China’s first police corgi will do anything for food.
With a keen sense of smell and legs that seem too short for his body, Fu Zai has won a huge social media audience that has followed him doing official duties since he started as a sniffer dog last fall. He was a pet puppy when a dog trainer spotted his potential at a park and recruited him to the Weifeng Public Security Bureau, in the northern coastal province of Shandong.
A love of earning treats as rewards has earned Fu Zai strong performance reviews. But it’s also proved a challenge, as his trainer has found that keeping him in line is not easy.
Fu Zai chases a ball under a vehicle as part of his training to maneuver tight spaces.CreditCredit…Fuzaixundaoyuan via Douyin
Fu Zai was caught on camera recently grabbing a bite of a sausage in a child’s hand during a street patrol. Officers have since tried to train him to better resist food, but many social media users offered support — and free sausages — for Fu Zai the next time he patrolled the streets.
In another video, some of the corgi’s toys and snacks — part of a Lunar New Year “bonus”— were confiscated for sleeping on the job and using his dog bowl as a urinal.
Dog experts said that such behavior is normal for corgis.
“That’s why they’re challenging, too, because they get distracted pretty easily. And they also have a lot of prey drive, so if there’s anything that moves really quickly, they want to go and investigate,” said Leonardo Palacio, the owner of Real Focus K9, a dog training school in Stamford, Conn., that specializes in training dogs with behavioral challenges.