Mumbai's top dog! 'Super sleuth' Max does city proud by winning gold

Being described in superlatives is all in a dayrsquos work for Max the Mumbai policersquos fourandahalfyearold Labrador But these days he is a celebrity of sorts in the city police force after bagging a gold medal for detection at a competition in Mysore two days ago He beat 120 other canines from the paramilitary forces police and security agencies sniffing out highend explosives in quick time Currently posted with the security and protection branch Goregaon Maxrsquos day job includes protecting VVIPsA beaming MaxMaxrsquos proud trainer subinspector Vinod Balla told midday ldquoHe has mastered the technique of detecting explosives in rooms vehicles luggage at grounds and even on humans It was his high obedience skills and quick detection that won him the gold in the competitionrdquoMax with his trainers and handlers with the prizeMax who was born in Pune was bought from a private breeder and inducted into the force He has been with the Mumbai police since he was two months old For four months after that he underwent training for commands and manners Later for a yearandahalf he was sent to the dog training centre of the Maharashtra police in Pune and then recruited into the force after passing with an lsquooutstanding performance remarkrsquo in 2013Max being trainedA dogs dayAt the 60th AllIndia Police Duty Meet it wasnrsquot easy for him to defeat 120 highly trained dogs of the central security forces including the BSF CISF NSG RPF and paramilitary forces and the police of states across the country Max underwent threemonthlong power training before the competition and followed a strict diet to enhance his performanceMaxrsquos day begins at 6 am with an hourlong warmup session his handlers and trainers take him for a walk From 7 am to 730 am he runs 730 am to 830 am is obedience training including quick response to commands 830 am to 9 am is breakfast and rest time from 9 am to 11 am he undergoes sniffinganddetection training 11 am to 2 pm is rest time again and in the evening Max has a training session for detection of explosivesMax in trainingMaxrsquos diet comprises 250 ml of milk and two boiled eggs for breakfast and rice and boiled meat for lunch as well as dinner He is also given bones three times a week Not just during the day Max has also mastered the skills to detect explosives at nightA proud forceldquoHe has also been undergoing training sessions at night and is extremely good at detecting explosivesrdquo said Sandeep Patil another one of Maxrsquos trainer ldquoMax has won two medals prior to this gold ndash a silver in 2014 and a bronze in July 2016rdquoSniffing out troubleMax has been under the guidance of a team of senior police officers who frequently meet him on field on assignments DCP Vijay Singh Rathod ACP Pradeep Gosavi and inspector Anandrao Hake have been guiding Maxrsquos handler coach and trainer ldquoThere was a team of three judges and a threemember committee at the competition Max scored the best in terms of time limit which was 10 minutes for each stage of detection ndash obedience exam human search luggage search ground search vehicle search and room search where explosives were hidden and the handler only gave him commandsrdquo said BallaMaxrsquos handler Sachin Jadhav said He has proved that hersquos a real heroMax during his training sessions PicsSayyed Sameer AbediMaxs DayMaxs day begins at 6 am with an hourlong warmup session his handlers and trainers take him for a walk From 7 am to 730 am he runs 730 am to 830 am is obedience training including quick response to commands 830 am to 9 am is breakfast and rest time from 9 am to 11 am he undergoes sniffinganddetection training 11 am to 2 pm is rest time again and in the evening Max has a training session for detection of explosives