All you need to know about the robot dogs patrolling Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence

The US Secret Service seems to be taking the term guard dog to the next level unleashing a robotic dog to watch over Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence.

One week after Trump won the US presidential election security has ramped up at the club in Florida.

Helping Secret Service agents keep Donald Trump safe is a robot dog.

How will robot dogs protect Trump?

The robot dogs are made by US tech company Boston Dynamics and the technology is referred to as Spot.

According to Boston Dynamics, Spot can provide a wide range of security capabilities.

“While we cannot get into the specific capabilities, the robotic dogs are equipped with surveillance technology, and an array of advanced sensors that support our protective operations,” a spokesperson for the tech company told the New York Post.

The mechanical canine has been patrolling the estate in Palm Beach.

Those patrols include walking along the grounds and around the palm trees surrounding the property, often with a human handler following along.

Can you pat the dog?

No.

Not even if it is being a good dog. 

A warning label on the side of the dog reads, “do not pet” in capital letters.

Not to mention you may not ever get close enough to Spot, especially if it is surrounded by armed Secret Service agents. Bad idea.

What can it do?

The robot can trek up and down steps, open doors, and navigate tight spaces.

Spot can investigate suspicious packages or find a safe route for people through live feed video cameras on the front of the robot.

A user can control the robot from a safe distance thanks to a remote control, making it ideal for bomb disposals.

And as seen at Mar-a-Lago, the robot dog can be deployed in building patrol scenarios.

However, the robot dog wasn’t just designed to be a watch dog for the president-elect.

In fact, it can be utilised across “factory floors to construction sites to research labs and beyond”, Boston Dynamics state on its website.

Spot has been deployed in the construction, manufacturing, energy and education industries.

Students in Queensland modified Spot to become a guide dog and in New South Wales, Spot was tasked with maintenance work at a power station.

But the robot dog is best known for its work in the government industry, mainly in the US security service.

In 2022, New York police brought Spot in to “save lives, protect people and protect officers”, before it was scrapped due to public backlash.

So how does Spot stack up as a guard dog?

The specs for the base robotic dog from Boston Dynamics state the dog is 70cm tall and weighs just over 32 kilograms.

For reference, an average German shepherd gets to around 65cm tall and weighs between 30-40kg. 

The German shepherd is much faster though. Spot has a limit of 1.6 metres per second pace.

Spot does offer some human interaction too. A secret service agent was seen engaging with the dog at Mar-a-Lago.

Unlike a real dog, the robotic dog runs off a battery, which needs recharging every 90 minutes, according to Boston Dynamics.

No dog in the White House

The Trumps have never officially owned a dog while in office as the First Family.

It is uncertain if that will change as Trump enters his second term as president.

Trump faced backlash in the previous presidential election campaign for his dog-less home.

There was even an ad from “Dog Lovers for Joe” denouncing Mr Trump for being the first president in a century not to have a dog in the White House.

Speaking in 2019, Trump addressed the issue directly saying he “wouldn’t mind having” a dog but that he didn’t have the time.

Trump also said he thought it would look “a little phoney”.

He asked his supporters at a rally “how would I look walking a dog on the White House lawn?”