A behind the scenes look at Canterbury's newest, fluffiest police recruits

Ever wondered how a police dog goes from a ball of fluff puppy to a frontline crime fighting machine?

Newshub found out on Wednesday. In just a couple of years, they will be part of the police frontline.

The eight specially bred German Shepherd puppies are being fostered by Canterbury Police staff. 

The fostering programme is an essential step in taking the bouncing balls of energy and transforming them into operational police dogs, that will do jobs like tracking offenders and detecting narcotics

"Dogs don't just turn up ready trained and fully equipped and good to go like human recruits," said Snr Sgt Kerei Gray, officer in charge of the Canterbury Police Dog section.

"They take a little bit of work and you're basically getting them from birth.

"It's about introducing [the] dogs to environments and getting used to people."

Trainee handler Nick Johnston has been fostering his future police dog 'Rebel' from eight weeks old - they have one more course to pass before they hit the streets.

He said being part of the foster programme has been very rewarding 

"I was very lucky to have Rebel from eight weeks old so we had that bond going up to the first course, so it is very helpful in training your dog to have that bond."

The future of the front line is looking very safe, and a little cute.