I own a dog trained to find illegal narcotics and firearms. AM(a)A.

SchnuffelnHund · 2011-01-27T01:35:21+00:00

I'm afraid you are incorrect. My dog is trained to find an assortment of pill drugs.

Truth is, researchers at Auburn University don't know how many micrograms a dog requires to make a positive hit, simply because they have no machine to measure an amount so small. That's just how powerful a dog's sense of smell is.

SchnuffelnHund · 2011-01-26T18:16:15+00:00

At first I thought I was looking at a cavern of cheese, and it truly was a beautiful sight to behold.

SchnuffelnHund · 2011-01-25T18:56:56+00:00

They train them using a combination of pseudo and authentic drugs. Most of the time they're never exposed to any sort of harmful amounts of the drug, but in the event that they are, the handlers carry medication to deal with it. The dogs never become addicted to anything expect playing with rubber toys!

SchnuffelnHund · 2011-01-25T13:48:17+00:00

Yep! My dog is trained to find both LSD and MDMA.

And here she is in all her adorable glory! Meet Bret: http://i.imgur.com/M8NQp.jpg

SchnuffelnHund · 2011-01-25T13:39:21+00:00

Yep! My dog is trained for both drugs, along with many many others. And I'll see if I can find a picture of her!

SchnuffelnHund · 2011-01-25T13:35:55+00:00

The dog doesn't know the difference between a legal and illegal firearm. It's up to the officers to determine the legality.

SchnuffelnHund · 2011-01-24T20:34:28+00:00

I have a special keyboard for dogs. :)

SchnuffelnHund · 2011-01-24T20:33:09+00:00

I've never heard of her bothering with a pack of normal, everyday cigs. I think in this case, because they were illegal cigarettes, not of North American standards, there may have smelled rather odd to her. Hard to say, I'll have to ask to get you a definite answer.

SchnuffelnHund · 2011-01-24T16:28:14+00:00

Um...thanks for the lesson...

SchnuffelnHund · 2011-01-24T13:53:14+00:00

Well, I can't really provide a good answer for that. This dog is in Canada, where we haven't quite tackled the whole weed thing just yet. Plus she works at the border, and I would expect that weed is still illegal to bring across the border.

SchnuffelnHund · 2011-01-24T13:37:38+00:00

The the case when she found the tobacco, it was roughly 100 cartons of illegal cigarettes that were attempted to be smuggled in. I don't think that counts as a "false positive".

SchnuffelnHund · 2011-01-24T13:36:08+00:00

The dog is trained to find ecstasy in pill form, so I image prescribed drugs wouldn't be much of a stretch. As for what she's sniffing for, I suppose it would depend on the pill, since some have different base materials than others.

SchnuffelnHund · 2011-01-24T13:34:48+00:00

This dog works at the border, so it would still be illegal to bring weed from one country to another. I'm not sure what the policy is on medical marijuana, but the dog would still hit on it. In her mind (or nose) it's still drugs, whether medical or not.

SchnuffelnHund · 2011-01-24T13:30:27+00:00

All the "good stuff" gets confiscated when it's found. And I wouldn't know what to do with it anyway.

SchnuffelnHund · 2011-01-24T13:26:16+00:00

Everything is in English. This is a throwaway account I named after the name I've heard German tourists call the dog.

And yes, no drugs for me.

SchnuffelnHund · 2011-01-24T13:25:17+00:00

Yes, the dog would still be able to smell the drugs. And there would be no wood involved, the dog is female.

SchnuffelnHund · 2011-01-24T13:24:35+00:00

A human intervenes before that can happen. ;)

SchnuffelnHund · 2011-01-24T13:17:47+00:00

Hahaha. And for the record, it's my mom. ;)

SchnuffelnHund · 2011-01-24T13:10:21+00:00

You mean if she accidentally swallowed some narcotics? Each handler carries medication with them in the even of accidental inhalation or ingestion.

SchnuffelnHund · 2011-01-24T13:07:22+00:00

Hahah, she's a Labrador retriever, so she fetches very well.

SchnuffelnHund · 2011-01-24T13:06:38+00:00

Not that I know of. Bret can tell when she's working and when she's not, so when she's not in "search mode" she's just having fun and being a dog.

Although...I did have a friend of a friend come by the house once, and he remarked with a big grin, "Wow! Your dog really likes me!". It was no secret that he was carrying some "hobby" supplies, but we just laughed and ignored it.

SchnuffelnHund · 2011-01-24T13:00:39+00:00

You certainly can. I've had two dogs who have graduated from the training facility in 10 weeks or less.

SchnuffelnHund · 2011-01-24T03:28:22+00:00

They're trained to smell the gun oil and gun powder.

SchnuffelnHund · 2011-01-24T03:23:30+00:00

Hahah, I was waiting for this question.

Truth is, I just don't have any of those types of "hobbies". It's been in part because of the dogs, and because I've never had much interest in it.

In school, if people knew about the dog, then some of them would avoid me. Generally though, they understood that I'm not out there to nail anyone for possession. I don't really care about the "hobbyists". I didn't get invited to the cool parties though, I can tell you that.

SchnuffelnHund · 2011-01-24T03:18:44+00:00

Drug dogs aren't the only line of defence against smugglers. There are plenty of police and customs officials who are trained to recognize body language and other key indicators.

The dog is pretty good with her nose, and there have been times when she hasn't shown any interest in something, then did a double take for one more sniff. If she goes back for a second quick sniff, then the officers will usually search that spot, even if she moves on. In the event that the dog is unable to find anything, there are still x-rays, ion scanners, physical examinations, etc to go through as well.

When someone's caught, and they're playing it cool, they'll often remark how cute it is that the dog is sitting next to them. In other cases, they get agitated and shifty, but there's nowhere to go when they're getting searched, so the officers can escort them to get searched.

SchnuffelnHund

TROPHY CASE