[What you need to know to start your day: Get New York Today in your inbox.]

The newest tools in the New York Police Department’s counterterrorism arsenal have paws instead of buttons, they bark instead of beep and they run on treats, not electricity.

Franky, Rob, Rowland and Eddie are a new type of police dog trained to pick up the scent of a bomb hundreds of feet away and then lead their handlers to the source.

“Explosive odor-pursuit dogs,” as they are known, are asked to intercept suicide bombers and other terrorists before they reach targets like concerts, parades and sporting events.

“It gives us a little bit more reaction time,” Chief James R. Waters, the commander of the Police Department’s counterterrorism division, said. “And it gives us a bigger perimeter of safety.”