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Thailand's king has ordered that three local dogs be sent to tsunami-hit regions to sniff for bodies because they will be more effective than foreign canines, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said on Thursday.

"The king has told me that Thai dogs are clever and could help in sniffing as foreign dogs could not work as hard as Thai dogs (in Thai conditions)," Shinawatra told reporters.

"We sent three Thai dogs yesterday to help the search. They will work in mangrove forest areas where we believe bodies would still be found. We have not focused the search on mangrove areas yet," he said.

King Bhumibol Adulyadej, who lost a grandson in the December 26 disaster, is a well-known dog lover.

An army spokesperson said two of the dogs were normally used to sniff out drugs while the other was trained to detect explosives.

Thailand's confirmed death toll is almost 5300, half of them foreigners, and more than 3700 are missing.

The search for bodies is focusing on inaccessible areas such as mangrove swamps and lakes.

Recovery or forensic teams from numerous nations are assisting the Thai effort.

AFP