Detection Dogs

Known as man's best friend, dogs have been helping humans securing their own lives for hundreds of years. With their unique abilities they have been serving as more than just mere extensions in the arsenal of security tools.

The most popular of these have been of course the German Shepherd, a breed traced back to the bavarian village of Grafrath, but many other breeds are also used. They are trained for such specific task as detecting drugs, explosives, cadavers, accelerants at sites of suspected arson, cell phones, and money. In some states certain police K-9 units have been trained to sniff out invasive species such as Quagga Mussels.

Of all these, drug dogs may be the most well known. Various breeds have been used and various methods developed to help the animals detect the drugs.

A common but false assumption is that drug dogs sniff out drugs because they're addicted themselves. Simply put, to the dog finding drugs is all part of a game. Trainers spend a lot of time playing tug-of-war with the animal and it's favorite toy. Eventually the toy is tainted with the smell of a drug. The dog then associates the smell of the drug with its toy. Thus, when sent to sniff out drugs, all the animal really does is look for its toy. As the training progresses various drugs and chemicals are used until the animal is able to sniff out a variety of substances.

There have been some arguments concerning the reliability of K-9 units, as it is true that the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a dog's alert may be enough for a warrantless search based on probable cause. After all, it is possible that you sat next to someone who had smoked pot recently and some of that odor may have rubbed off on you. The dog can detect this and may then sound the alert, causing you to be called out for a search. It should therefore be note that K-9 drug dogs are usually trained to only alert when there are significant quantities of drugs, not just residues.

Police K-9 drug dogs are also trained to give certain signals once they find possible hints of drugs. These can be passive or aggressive alerts. Aggressive alerts are the classic Lassie reactions: digging and pawing at the spot where they smell drugs, although all they are trying to do is to get at the toy they suspect underneath.

However, sometimes these aggressive alerts can be dangerous to the animal and the trainer, if for example it involves finding explosives. You wouldn't want an excited dog scratching and pawing at a live bomb. It could also alert suspects nearby, and so many are trained to simply 'sit'.

Remember, next time you're in line at the airport and a police dog sits down next to you, you may want to think about what you packed: they also can find fruits and vegetables.

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