Defining the Characteristics of Successful Biosecurity Scent Detection Dogs (original) (raw)

Attributes of Specialist Search Dogs—A Questionnaire Survey of UK Dog Handlers and Trainers

Journal of Forensic Sciences, 2004

The ideal and actual characteristics of specialist search dogs have been examined in questionnaire surveys of 244 dog handlers and trainers from the six main UK dog-using Government agencies. The ten most important characteristics were (ideal level in brackets): acuity of sense of smell (very high), incentive to find an object which is out of sight (very high), health (very high), tendency to hunt by smell alone (very high), stamina (very high), ability to learn from being rewarded (very high), tendency to be distracted when searching (very low); agility (high), consistency of behaviour from day to day (high), motivation to chase an object (high). Significant differences between actual and ideal levels were found for 22 of the 30 characteristics, predominantly in undesirable attributes, suggesting that there is scope for significant improvement in operational effectiveness.

Validation of a method for assessing the ability of trainee specialist search dogs

Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 2007

To date, there are few validated tests for quantifying the ability of working dogs, and none documented for use on specialist search dogs. Such tests are essential to the empirical examination of ways to improve the efficiency of search dogs, a process critical to meet the increased demand for search dogs in a climate of global terrorist threat. This paper describes the development of a standard search task, which provides a systematic method for assessing the effectiveness of arms and explosives search dogs following training. This is the first documented use of ethological techniques to validate traditional ratings, which are based on handlers' opinions.

Information-seeking behaviour of sniffer dogs during match-to-sample training in the scent lineup

Polish Psychological Bulletin, 2000

Qualitative and quantitative changes in dogs' information-seeking behaviours during the subsequent phases of operant conditioning training using a scent lineup, were investigated. Particular interest was paid to behaviours which may have an impact on errors committed by dogs at work in a scent lineup and thus on the reliability of the canine identification of humans on the base of scent. Significant individual differences were found in dogs' performance in operant conditioning during match-to-sample trials. The style and time of sniffing the pattern scent sample as well as the searching time and number of stations sniffed in the lineup were found to influence the percentage of errors (false positive and false negative indications) made by dogs. The effects of the dogs' routine e.g. omitting stations, using other cues than olfactory ones (visual) and effects of the non-verbal communications between handler and dog have been discussed.

Effects of training paradigms on search dog performance

Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 2006

Performance of scent-detection dogs might be negatively affected when they have been trained to discriminate between scents according to a handler-issued verbal cue, compared to dogs trained to only locate one scent. The performance of scent-detection dogs trained to locate only live scent (liveonly dogs) was compared to that of scent-detection dogs trained to locate either live or cadaver scent depending on the handler's verbal cue (cross-trained dogs). Specifically, it was predicted that liveonly dogs would be more successful than cross-trained dogs at locating live scent when cadaver scent was present. Twenty-three dogs (11 live-only and 12 cross-trained) were given handler commands to search for live scent in four search areas containing different combinations of scent: no scent, live scent, cadaver scent, and live/cadaver scent. Each dog ran each search area twice. Live-only dogs had significantly more correct responses than cross-trained dogs in the no scent, cadaver scent, and live/ cadaver scent search areas. There was no significant performance difference between live-only and cross-trained dogs in the live scent search area, confirming detection abilities of the cross-trained dogs when presented with only live scent. The ability of cross-trained dogs to correctly indicate the presence or absence of live scent according to a verbal cue was compromised when cadaver scent or no scent was present. This strongly suggests that cross-trained dogs should not be deployed where cadaver scent is present and the desired target is live scent, for example, a disaster deployment of search dogs to locate surviving victims amongst possible non-survivors.

Biomedical Scent Detection Dogs: Would They Pass as a Health Technology?

Pet Behaviour Science, 2018

Biomedical scent detection dogs identify the scent profiles of diseases, such as cancer, diabetes or pathogenic micro-organisms. What the field of biomedical scent detection has been lacking, however, is the assessment of the method from the point of view of a health technology. All health technologies undergo a thorough evaluation of safety, clinical effectiveness and costs, as well as ethical, social, organizational and legal evaluations in some cases. Passing these regulatory controls is a pre-requisite before a technology is approved for use in decision-making about patient outcomes. Biomedical scent detection has a lot of attractive qualities, such as the sensitivity and specificity of the dogs’ noses, safety and relative cost-effectiveness. But the method also has various challenges, in particular regarding its clinical effectiveness. The most pertinent issues to address before the dogs would pass as a health technology are standardization the training techniques, both intra-...

Expert Perspectives on the Performance of Explosive Detection Canines: Performance Degrading Factors

2021

Simple Summary Explosive detection canines are a unique resource used to protect a peaceful way of life. Searching for explosives is a difficult task that exposes both the canine and their handler to many factors that may affect their performance. Understanding these factors is essential to measuring and supporting the performance of the explosive detection canine team. This study is the first to systematically document these factors and uses expert interviews to learn from the handlers, trainers, and leaders closest to explosive detection canines. Through these interviews, numerous factors were identified in the areas of how the canine is utilized, the canine–handler interaction, and the physical, climate, operational, and explosive odor environments. Many of these factors are related to how the canine is used, a portion are known before the search starts, and some are only revealed during the search. This organized understanding of the challenges explosive detection canines face e...

Effect of Handler Knowledge of the Detection Task on Canine Search Behavior and Performance

Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 2020

Detection dogs are commonly trained and tested under conditions in which the handler or the evaluator knows the true presence or absence of a target odor. Previous research has demonstrated that when handlers are deceived and led to believe that a target odor is present, more false alerts occur. However, many detection teams operate under unknown conditions, and it remains unclear how handler knowledge (or lack thereof) of odor presence/absence influences the dog's behavior. The aim of this study was to evaluate if knowing the number of hides placed influenced detection dog performance in an applied search environment. Professional (n = 20) and sport (n = 39) detection handler-dog teams were asked to search three separate areas (area 1 had one hide, area 2 had one hide, area 3 was blank). Handlers in the Unknown Group were not told any information on the number of hides whereas the Known Group were told there was a total of two hides in the three areas. The sport Unknown Group spent a longer duration (69.04 s) searching in area 3 compared to the sport Known Group (p = 0.004). Further, sport dogs in the Unknown group looked back to the handler more frequently. When a miss did occur, dogs of both sport and professional handlers showed an increase interest in the location of the target odor compared to a comparison location. Critically, however, there was no difference in false alerts between the Known Group and Unknown Group for sport or professional handlers. In a second experiment, fourteen professional, and thirty-nine sport teams from Experiment 1 conducted an additional search double-blind and an additional search single-blind. Both sport and professional-handler dog teams had statistically similar accuracy rate under single and double blind conditions. Overall, when handlers knew the number of hides, it led to significant changes in search behavior of the detection team but did not influence the overall false alert rates.

Who’s a Good Handler? Important Skills and Personality Profiles of Wildlife Detection Dog Handlers

Animals

Wildlife detection dog teams are employed internationally for environmental surveys, and their success often depends on the dog handler. Minimal research is available on the skills that dog handlers believe are important, and no research has been published on the personality profiles of wildlife detection dog handlers. This may reveal the skills that people should acquire to be successful at, or suitable for, this work. An online questionnaire was distributed to Australian and New Zealand wildlife detection dog handlers. This questionnaire provided a list of skills to be rated based on importance, and a personality assessment measured their five main personality domains (Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness). A total of 35 questionnaires were collected, which represented over half of the estimated Australian wildlife detection dog handler population. The handlers had on average 7.2 years of dog handling experience, and 54% were female. More than ...

Development of a Performance Monitoring Instrument for Rating Explosives Search Dog Performance

Frontiers in Veterinary Science

The growing body of working dog literature includes many examples of scales robustly developed to measure aspects of dog behavior. However, when comparing behavior to working dog ability, most studies rely on training organizations' own long-established ratings of performance, or simply pass/fail at selection or certification as measures of success. Working ability is multifaceted, and it is likely that different aspects of ability are differentially affected by external factors. In order to understand how specific aspects of selection, training, and operations influence a dog's working ability, numerous facets of performance should be considered. An accurate and validated method for quantifying multiple aspects of performance is therefore required. Here, we describe the first stages of formulating a meaningful performance measurement tool for two types of working search dogs. The systematic methodology used was: (1) interviews and workshops with a representative cross-secti...

Validation of a short odour discrimination test for working dogs

A short odour discrimination test has been designed to allow rapid quality assurance of odour recognition by detection dogs. The test comprises five repeats per target and a minimum of 20 associated non-target odours. The mean time taken to conduct the test is 5.6 min per target type. A pass criterion of "a detection rate at least 70% greater than false alarm (FA) rate, with a 15% cap on total allowable false alarms" is used which equates to 4/5 correct indications and 2 FAs, or 5/5 correct indications and 3 FAs; the probability of passing this test by chance is <1%. A Microsoft Excel TM programme has been written to rapidly generate balanced running orders that allow search runs to be truncated following correct indications; this speeds up testing whilst maintaining standardisation; the programme is available freeto-use. The test's internal validity has been measured by conducting test re-test analysis on a range of target types on 19 operational search dogs, and external validity has been measured by completing the test and an equivalent operationally relevant building search on 26 operational search dogs. In both cases there is good overall reliability (kappa ≥ 0.80). The test is thus deemed suitable for complementary assessment of detection dog ability during detailed accreditation procedures or as a standalone quality assurance test in between accreditation or licensing.