With security agencies pointing to a possible terror threat during next year's Republic Day, it has been decided to hand over a key part of the security detail to the elite K-9 unit of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police.

The K-9 includes at least 20 commandos - dogs who have specialised in detecting explosives. ITBP's ‘Operation Lovely Nose’ depends on the sharp noses of their K9 unit dogs. It is a very dependable bet for the Government of India to sniff terror before it strikes.

The dogs have been trained by a secret training module followed by the ITBP at the National Dog Training School run by the Border Security Forces. The Centre, set up in 1970, trains dogs for a number of activities - including detection of explosives and narcotics, tracking, search and rescue and patrolling.

The school is highly selective - the students only include pedigree pups of Labrador, Doberman, German Shepherd, Cocker Spaniel, and Belgian Malinois, who start training at the age of six to nine months. Over the years, more than 1,700 dogs have been trained for explosives detection.