Detection Dogs ... the need exceeds supply - Page 1

There should be a non breed specific non profit organization that coordinates, tests and certifies dogs for cancer, explosives, and medical assistance dogs.  As it is the dogs are sold to brokers and political operatives who sell them at huge prices due to their "good ole boy" connections and political alliances.  This would be a good thing for the dogs as they could be tracked and their fate and whereabouts known.  This would be a lot more like "work" than biting sports and open to all breeds and dog types.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/photos/demand-grows-for-bomb-sniffing-dogs-1458829072-slideshow/

Feel free to contribute some capital and start such an organization, it should only take a few million to do so.

Bubba,

Someone such as yourself with a penchant for research and details, could actually start something. Obtaining 501 c 3 status is not a big deal if the qualifications apply. There are organizations that you could model your idea after, with tweaking for your particulars. I don't think you would need a million dollar sponsor, at first, but certainly success could end up putting you in that category. Some quick links I thought of as interesting reading to jump start your idea:

https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/6/1116

(c)Standards for explosives detection canine teams

(1)In general

Based on the feasibility in meeting the ongoing demand for quality explosives detection canine teams, the Secretary shall establish criteria, including canine training curricula, performance standards, and other requirements approved by the Transportation Security Administration necessary to ensure that explosives detection canine teams trained by nonprofit organizations, universities, and private sector entities are adequately trained and maintained.

Not dogs, but rats are making a difference here:

 

And of course you could investigate as a model, FIDELCO, as it is a non-profit that uses their own breeding stock to supply demand for seeing eye dogs. Also, what if you could create a network with GSD and Belgian Mal rescues to help with demand, that would serve a double purpose. 

The biggest expense would be paying for the skilled dog trainers, I would think, after taking a look at the APOPO financials, IMHO

Let me know if you pursue this avenue of thought. I would make a donation if you gained non-profit status for your mission as stated above.

I am more then pleased to say that 3 of my last pups, the peanut butter lovers, went for police k-9 s.
That brings me up to 5. I was also told, many PD's are now looking to Malinois/German Shepherd cross dogs.
But, they still utilizing my dogs, purebred shepherds

What a difference between Beetree's and Bavarian Wagon's posts! Bee, we need more people like you on this board!

Any organized attempt to certify scent detection dogs and medical assistance dogs would need to come from a recognized and politically astute all breed association such as the AKC, UKC, FCI, etc. Just as in Agility contests there will be many breeds that can be great at the tasks and some that will be most popular ( Border Collie for Agility ). There are likely over 100 different ways that scent detection and medical assistance dogs can serve both personal and commercial tasks for humans and other animals. Also it would be naive to think that political opposition will not be used to stop any attempt to certify dogs for scent and medical assistance use. There are dogs already being used for most of these tasks ( from bed bug detection to medical alert dogs for diabetics ) but there is no organizational or certification process for any of these dogs. Any organization or certification process should steer clear of biting, guard, and protection aspects. A dog could be dual certified or could hold other titles related to biting sports if the owner so desired but many of the dogs could and would be non-biting sport breeds such as Poodles, Retrievers, Setters, Pointers, Labs, Beagles, Terriers, or Hounds.  I'll be happy to leave the mine detection and other military uses of dogs to rats or someone else's dogs as the military has a poor track record of treating either the dogs or their handlers with any respect.

I don't see a correlation to needing a pedigree or other registry organization if a dog without papers had training and skills credentials.

Developing a reputation for recognizing those types of dogs would be the goal. Having qualified, dedicated dog trainers who are passionate about the non profit mission would be a key component. If the non profit designed a program that could provide some type of government accepted fast track certification, that could be attractive enough to gett the type of person needed to participate and join the non profit, and its mission might be the answer.
 

Dogs are born to work and most follow their aptitudes. I wouldn't use a Bloodhound for protection work just like I wouldn't drive a 1972 Pinto across a dessert. I would not want the unwanted traits in a mixed dog popping up in the middle of a declared emergency. I don't want to sound all breed snooty but I would only want to do detection work with a GSD or a Labrador.

Bill

It would seem to be short sighted and narrow minded to think that a breed designation denotes talent or intelligence. There is no reason to think that a GSD or a Labrador Retriever possess any special characteristics for scent detection given that most of the hound breeds have better scent capability .. Beagle hounds work just fine for most scent related work. For medical alert and scent related work a Beagle Hound would be great and they have a longer lifespan with fewer health problems versus either the Lab or GSD. Border Collies would likewise be excellent at scent work and the Border Collie "Chaser" has the largest vocabulary of English words for any non-human animal.

$49,000 per dog plus retraining fees each year

https://www.yahoo.com/finance/news/dogs-may-best-line-defense-against-subway-attacks-195142666.html