News release

Could your name “B” chosen for a potential police dog?: RCMP’s “Name the Puppy Contest” is open for submissions

March 4, 2026 - Lower Mainland District, British Columbia
From: British Columbia RCMP

Content

The 2026 “Name the Puppy Contest” officially opened for submission on February 25, 2026 and will run for one month, ending on March 26, 2026. 

RCMP Police Dog Services and the Police Dog Service Training Centre (PDSTC) in Innisfail, Alberta are looking for help from children across the country to name 13 puppies who will potentially become Police Service Dogs.

“We’re hoping for children to suggest original and creative names that these dogs can wear with pride during their career serving Canadian communities,” says Cst. Ross Findlay from Lower Mainland District Integrated Police Dog Service (LMD IPDS). “This year we’re looking for names that start with the letter ‘B’.”

Here are the contest rules:

• Names must begin with the letter "B"
• Names must have no more than 9 letters
• Names must be 1 or 2 syllables
• Contestants must live in Canada
• Contestants must be 4 to 14 years old
• Only 1 entry per child will be eligible
• Entries must be received by March 26, 2026

The children whose puppy names are selected will each receive a laminated photo of the pup they name, a plush dog named Justice and an RCMP water bottle. Although there can only be 13 winners, children may still end up naming a police dog as submitted names will still be considered for other puppies born this year. In 2025, Elisa from the Lower Mainland won the contest with her suggested name ‘Anchor’!

On March 4, 2026 BC RCMP Headquarters hosted a few new faces to the police dog training program. PSD Lucy, Cpl. Michael Jordan, PSD Kanto and Cst. Ross Findlay from LMD IPDS welcomed a few young pups to the region and spoke about the different types of training handlers, quarries and imprinters work on with their dogs. 

“From the time our puppies are eight weeks old and throughout their entire careers, training remains one of the most important parts of this job,” says Cst. Ross Findlay. “We rely on positive reinforcement; we want our dogs to enjoy what they’re doing at every stage of their development. As they grow, the time, distance, and complexity of their training and exercises increases, but it’s always designed to be engaging and fun for them.”

Quick facts

• LMD IPDS is responsible for supporting frontline policing, with police dog teams, across the region. They serve the 28 municipalities policed by the RCMP and six municipal policing partners in Surrey, Abbotsford, Delta, New Westminster, Port Moody and West Vancouver. 

• LMD IPDS is the largest Police Dog Service section in Canada and one of the largest in North America. 

Associated links

• RCMP is calling kids aged 4 to 14 years to help name our police puppies!
• Name the Puppy contest
• Backgrounder - Lower Mainland District Integrated Police Dog Service

Contacts