...

All right, go. Yes, good lad.

...these incredible hounds go above and beyond.

MAN: As human beings,

we do need them and rely upon them heavily.

They rescue us...

WOMAN: Without them, I wouldn't be here.

...and protect us...

MAN: One year, he helped convict three murderers.

...all while being our very best friends.

MAN: He's a one-in-a-million.

He's a once-in-a-lifetime dog.

WOMAN: Not all superheroes wear capes.

Some of them actually have four paws.

Meet the super dogs.

Coming up...

The faithful family of Newfoundlands using their aquatic skills

to keep people afloat.

Three people have said that they probably wouldn't be here today

if it wasn't for having the swim with the clogs.

Endlessly energetic Alfie... Right, on you go. Get on.

...the English cooker spaniel saving lives

in the wilds of Scotland.

Get on, then. 'We've made a couple of finds.'

It definitely shortened their ordeal for them.

And Nkosi. Good boy.

The Bavarian mountain hound

protecting endangered species on the anti-poaching front line.

If we can train a dog to track a human criminal,

why can we not train clogs to help track down poachers?

And Buddy and Merlyn,

two Border collies with an incredible bond...

The mountain rescue team were deployed,

and I was stretchered down off the hill.

...that helped save their owner's life.

Without them, I wouldn't be here.

In Scotland...

...lives Alfie.

A five-year-old working cooker spaniel

who, along with owner Richard,

plays a vital role in ensuring the safety of hill walkers.

And right now, they're in the Ochil Mountains.

With over 800 call-outs every year,

the Scottish Mountain Rescue teams are an essential emergency service

saving lives in the outdoors.

And today, little Alfie's about to play a big part

in a search for a missing walker.

Come here. 'As we're putting Alfie's coat on,

'it's like putting a ferret into a harness.

'He just will not stand still. He's really fired up.'

Come here. Right, on you go.

Get on. That's us.

Alfie's an air-scenting dog with one mission,

to pick up the scent of a human,

or any possessions which have human scent on them,

and come back and indicate.

Alfie loves open areas and being able to range about.

'He has got a phenomenal nose.

'He just loves to run and smell things out, investigate.'

Ancl if you add all these things together,

they just make a brilliant search dog.

'He's very motivated.

'His brain is going a million miles an hour.

'His legs are going a million miles an hour.'

Up here. Come on, then.

Get on, then.

Wherever Alfie leads, owner Richard closely follows.

I'm working, I'm blind,

and I'm just trusting on what he will tell me,

and I've just got to read his language.

While wind conditions are making it tricky

for Alfie to pick up human scent in the air,

he will never give up.

The weather up in this part of Scotland is very changeable.

We can get four seasons in a clay.

'But Alfie is very much an all-weather dog.

'He just really doesn't care whether it's night time, clay time,

'blowing a hoolie, you name it,

'he just wants to be out doing his job.'

But with the wind blowing the scent high into the hills,

this is not going to be an easy find.

In the heart of the capital... Bit keen this morning, aren't we?

Arson detection dog Simba

has an important role within the London Fire Brigade,

sniffing out flammable fluids

to find the cause of suspicious fires.

Having trained at fire safety college three years ago,

Simba is about to undergo his annual proficiency test

to prove he's still got the skills.

OK.

This first part tests Simba's ability

to let his handler know when there are no flammables present...

...and he nails it. Good boy, good boy.

Using their keen sense of smell,

more accurate than any scent-sniffing technology,

these furry firefighters assist with criminal investigations

into whether a fire has been started deliberately.

And super-sleuth Simba

has so far proved himself a valuable member of the team,

with an impressive record for putting criminals behind bars.

One year, he helped convict three murderers,

and they all received in excess of 30 years minimum, life sentence.

Simba was able to identify that litres of petrol had been used.

Without these dogs,

the perpetrators of these heinous crimes

would be getting away with it.

With such an important role,

Simba needs the go-ahead to stay on the team.

It's time for handler Anton to kick it up a notch.

What we do is exchange one of these tins

for a tin with an ignitable liquid in it.

Simba, go find it.

But this time, Simba falls short because he's knocked over the tin...

Right, you naughty boy.

...which could compromise vital evidence out in the field.

To get the green light to return to the front line,

he must identify the tin, but not disturb it.

In Lancashire,

Buddy and Merlyn are two Border collies

who look like peas in a pod,

but are not actually related.

That doesn't stop them having an incredible bond

and sharing a love of running with owner Pita.

The minute Buddy and Merlyn met each other,

they just ran around the house doing zoomies together,

and we knew that they belonged together, as a pair of brothers.

Their bond with each other is quite astounding.

That bond extends to a love of the local Lancashire area.

Both Buddy and Merlyn love, particularly,

to be out on the hills.

They're obviously capable of running faster than I can,

so I very often get dragged,

and it can be a bit like a ride at Blackpool funfair.

You know, you've got to have your wits about you.

As Pita discovered to her horror

when she took her boys out after a heavy storm.

The weather window changed to beautiful, clear, blue skies.

It was incredibly windy,

as Storm Gareth had been battering the country for quite a few clays.

DOG WHINES Stop chewing it. Stop chewing it.

'But it was too nice of an opportunity

'to not get out the door...

'..and get onto the hill with the boys.'

So, I arrive at White Coppice, and I didn't realise

that I had dropped my phone into the foot well of the van.

It's an oversight with serious consequences.

'I had got the boys ready. Their harnesses were on.

'Ancl whenever we arrive at our running spot,

'they are beyond giddy,

'too excited for their own little legs.'

So, they set off at a massive pace, and they're just playing,

they're just chasing each other, and just having the best time.

I'm about a mile away from where I've parked up,

and there's nobody about.

There's absolutely no other human beings about

because of the mad-crazy wind.

Enjoying the views and solitude,

Pita couldn't know that her dog walk

was about to leave her fearing for her life.

Buddy and Merlyn are quite big clogs,

weighing 25 kilograms each.

They crash into the side of me.

BARKING AND WHINING

Ancl that's quite a force for anybody.

I just fell to the ground immediately,

and both clogs were very quickly turning around

and knew something serious had happened.

I tried to stand up and just collapsed.

This was serious.

I was worried straight away

because I knew that I was losing the light.

I was in the middle of the moors, on my own, without a soul about.

I knew that I wasn't gonna be found

because the wind was really, really lively,

and it was cold.

Worse was to come as darkness fell,

and Pita realised she had a broken leg.

Even more heartbreaking,

her beloved Merlyn was nowhere to be found.

Coming up, we meet gentle giant German shepherd Kodey,

the canine search and rescue dog on the hunt for a missing person.

MAN: It's a hot sunny day. The scent can be just burnt away.

What do we do? What do we do?

Simba gets kitted up to prove his firefighting credentials.

ANTON: When they're going on,

he knows that it could be some work ahead.

And collies Merlyn and Buddy work together

to raise the alarm about their injured owner.

PITA: The mountain rescue team were deployed,

and I was stretchered down off the hill.

MEL GIEDROYC: In Lancashire,

fell runner Pita was in serious trouble.

She'd taken dogs Merlyn and Buddy out for a run

at the tail end of a storm.

The unthinkable had happened, and she'd fallen on the fell side.

DOGS WHINE Badly injured, and unable to stand,

she was lost and alone on the moors,

and at risk of hypothermia or worse.

And to add to her woes, beloved dog Merlyn had disappeared.

Ancl that was making me really anxious,

but Buddy didn't seem to be bothered,

which was unusual because Buddy would normally be bothered

if Merlyn wasn't by his side.

It seems best friend Buddy had more pressing matters on his mind.

Buddy staying by my side

helped to keep me focused on what I needed to do.

He was repeatedly licking my face. It made me quite cross, actually.

Looking back, it was his way of comforting

and confirming that he was there, and he was gonna look after me.

Meanwhile, Merlyn, far from being lost,

was a canny canine doing all he could

to attract attention and save his owner.

Merlyn had run down to the bottom of the fell side

and had gone back onto the path,

and he was trying to stop people who were using the path

by lying down in front of them, and sitting in front of them.

And then Buddy started barking uncontrollably.

It turned out he was barking at Merlyn who was nearby.

He'd managed to alert a dog-walker and led him back to Pita.

Her nightmare was over,

and the emergency services were scrambled.

The Mountain Rescue team were deployed.

Ancl I think, from memory,

there will have been about 15 or 16 within that team that arrived.

Move forward.

Ancl I was stretchered down off the hill. Move forward.

Pita's moor-side misadventure resulted in a broken femur

and a shattered kneecap requiring surgery,

plus a long stay in hospital,

but she survived because of her savvy hounds.

I'm incredibly grateful to Buddy and Merlyn.

If they hadn't responded and behaved in the way that they did that night,

I know I wouldn't be here.

It felt like they were tag-teaming

and one knew exactly what the other was doing,

even though I had no idea what was going on.

They're too clever for their own good, really.

From dogs rescuing their human sidekicks,

to dogs destined to save endangered animals from harm.

In south-west Wales... Good boy.

...deep in the countryside... Up, up, up, up, up, up.

...meet one-year-old Bavarian mountain hound Nkosi...

Clever boy!

...pride and joy of trainers Darren andjacqui.

Nkosi is a human-scent-tracking dog.

'He's so full of himself.

'No challenge is ever too small for him.'

'He's absolutely fantastic, and we love him to bits.'

This headstrong hound is honing his snout

for a far-reaching mission,

buddying up with front line rangers in sub-Saharan Africa

to protect the world's most endangered animals.

'He will help locate and then follow

'any human scent trails that have been left by a poacher

'that's incurred into a wildlife reserve.

'A huge game-changer in the fight against wildlife crime.'

Ancl what better thing is there

than clogs actually helping to protect endangered species?

With decades of experience

in animal behaviour and training between them,

Jacqui and Darren's love of all animals

saw them expand into training for anti-poaching,

and they hand-picked Nkosi for the job at just 14 weeks old.

'He actually stood out straight away because of his inquisitiveness,

'his confidence, his balance.

'Even at such a young age,

'he was already into absolutely everything with his nose.'

And Nkosi is definitely in the right place,

as Darren andjacqui are elite trainers,

teaching and sending dogs all over the globe

to hunt down poachers.

We've been training clogs for about the last 15 years,

so we've trained a lot of operational police clogs

for this country and abroad.

If we can train a dog to track a human criminal in the UK,

why can we not train clogs to help track down poachers?

Bound for South Africa for his animal-saving assignment,

Nkosi's destined to follow in the paw prints

of some super-pooches.

We've got 15 clogs across five different African countries.

They can operate at night,

when rangers struggle to visually track poachers.

They have the ability to detect odours

that we couldn't even comprehend.

It's a great distance these clogs are capable of tracking,

we're talking anywhere up to about 20 kilometres,

and around 70 to 75% reduction in all poaching types

on a reserve where these clogs are deployed.

But first,

Nkosi will prove his mettle to a top anti-poaching ranger

at the forefront of wildlife conservation in Zimbabwe.

Tinashe Chandiwana wants to see Nkosi's skills.

TINASHE: The dogs, they are adding a valuable element

that we don't have as human beings.

They don't use their eyes, they use nose.

Tinashe will watch Nkosi on a tracking exercise

and check he's ready for the field.

We want him to understand that following human scent

that's been left on the ground is very, very rewarding for him.

The dog's got a purpose. It's got a job.

That's their fun. They absolutely love this.

This is all about rewarding the dog. Come on, boy. Come on.

To succeed on the conservation front line,

Nkosi needs to show he can turn his love of play

into a passion for poachers.

Back in Scotland... BARKING

Where is it? Where is it?

...Alfie and Richard are the ultimate search buddies,

volunteering to track down people in difficulty,

like hill walkers and climbers.

And right now, five-year-old Alfie's hunting out a missing walker.

But when he's not combing the hills, he's a typical family pet.

Alfie's the sweetest dog you'll ever meet.

He's an absolute pocket rocket.

What he lacks in physical size,

he more than makes up for with his commitment and his heart.

Yeah, good lad. 'He's just so full of life.

'He's the happiest soul you'll ever meet.'

When Richard got Alfie as a pup,

he scampered straight to the top of the pecking order.

Alfie rules this gaff. He's top dog.

There's no doubt Alfie's the boss.

He is just a live wire. He never sits still.

He just loves running about,

sniffing things out and playing games.

Where's the ball? Where's the ball?

And Richard quickly got to work harnessing Alfie's energy

into a very special superpower.

Alfie's a dog that needs a lot of stimulation.

I think if Alfie had just remained as a pet

he would have been a nightmare,

and we needed some kind of outlet for that energy.

Ancl as a member of the local mountain rescue team,

I was aware of what the search clogs did,

and I thought we'd see

if this is something that Alfie would be good at.

And, yeah, the rest's history.

Alfie has absolutely proved to be an asset to the rescue team,

and he's invaluable right now, scouring a vast hillside

looking for a walker who could be lost.

Up here. All of a sudden, Alfie veers sharply off the track.

'Alfie's disappeared up the hill here, in front of me.

'I don't know whether he's started to pick up

'a little bit of scent cone,

'but he's certainly shown a lot of interest,

'so he's getting quite motivated there.

'I am pushing Alfie up into the whin bushes there

'because there's quite a lot of cover

'and it's harder for the scent to blow around.

'So I'm just gonna let him explore himself,

'see what he comes back with.'

When Alfie returns, he has nothing to report.

But then he bolts uphill, clearly latching onto a scent.

'He's now starting to stretch out on the road in front of me.

'He's getting quite a lead on me,

'which is telling me there's something of interest.'

Seconds later, Alfie jets out to an exposed, rocky outcrop...

BELLS JANGLE

...and signals his find to Richard.

ALFIE BARKS 'When Alfie finds a casualty,

'he'll shuttle back ancl forward as many times as necessary

'between the two of us, until he literally drags me in.'

Come on, where is she? Where is she? Come on.

'A fantastic thing,

'when you see the clogs doing that on a hillside.'

But today's lost walker is actually Richard's daughter, Ailish,

hiding so the team can ensure Alfie's searching skills

are primed and ready for when poor weather conditions

can mean more lost hikers.

ALFIE BARKS We've made a couple of finds

in the two years that I've been qualified,

both lone walkers who were very relieved

to be found at night in poor conditions.

It definitely shortened their ordeal for them.

And Alfie's hard-earned reward - a game of tug.

'We'll have a good tug to get some of that energy out,

'and it really builds that bond.

'Builds his strength, builds the game,

'and it motivates him that little bit more.'

Ancl when he gets it, he's just the happiest dog in the world.

Now Alfie's standing by until the next time,

always at the ready to seek out lost and injured souls

in wild and remote places.

Alfie is just a happy wee soul that loves playing.

We've found a perfect job for him. Alfie IS a super dog.

He's a one-in-a-million. He's a once-in-a-lifetime dog.

Back with London Fire Brigade,

veteran arson hunter Simba is tackling a licensing test.

To stay on active duty,

he must correctly identify the can containing a flammable,

but, crucially, not knock it over,

as doing so could destroy vital criminal evidence.

Right, good boy.

Adopted by Anton six years ago,

when he's not catching criminals, Simba rules the roost.

He's a great member of the family.

At home, I'm now my wife's second favourite man.

It's just how it is,

and he has got a huge amount of energy.

Good boy.

'So everything he does is 100%.'

He's either bouncing off walls or asleep, and not much in between.

Right now, this zippy sidekick has one last shot at cracking the case.

OK. Will he ID the can containing the flammables?

He's had one go and failed.

He needs to turn it around to stay in the brigade.

WHINES

Good boy.

And Simba nails it,

punching his ticket back to duty.

'It's a very niche role,

'Simba works really, really well because it's fun.

'It's a game.

'He gets the ball as a reward,

'but I give him praise for finding it, so it's always happy.'

Simba's tail, when he's searching,

that's when it's wagging the fastest.

'That's the fun.'

And as Simba stands by for his next criminal catching mission...

He's so intelligent that if he learns to drive, I'm out of a job.

...the next generation of arson hunters is rising up the ranks.

Also suited and fire booted for her role,

meet two-year-old cooker spaniel, Smokey...

Smokey's still very much at the start of her journey, really.

I've been privileged enough just to really see her grow.

...who has big paws to follow...

OK.

Hopefully, she'll search this area pretty much on her own.

Good girl, find it.

...if she's to prove...

HE WHISTLES Here, come on.

...she can make the cut on the team.

Coming UP.

the friendly bunch of Newfoundland super dogs...

They're an incredible dog for emotional support.

...helping people with their mental health...

Extraordinary ability to understand people.

...Kodey, the German shepherd tracking down a missing person...

The person travels up a track.

If the wind is blowing in that direction,

it'll blow their scent down that track,

and then there's no trail to follow.

...and Smokey the novice arson investigator gets to work.

When we first started training her, she was very, very timid,

just overwhelmed by everything.

MEL GIEDROYC: In Leicestershire, live five huge hounds

who love nothing more than a snooze in a sunny spot.

First up... MAN: We've got Sonar.

He's just turned nine.

Next is... Storm.

Also nine.

Then we have Walker, and he follows us around

and just stands there as a pat dog, absolutely brilliant.

Then we've got Bob. Five, going on six.

He is so placid. He's everybody's Newfoundland.

Incredible dog. Ancl then we have Ralph.

Nineteen months old, big monster, full-on nut case

that sort of just runs up and down like a complete idiot.

They're very stubborn.

They've got their own mindset

or can be very difficult to train.

But when they are trained, these bear-like balls of fluff

have a very special superpower.

They are magnificent in water.

Around the world, the Newfoundland has built a reputation

for dramatic water rescues.

From jumping off boats and leaping out of helicopters,

their webbed feet and buoyancy aid of a coat

means they're perfectly built to pull people from the water.

These salty sea dogs,

first bred in Newfoundland, Canada, as working dogs for fishermen,

can retrieve up to ten people at once.

Pete's a paramedic, and today, led by veterans Storm and Sonar,

his pooches are taking his colleagues

from the ambulance service on a therapeutic open-water swim.

It'll help them process stress and trauma,

and like the brave people they'll be supporting,

these caring canines can't wait to get in the water.

Being a paramedic,

I could see a use for these clogs because these clogs are so capable.

We take military veterans,

emergency service staff, children,

people with anxiety, depression,

swimming in open water with the clogs.

Open-water swimming is thought to help with mental health issues,

and Pete's powerful pooches are getting ready

for a very important day out -

a special swim for first responders

who spend their days working on the front line.

Sort the buoyancy aids out, then?

And by that, he means these incredible dogs.

While some dogs will plunge into water for dramatic rescues,

others are fighting fire with fire.

At London Fire Brigade's fire investigation unit...

...rookie detective dog Smokey

is mid-examination with handler Darren...

Good girl, find it.

...tracking down a hidden glove.

Ancl this is quite realistic

to things that we would find in the real world.

Maybe the person that's carried out the arson attack

has disposed of a glove somewhere.

But just a year into her training...

Here, come on.

...Smokey's struggling to lock in the scent.

When we first started training her,

she was thrown straight into this kind of fire station environment.

She was very, very timid, just overwhelmed by everything.

Ancl we start off just playing with the ball,

getting that play drive, introduce the hide-and-seek game

and then develop it from there, introducing the scents.

Whether she's on the job training to sniff out arsonists or at home...

...Smokey is a ball of energy.

Everybody finds her a really adorable dog.

She loves a cuddle.

She really likes engaging with people.

Straight away, it breaks down those barriers.

And in Darren's testing arena, Smokey's finally onto something.

So, you can see she's picking up scent at the moment.

Ancl she's just trying to work out where it is.

And seconds later... Good dog, show, where is it?

...bingo.

But when it comes to keeping the evidence intact...

Ah, ah, ah, no!

Oh!

...little Smokey has a thing or two to learn.

She will sometimes find the things like gloves

and see it as a bit of a toy,

which obviously isn't ideally what we want.

But a lot of that comes from that puppy-ness that's still in her,

and it's really exciting.

It's just, "I wanna play. I want to get that reward."

So hopefully, in the end, we can try and train that out of her.

And when we're out in the real world, that won't happen.

Today, super-sleuth Smokey has proved her mettle...

Good girl.

...making a hot detective duo with partner-in-crime Simba.

The times we do actually go out

and find what can be some really vital evidence

in some of the investigations,

it's really, really rewarding,

and it makes the whole thing worthwhile.

Over in rural Wales,

Nkosi, the trainee anti-poaching pooch

destined for a South African game reserve

is being put through his paces

with Zimbabwean head anti-poaching ranger, Tinashe.

He's flown from Zimbabwe to see whether Nkosi's ready

to sniff out Africa's poachers,

so this is a critical day for the dog.

Owner Darren is laying out a track for Nkosi to follow.

The first thing we do is just scuff the ground a little bit.

That builds up that ground disturbance.

Every step I take, I'm dropping scent molecules, skin cells.

I crush some vegetation,

that releases pheromones and chemicals,

and that just aids his understanding of following human scent.

Poachers are notoriously good at concealing themselves,

but what they can't do is conceal the odour that they're releasing

all of the time, which the dog nose picks up on.

Tinashe sets Nkosi off,

while Darren conceals himself in the long grass.

TI NASH E, SOFTLY: Go.

Dogs have over 300 million scent receptors in their noses,

so Nkosi is using all his

as he focuses on following the smell of Darren's footsteps,

just as he would when tracking a poacher in Africa.

Until he runs down Darren.

Hey, good boy, yeah!

LAUGHS You got me, buddy.

Hey, where is it? Where is it?

Nkosi's passed the test with flying colours.

'When he does find me...' Good boy.

..|'ll have a big game with him with his toy,

just to give him a really big reward

for the work and effort that he's put in during the track.

Good boy. That's my boy. Good boy.

Yes! Good boy.

We've watched him develop, we've watched him grow.

We've seen that he hasn't been phased by anything.

So, we just wanna test what his courage is like

before we deploy him to Africa.

So it's time for him to face his greatest challenge yet,

a trip to the zoo.

Meanwhile, in the Kent countryside...

Let's go, Kodey, come. Come.

...six-year-old gentle giant German shepherd Kodey...

...adopted for his strength and good nose by owner Gary,

Kodey is about to be put to the test.

Kodey has a calm and confident character,

key to his very special superpower -

a trailing dog,

sniffing out vulnerable people for Kent Search and Rescue.

'A trailing dog is taught how to take one person's scent,

'and that's the only scent he's locked on to.

'I want him to be the first trailing dog in the unit.

'I had to ask the unit,

'and they said, "Yep, let's try it out."

'I wish I could smell like a dog, but, you know...'

After four years of intense training...

...Kodey is yet to qualify.

'|'m working on trying to get him in there,

'but it's that finer part of him,

'understanding how far you can push them,

'and you have to learn that.'

Today, Kodey faces a make-or-break search...

CHATTER OVER RADIO

...to see if he's ready to take his exams

and be officially deployed to find missing people across Kent.

MAN: Stuart, are you going out with Gary?

MAN RADIO: 'I'm receiving, go ahead.'

...tasked to locate a missing man in his 60s.

'Over.'

Kodey's every move is being watched by search manager Stuart Kenny.

A person's gone missing from this location.

This is their car, which was parked up last night.

It's not moved since.

Gary's managed to get a scent swab of the person

from the seat or the steering wheel.

'Give him the scent. He has a good sniff of it.

'He's got a big old nose, as we can see.

'Once he's picked up on the person's scent,

'he will then sit down

'to tell me that, "Yeah, I've got the scent, Dad.

' "Let's go for it." ' Go find it.

'Ancl off we go.'

The missing man could have wandered anywhere

in this 50-acre area, covered by woodland, roads and open fields.

And it's up to Kodey to sniff him out as quickly as possible.

'Humans drop thousands and thousands of scent.

'All the scent would cling onto all the vegetation,

'and he'll be able to pick that up.'

Kodey starts confidently,

pulling firmly on the line to tell handler Gary he's on to something.

'He's saying, "That's the scent you asked me to look for.

' "|'m telling you it's there, and I'm going to follow it." '

But all of a sudden, there's a problem.

Kodey has come to a crossroads.

'Now, when he gets to a junction,

'it's not just a straight forward which way did the missing person go?

'Did they go left, straight on, right or whatever?'

And he'll have to use every ounce of his sniffing superpower

to work out which way the missing man went.

'If the dog loses the trail, it loses the trail.'

With this search and rescue hanging in the balance,

will Kodey be able to find his way?

'It's a hot sunny clay.

'The scent can be just burnt away. What would we do? What do we do?'

Coming up, the shaggy super swimmers pulling people back to safety.

When I initially arrived,

my personal mental health was at its probable lowest point.

And it's make or break for search-and-rescue hero, Kodey...

He's negated that junction.

...racing to catch human scent on the wind.

He's gone part way up that junction and said no.

MEL GIEDROYC: Back in the Welsh countryside,

it's a crucial morning for novice anti-poaching sniffer pup, Nkosi...

It's gonna be a big clay.

...who's gearing up to come snout to snout

with some unfamiliar beasts.

I think one of the challenges we faced

was the fact that we couldn't recreate Africa here.

'So we will take him to a zoo,

'get him now used to the sights, sounds of Africa.'

And teach him to be really calm, cool and collected

in the presence of large animals,

to make sure that dog is absolutely the dog that we want

when it goes over to Africa.

Today, Nkosi is under the watchful eye of Tinashe,

a head anti-poaching ranger from Zimbabwe.

So Nkosi's out to prove he's primed and ready

to protect wildlife in South Africa.

Good boy.

First stop - the zebras.

Good boy, yes.

Hunted across Africa for their striking skins and meat,

Nkosi needs to show he's at ease alongside these beautiful creatures.

Good boy, wait.

What are they, can you smell them? Good boy.

Nailing the brief, it's on to the honey badger -

one of Africa's most ferocious animals,

known to attack lions and buffalo despite its small size.

Who's that? What is it?

I bet he stinks. What is it? What is it, buddy?

NKOSI BARKS Whoa, OK.

And Nkosi's not sure what to make of it.

You're supposed to be friends with the honey badger.

Come on, hup UP, hUP "P-

Good boy. That's nice, yeah.

After a quick reset, Nkosi gets another shot.

Good boy. That's better.

And this time, Nkosi hits the mark.

Good boy. Go on, then.

But his biggest test is facing some of the big five game animals -

among the most endangered creatures in the world.

Kicking off with some greedy giraffes.

Sit, good boy. Steady.

Whoa, whoa, you are strong, my friend.

You almost took me off my feet then. Huh?

Nice, yes. Good boy, nice.

Nkosi appears unflappable,

and he's even having a calming effect on his monkey mates.

Oh, here we go.

Rosie.

It's really good for the animals at the zoo

because it's a different environmental stimulation.

Enrichment, isn't it? Ancl it's enrichment for them.

You know, the monkeys, whichever zoo we go to,

are always over the moon cos it's something different. Yeah.

Good boy. That's perfect. She's pretty.

Beautiful, you are.

You're doing great.

Look at him, he's not even fazed by this at all. Nice, calm, happy.

For Nkosi's last hurdle,

Tinashe wants to see how he fares nose to nose

with some of Africa's bulkiest beasts - the rhinos.

I think Nkosi has been absolutely amazing.

Super calm, really HAPPY,

even with them playing in the background.

It's fantastic.

Ancl considering there's babies there,

the rhino are really quite calm.

This is what it's all about, protecting wildlife.

Today, Nkosi has exceeded expectations,

and Tinashe is confident he's primed and ready to protect wildlife

on the conservation front line.

I'm happy for what I've seen today

because this is the foundation of the dog in different things

which they are going to see when they come to Africa.

He was calm and all controlled,

and to my own perspective,

he has learnt a lot from the animals.

Definitely, he's going to add a huge element to the team,

absolutely fantastic.

Nkosi is officially ready for action in South Africa

as a fully fledged anti-poaching patrol dog.

We put blood, sweat and tears into these dogs,

and we're very, very proud.

I'm sure there's gonna be a few tears around from me when he leaves.

Not all superheroes wear capes,

some of them actually have four paws,

saving the world's endangered species.

In the Kent countryside,

Kodey the German shepherd trailing dog in training

is facing the ultimate test

before his search-and-rescue exams...

Go find it.

...tracking down a missing man in his 60s.

Go on. Go on, off you go. Go on.

But at a crossroads, he's struggling to pick up their scent.

If the person travels up a track,

if the wind is blowing in that direction,

it will blow their scent down the track,

and then there's no trail to follow.

Right, so I think he's negated that junction.

The dog's saying nothing to that junction,

has gone part way up that junction and said no.

There's a car vehicle gate, and there's a person gate,

so did the person jump the gate or walk through?

All of a sudden,

Kodey makes a bee line for the pedestrian gate.

Little bit of hunting.

But there's a trap.

Team member Rod is standing by to distract Kodey from his scent trail.

This would just represent any number of members of the public.

I'm expecting the dog to just entirely ignore him

because that's not the scent he's been asked to find.

He's got to find the scent that I give him.

'If anybody else came within the vicinity, he would ignore that.'

Ancl he's just going straight past Rod cos Rod's not the target.

Laser focused, Kodey picks up the pace.

Ah, strong pull again now.

Right, now there's an indication the dog's picking up scent in the air.

Kodey heads towards a person on a bench,

but to successfully wrap up his search,

he must clearly indicate to handler Gary

that this is the scent he's been tracking.

The dog will arrive at our missing person

and sit down by them,

telling Gary this is the person he's looking for.

And he does it... That's a good boy.

Good boy.

...fulfilling his mission in just 15 minutes flat.

When you've been training for so long and he gets it right,

it's like, "Yes!"

'His reward is the cream cheese.

'Tubs and tubs, if he could eat it. He just loves it.'

With a successful find under his collar,

it won't be long before Kodey officially reports for duty

as a fully fledged searching superstar.

'I am very proud of Kodey.

'When he does qualify and we're out there and I do find,

'I'll be over the moon, really.'

So, be ready, guys.

Not much more you could actually ask him to do,

apart from make me a cup of tea.

In Leicestershire,

Newfoundlands Storm

and Sonar offer a vital service,

accompanying people with mental health issues

on open-water swims.

And today, they're swimming to support owner Pete's colleagues

from the emergency services.

When people come for a swim,

we're taking people away from everyday sort of life

that gives them problems

and putting it all into the water and just having a great time.

And the dogs take the lake like, well, Newfoundlands to water.

It's such an amazing feeling, so just take it all in.

And so innate is his water rescue instinct,

Storm swims straight to Pete to try and bring him back to shore.

They don't doggy paddle, they do like a breaststroke,

all legs working independently.

'The great big tail that they have, that can be used as a rudder.'

It's a bit like watching the swans -

so gracious on top,

but there's a lot of work going off underneath.

Come on. There's a good lad. Forward.

'They're an incredible dog for emotional support,

'extraordinary ability to understand people.

'The clogs have empathy for the people that are struggling.'

And as if to prove it,

Storm heads back to assist the other swimmers

to tow them back to shore,

allowing their worries to gently float away.

It's not just the clogs, it's not just the water, it's everything -

being weightless, the peace and quiet of it all.

Their simple actions have a profound effect.

When I initially arrived, my personal mental health

was at its probably lowest point.

'But once I got here, my word, the smile didn't disappear.

'|'m a huge water fan. I'm a huge dog fan.'

Put those together in nature,

I'm getting goose bumps now.

'It's... It's just euphoric.'

I suffered with depression and anxiety a few years ago.

'I know if I'm getting low,

'I just need to see the dogs or get into the water with them.'

It lowers the blood pressure. SHE CHUCKLES

'Yeah, it calms you down

'because they know when they need to cuddle you,

'when you need that bit of a lift.

'It's just fantastic.'

And for some, quality time with these calming canines

can mean the difference between life and death.

'Three people have said that they probably wouldn't be here today

'if it wasn't for having the swim with the clogs.

'This lady came the other week.'

Afterwards, she says, "Right, I'm gonna tell you a story.

"I was gonna take an overdose.

"And then when we got into the water and you swam out with me,"

she said, "Being in the water was like a... a weight being lifted."

Boris, at the time, swam out.

She says, "His eyes looked into my soul."

He weren't judging.

He weren't condemning her actions.

All he wanted to do...

...take her back to shore.

It's love and loyalty and everything that they give you.

They're very special.