New Delhi: Country's top leaders have been recently accused of exhausting elite explosive sniffer dogs responsible for VVIP security, following which Special Protection Group (SPG) has asked all forces to give required rest to all the four-legged soldiers.

According to a letter accessed by MyNation, the SPG has asked all VVIP dog squads to give at least 10 minutes’ rest to all dogs after every 30 minutes. Also, the maximum time the sniffer dogs can be engaged should not exceed more than 2 hours.

Keeping the upcoming Lok Sabha elections in mind, SPG gave a list of do's and don’ts for these dogs so that their performance does get hampered in the coming months.

It was recently found that some forces were making the dogs do too much exercises, which was not only affecting their sniffing sense but was also hampering their wellbeing.

To maintain a good performance level, these canines need rest and relief during duty hours. This is because dogs can remain very alert and active only for an hour depending upon the environmental condition and after that physical fatigue starts to hamper concentration.

"In one case, it was noticed that dogs deployed for sensitisation of an area ahead of a political rally were looking completely exhausted. Their handlers were asked not to use the dogs and give proper rest to them for better results," a senior SPG official told MyNation.

The SPG also asked VVIP dog squads to ensure that their dogs are of optimum weight, which is approximately 30 Kgs for Labradors and Alsatians.

Dog handlers were also asked to not allow the general public to pat or feed the dogs deployed on duty as it might distract them.