Ron and his dog Axle are a team

As a military dog, Axle has been trained to attack and disarm offenders - although he did struggle when it came to letting them go.

The three-year-old Belgian shepherd has just finished an intensive 12 week course at the Royal New Zealand Air Force base at Whenuapai with his handler, Taranaki man Ronald Benton.

’’Axle sometimes wouldn’t listen to me and didn’t want to let go during bite training,’’ Benton explained.

It was during the training course that Aircraftman Benton was paired with Axle, a decision that was based on how the instructors thought the pair would work together and interact.

‘‘It was great, the course was fun but it also had some real challenges,’’ Benton said.

The 25-year-old described Axle as an experienced military working dog, and said it took a few weeks for them to become a team.

‘‘It was quite difficult to form a bond with Axle at the start but I was really happy with him by the end,’’ he said.

‘‘They thought Axle’s temperament would compliment my own set of skills.’’

Benton, who grew up in Urenui, attended New Plymouth Boys’ and Waitara High Schools and has completed a Bachelor’s degree in accounting at Massey University.

‘‘About halfway through the degree I realised it wasn’t really for me, but wanted to get the qualification so I stayed on till the end,’’ he said.

‘‘It’s always there for the future if I ever need it.’’

In May 2015 he enlisted in the Air Force as an avionics mechanic but then changed again to force protection and hasn’t looked back.

‘‘I got a bit sick of all the study involved and stumbled upon force protection. Once I found out they had dog training I was keen as,’’ he said.

Both Benton and Axle were trained in obedience, agility, patrol clearances, apprehension procedures, basic canine first aid, and operating on deployment.

‘‘The dogs will cease to bite on command, but there’s a very fine line between lethal and nonlethal,’’ Benton said.

The dog’s provide security for the Air Force and other personnel in New Zealand and are also used to support overseas operations.

‘‘You are working with your dog for 8-9 hours each day, so it doesn’t take long to develop a strong bond.’’ Benton said.