Vancouver police dog Niko is not a fan of heights

Not everyone likes heights.

Just look at this photo offive-year-old Vancouver police dog Niko learning to rappell with his trainer, which is gaining traction on Instagram, andmakes it pretty clear the German Shepherd is not a fan.

"'Hey dad...This rappelling? Yuh, I'm not a fan,'" posted Const. Dan Ames of the VPD Canine Unit along with the photo.

Training part of job

The city's canine unit has 15 dog-and-handler teams and they use German shepherds exclusively.

The dogs are trained in criminal apprehension and also narcotics, firearms or explosives detection.They live with the handlers and are retired to the handler at the end of their working life.

VPD media relations officer Sandra Glendinning told CBC that their dogs are slowly eased into rappelling.

The dogs are first introduced to the gear and harness by putting them in it and then doing activities they normally like doing, such as playing fetch or a tug-of-war. Then they are slowly introduced to rappel, starting a few feet off the ground andgradually working up higher.

"Each dog is a bit different, so with some it may take a couple of weeks to get them comfortable with a task, while others may only take one or two repetitions," she said in an email.

"In this case, PSD Nikotook to rappelling very quickly (a matter of hours)," she said."This photo is of his first high rappel of five storeys, and he has since mastered the task."