K9 Dogs in Airport and Law Enforcement
A dog’s sense of smell is said to be 30-40 times more sensitive than humans. Where most humans are dependent on their sight to see the world, dogs interpret the world through their noses as they have an olfactory system (sense of smell) that is completely different to anything else on the planet. By nature, dogs desire to hunt and their incredible olfactory senses are honed. Pups learn to search for their favorite toys naturally because of their unique ability. However, selective dog breeds raise and prepare puppies for explosives and narcotics are German shepherd, German shorthair pointer, Belgian Malinois, Labrador retrievers, Springer Spaniel, and Beagle are the most common breeds.
On the one hand, enough maturity is needed to begin their training for Security Protection and Detection Training. Most of the puppies are in their five to six months old to be exposed to the training ground. On the other hand, a K9 dog handler needs to be trained on a set program to seek the right partner compatible with his behavior. Bonding is necessary in order for the dog to acquire the behavior of the trainer.
Training a K9 Dog
During the training period, the dog’s sense of smell must be developed by introducing aids such as explosive components, narcotics, opium, hashish and heroin in order to fully recognized the sense of smell from various types of bomb and drug materials. The partners should have at least three to six months to familiarize the K9 dog to identify the specific scent of a substance. After sniffing the target material, the dog should sit down and just stare at the object. Both teams need to learn from easy to difficult training scenarios. The training serves as a play for the dog to enjoy and not a work to impose. When a dog has learned to find the smell of an AID he will be given a reward that makes the dog happy. Once a dog successfully searched an object, they deserve to have physical and verbal praise as well as a treat or a toy. Physical praise is to touch the whole body and verbal praise is to say a well-modulated tone of voice, and the last is a treat or a toy. The more that the dog is enjoying the training the more active he will become. If the dog did not perform well neither a reward nor physical and verbal praises will be given to show that the dog did not do his task effectively. The handler must have the ability to observe and evaluate the partner in terms of reacting to a given stimulant. For instance, once the dog has changed behavior (being active to smell or tail wagging) it’s a sign that there is something wrong within the examined area, luggage and vehicle and the handler must notice that the dog directly detected the AID upon smelling.
A trained dog for bomb detection or Explosive Dog Detection (EDD) is used solely for explosives. While a trained narcotic dog or Narcotic Dog Detection (NDD) is used mainly for narcotics detection. Only after undergoing training on their respective roles will they be measured to evaluate their capability as a K9 dog detection unit and will they be given an area of responsibility. Within the area of assignment, the dog needs to familiarize the place, especially the facility’s sights, sounds, smells of crowded areas, cargoes, elevators and airfields as well as car parks until they are comfortable and have gained self-confidence within the designated area.
Airport Canine K9 dogs are categorized as EDD and NDD and are specialized only for sniffing out explosives and narcotics. Immediate action is necessary once a dog has detected a potential issue in the area. This job is serious and should be carefully handled by an airport customs officer, police officer or private sector officer to ensure proper response to a dog’s given signal. Canine team dogs can detect bombs and drugs quickly without the need of using any types of equipment it is one of the fastest and most effective solutions for carrying out the screening required for airport security what a great thing that they have improved safety in Airport especially in catching drug smugglers using (NDD) and (EDD) to eliminate the illegal object and substances from being transported from incoming and outgoing. Consider this fantastic way that dogs help improve safety in Airport.
The benefits of using K9 Dog in airport and law enforcements are apparent and will continue to play a role in protecting the people and more establishments.
Written by Daniel Arquero, ABVC Animal Handler
