This show was very big on the “awwwwww” factor as we saw how some of the country’s best – and cutest – police dogs go about their every day business of sniffing out drugs, firearms, cash and catching criminals who’re on the run. And all for the modest reward of a tennis ball to play with and a kind word from their handlers.

The dogs featured are highly trained in what they do, and as we saw last night, their special skills are invaluable; working with and for the Met police and the Greater Manchester police, the dogs – a mix of Spaniels and Alsatians – used their highly sensitive noses to direct their handlers to stashes of drugs which they otherwise would most likely never have found.

The dogs are considered officers in their own right, and happily, despite the shocking news about the death of two police dogs in a police car during the heatwave a couple of weeks ago, the handlers featured last night have as much love and respect for their dogs as the dogs do for them.

As one handler said, “If you want to see a dog handler angry, hurt his dog, if you want to see a police dog angry, hurt his owner.”

Another officer said, “You know you’re going into danger; people are carrying knives and firearms and even just grabbing whatever they can get their hands on. You have to remember she’s a tool of the trade. If it comes to an officer or a dog in a dangerous situation, it has to be the dog.”

That may sound harsh but PC Mandy Chapman, who’s been a dog handler for years, lavishes love and care on the dog she currently works with, Karly, as well as the two retired hounds who occupy a good deal of her house in their joyful retirement.

We saw several instances of the dogs at work but one of the most interesting for me was seeing two Spaniels on duty on the Underground in London. They sniffed each person coming out of the turnstiles and got very excited when they smelled a drug on the person. Search after search of these unsuspecting passengers turned up an assortment of drugs, and the dogs were never wrong.

The dogs were trained to do various things and act in different ways when they sniffed out something interesting. One dog was described as pro-active because he’d actively search for drugs while another was a passive drugs dog in that when he encountered the telltale whiff, he’d just freeze and stare at the offender or hiding place. Fabulous stuff.

PC Adele Gibson explained why she and her colleagues rotate dogs on the Undergroud; “We have two dogs and two dog handlers so we can keep the operation flowing because it’s quite intense for the dogs. If you imagine a train station is a dry warm place, constantly sniffing and they can get nasal fatigue.”

So when their nose gets tired, the dog’s sent off for a rest while another dog takes over.

We also saw one officer, PC John Lane, and his dog Paddy being trained to work with the River police on the Thames. This involved a set of trials for both dog and handler, one of which required hoisting the wide eyed Spaniel into the air in a specially designed harness.

And it was at that point that the real value of these dogs struck me; they’re so loyal and so trusting of humans that even when they have no idea why any given action is taken by those humans, they’re quite happy to undergo it, trusting implicitly that no harm will come to them.

This was a very interesting programme which you can catch up with on ITV player if you missed it, and if you like dogs, you’ll love watching them at work and at play in this show.