Two hopeful police recruits have landed in Whangarei.
The fluffy pair arrived in the cargo hold of a plane on Wednesday.
The male and female duo are about 10 weeks old, and come from a 'C' litter which means their names must start with the letter C.
The brother and sister were bred in Trentham, as part of the police dog breeding programme.
Dog handler Senior Constable Pete Kinane, along with dog handler Constable Elyse Lewis and Constable Campbell Mullenger who will foster the female puppy, were at the airport to collect the fluffy cargo.
The male dog will be fostered by Dargaville officer Joe Hammon.
Mr Kinane said the foster officers get to decide the dogs' names. At this stage Cora and Caesar are being considered as potential names, but the police dog breeding unit at Trentham have to approve the names first.
He said the officers would give the dogs basic training, teaching them obedience and exposing them to different environments.
The latest two puppies join two other puppies which landed in Whangarei in June. Those two are also currently in foster homes with police officers.
The four pups are the highest number being fostered in Northland at any one time. Previously the highest number was three. Northland's five dog handlers will have first option to chose one of the four pups.
He said the initial training is vital to the pups' development.
"I liken it to building a house, if you don't get the foundations right, nothing else goes right."
Mr Kinane said when the dogs are about 12 months old, they head back to Trentham to complete their initial course of training.
He said they slowly progress through three courses "until they're good enough to be out the door and on the street".
Mr Kinane said while there is no guarantee these pups will make it through the training there is also no guarantee the puppies will remain in Northland.
He said the officers are taking the dogs through their initial training but the dogs will go to whoever around the country needs them. He is hopeful one will remain in Northland.
There are five operational dogs in Northland, two in Whangarei and three in the Far North.
Ms Lewis is Northland's first female police dog handler and one of two nationally.