Toronto's newest police dog helped make an arrest in his first week on the job.

Kobe, a two-year-old sable-coloured German shepherd, was on a training shift with his handler, Const. Prash Indiran, when his services were called upon by fellow officers.

The pair first met back in February, after trainers matched Indiran with Kobe based on their respective personalities. Soon after that began the demanding four-month training program that Toronto Police Service canines must complete before hitting the street.

Indiran said the training process was challenging, but Kobe picked up the necessary skills, like tracking and area searches, in good time.

"There are always growing pains. I'm sure for him as well — I'm not perfect either ... But we got through it, and it was always more ups than downs," he said in an interview with CBC Radio's Metro Morning on Friday.

Kobe is a general purpose police dog, meaning that he will follow "the freshest human scent" in any given space. Other police dogs have different areas of expertise, such as detecting narcotics, explosives, firearms and cadavers, while some are trained specifically for urban search-and-rescue operations.

According to Indiran, Kobe's attitude noticeably changes when he goes from downtown to being on shift.

"Where our station is located, he knows the road we drive on. So as soon as we hit the road, he kind of perks up and he knows that we are at work at that point," he explained.

Kobe was tested during his first week on the job, his handler said, helping officers to arrest a suspect. (Paul Smith/CBC)

"And he acts differently at home than he does at work. He's just more playful at home, but he does understand that when he's at work, he's at work."

Toronto's police dogs recently got a little safer while on the job. Last year, an anonymous donor paid for customized armoured vests for each of the force's dogs, at a cost of $22,000. The move came after a service dog was seriously injured by a machete-wielding suspect during an arrest in 2016.

If all goes well for the duo, Indiran and Kobe will be on the road together until Kobe's about nine or 10 years old. Upon retirement, each dog's handler is usually given the chance to personally adopt the animal.

Indiran said that while his relationship with Kobe is relatively new, he intends to be by Kobe's side long after his service to the city is done.

"It's the bond that you get. You see them more than you see your own family. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, I'm with him," he said.