I can smell yo nuts and a vbed from 10 feet away
One of the frustrations I have had since arriving in country is the lack of K-9 understanding by both military and contractors. It is not anyone’s fault in particular, but it leads to confusion about what the dogs are capable of and what exactly they tell us when they are searching.
Dogs search for odor, not for actual explosives
Dogs are trained to sniff for the odor of explosives. This does not mean that there are actual explosives at the source of the odor. For example, is someone borrowed your car and smoked in it (assuming you had never smoked in it before); the odor of the cigarettes would remain in the car for several days after the car was returned.
You might not be able to tell how much that person smoked in your car or how long before it was returned, just that the car still smells like cigarettes. This is similar to what happens when the dogs “alert” to the odor of explosives. We have no way of knowing (outside of a controlled training scenario) how much explosives were in a vehicle or how long ago they were removed.
Another thing to consider is what substances might smell close enough to explosives to gain the interest of the K-9. Ammonium fertilizer being transported in a diesel truck (Ammonium Nitrate)? Glycerin soap used around fatty meats (Nitroglycerin)? Both might resemble the smell of materials that the dogs are trained to sniff for but not actually be an explosive material.
Does this mean that the dog is wrong? No, it just means that the odor has lingered longer than the actual material or some combination of substances has triggered the dog’s interest.
Just because there isn’t a bomb, it’s not a false alert
The term “false alert” is used by people with little K-9 experience. In their mind, because the dog sits and nothing is found, the dog is wrong. Now I’m not saying the dogs are never wrong, but as I explained above, the odor of an explosive material can remain long after the item is moved. A seasoned handler should be able to tell you if the dog is responding to odor or just messing around.
A better term to use is “unproductive search”. This implies that the dog responded to odor, the handler determined that it was a legitimate response, and then a search was conducted of the area and nothing was found. It is important to treat these unproductive searches the same way every time, according to standard procedures, to prevent complacency.
The last thing we want is for the bad guys to see that we are no longer conducting thorough searches because so many have been unproductive. What better time to pass an actual device through a secure checkpoint.
Conclusion
If you are in a position where K-9’s are part of your duty assignment, take the time to ask questions about what you see and what you’re being told. While it may look obvious to you, there are unseen factors involved that might shed some light on what the K-9 is really doing.
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~Frazier D
Civilian Contractor EOD K-9 Correspondent
Frazier D was a police officer for 14 years, 8 as a K-9 handler. He is currently a Civilian Contractor bomb dog handler in Iraq.
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Bottom Line up Front:
If the K-9 has a bad day, EVERYBODY on site has a BAD Day!
Nuff Said!
Thanks for the article.
‘Professor’
Baghdad, Iraq
Rich Johns(Quote This Comment)
If you haven’t seen it, last night’s Mythbusters did a very interesting ‘myth busting’ piece on ‘working dogs’. They used the term contraband, so there’s no real way to tell what the ‘contraband’ was supposed to be.
It was interesting that no matter what they did (except a female dog in heat), they couldn’t fool either the animals or the trainers.
If you’ve got it available, check it out. It should be on both Netflix before too long, Hulu, Discovery channel or even on demand.
Great article.
Norm(Quote This Comment)
Do you mean this episode?
http://youtu.be/ntY7vf5X87k
Allah Akbar(Quote This Comment)
Great article. And so very true. I’ve been around a lot of dogs since 1988. Does that make me an expert? Hell, no, but it does mean I learned that a dog will pick up on something and it’s up to us humans to then figure out the details, there’s no “failure” on the part of the dog. I really like your “unproductive search” term. Dogs are, at least in my humble opinion, about equivalent to a 5-year-old kid. They notice and react, it’s up to us to figure out the rest. I’d rather have a ton of unproductive searches where nobody gets hurt than some blaming the dog for human traits like wasting time and mistakes – and then moving on and getting blown up or injured or whatever. My little three pound killer attack dog, when she goes ballistic, you bet I get a firearm and a flashlight and check it out. So far, it’s been a rabbit under the trailer and a chipmunk at the door. Blame the dog? No way. Both were things that should not normally have been where she sensed them.
Frazier, I am looking forward to more information (articles) from you. Thanks so much!
David West(Quote This Comment)
Your spot on with this one mate. I have a lot of good laughs working with the real dogs (Not the other team of big boys in black) but if I get your point the dogs can only pic up the forensics of what is going down. Kind of like Homelands sniff booths. Homeland what a fucking joke anyway but had a friend that got pulled in and put through the mill after a trip to there tartus. Turns out even though she washed her shoes she had been out collecting eggs in the hen house that morning and yep nites on the shoes. Wish I could get my head around DVMs post system because I think Home land lack of security needs its own spot
Kris(Quote This Comment)
Been working wit K9s since the late sixties, I was young then and yes I’m an old fuck now, and I have to make one comment, Dogs don’t alert on glycerin, it’s the nitro that gets their nose going, but I’m just being picky. I’ve seen too damned many so called handlers either miss or over react to a dogs actions, when it comes down to it, you have to know your dog better than the person you are having sex with, lets face it, both of them can cost you your life, but in the case of the dog, it can happen a hell of a lot faster, that is IF it isn’t your old lady your screwing, and the ball and chain happens to be in the business too.
Scott S(Quote This Comment)
Dogs are indeed trained to pick up specific odors, but often they are trained with commercial explosives which contain special odorants, put there with the very purpose of the explosive being detectable.
A dog trained only with commercial stuff may not be able to pick up on home workshop explosives.
(This partially in response to Kris.)
Likewise, chemical detection is limited severely by the chosen method. Some chemicals that are explosive, or are often components in explosives are easely tested for. Nitrates and nitric esters (the majority of all bulk explosives) can be detected with a simple swab. Testing for these is often standard practice.
Those compounds are, however, all around us. This can lead to some aggravation to say the least.
Michael Hawkins(Quote This Comment)
@ Michael H. I dont get it maybe too many years in N.I. but after spending 3 days sleeping in the Airport waiting for my client/ pick up due to weather I had gone out for a smoke and came back to the gate all others had been shut down and there was a bag setting under the bench unattended, it was not a large one but could have held 4 0r 5 pounds easy so I set down on top of the bench and started asking those around if they have seen the owner of this bag, nope and no sir is all I got back so went over to the TSA and reported it. They told me to go to the white phone and contact the airport LEO’s. That I did after asking no one to move the bag thinking WTF. Long story short 15 minutes later in comes 1 male and 1 female LEO asking for me, up goes my hand and the female comes over and picks the fucking bag up and starts digging through it! At first I pulled my legs up and plugged my ears in more of a F it we are dead now or laughing. I got up and went for a smoke thinking dumb ass yanks and as I was walking out here are two more LEO’s with dogs standing by two columns like temple guards, a good 100 yards away. The point shouldn’t the dogs have been sent in before anyone picked the bag up or are airport dogs only good for drugs or salami smugglers? For that matter they should have shut the hole F ing end down and called in EOD but thats not the point of my question.. RANT OFF LOL
Kris(Quote This Comment)
There’s multiple explanations to that.I can only guess which applies
The most soothing one would be that they’d set up to check it out properly, when a “I’ve lost, have you found?” call came in concerning the bag. At which point a LEO/attendant looks and confirms “a white carry on, about that big … black handle and a blue label … yeah we’ve found it”
(The way these things are handled vary widely between countries/organizations (LEO/TSA/customs) and individuals, though I doubt a terrorist has ever called his bomb in as “lost”)
Alternatively, the inspecting officer could have had twenty false alerts over the past year (crowds of people leave a LOT of stuff behind) and just decided “Fuck it!”, then again she also could have had a death wish …
I don’t know what those dogs are trained for. If I were a gambling man, my money would be on drugs, especially with terrorists moving more and more to organic peroxides for their explosive needs.
(It is very dangerous to handle such explosives, I’ve never heard of training dogs to detect them)
Michael Hawkins(Quote This Comment)
This is a great article – make some comments people, let Frazier know you like it
~James G
James G.(Quote This Comment)
Very true article!!! I can tell you that a dope dog has the same situation. If a $hitbag smoked a bone yesterday in a car, my dog will still indicate on the odor that has permeated the interior of the car. That doesn’t mean it’s a false alert, just that Joe doper happens to be broke right at this very minute and out of weed. They are not fool proof, just another tool.
Tom McClelland(Quote This Comment)
I like your term “unproductive search” way better than false alert. I’ve never once known my dog to lie about something. That’s not to say that the “alert” wasn’t for a stray cat. The dog wasn’t wrong, but the “threat” wasn’t important. It’s my dog’s job to see/hear/smell things that I can’t. Up to me to determine what’s next.
April(Quote This Comment)
Agreed, and great article. When my bruiser starts his ugly bark at 0300 and I, too, can hear the drunk neighbors stumbling up the apartment stairs, I don’t yell at him. I still go out in the living room with my room-clearing .410 and say “thank you Charlie. Good boy. Easy now, go to bed.” If you berate for a ‘false alarm,’ he might not signal a real alarm for fear of getting yelled at for doing his job. Love the DVM articles!
Drew(Quote This Comment)