1. Latest trends in Explosive Detection : Use of Sniffer Dogs - Major Ashwani Saini
2. Various use of Dog Guarding Sniffing out explosives Personal Protection Purposes There is no single breed of Dog which can perform all three functions together effectively. Dogs are to be trained for specific duties. During training, it is taught to develop its faculties for a particular function
3. Commonly used breeds in India are: Alsatian – (also called German Shepherd)mainly for guard duties but can also be used as a Sniffer Dog Labrador – for sniffing duties Doberman – for protection and attack purposes
4. What are Sniffer Dogs? Sniffer dogs are used all over the world to detect hidden items. Police use them to help catch criminals. The dogs sniffs something belonging to the criminal then tries to find something with the same scent. Other types of sniffer dogs work at airports and detect if someone is carrying drugs or weapons on them. Some food is also illegal and airport sniffer dogs can find them as well. The most popular breed for sniffer dogs are Beagles, Golden Retrievers , Labradors and German Shepherds
5. Beagle Energetic, possessing great stamina. Needs plenty of exercise, including a brisk daily walk. Not sociable with non-canine pets like cats. This breed doesn't like being left alone, should be kept in pair.
6. Golden Retriever Most obedient dog. Friendly with everyone, cannot be used for guarding. Very good at swimming. Very good in hunting, tracking, retrieving, narcotics detection, agility and performing tricks. Needs to stay in human company. If isolated from human contact, or left alone for long periods of time, may become mischievous.
7. Alsatian (German Shepherd) Sturdily built, can work in all types of weather. Power of hearing and strength is high but their eyesight is weak. Can work, if occasion demands, non-stop for over fourteen (14) hours. One man dogs
8. Labrador Very friendly dogs, affectionate to children. To be deployed effectively, they should be kept away from children. Should not be used in areas where there is a powering scent of gasoline, chemical etc.
9. Which breed of dog has the keenest sense of smell? Traditionally, Bloodhounds, but good sniffer dogs of many different breeds are used, beagles are a popular choice. All dogs have a an extraordinary sense of smell - about 500 times as sensitive as humans. A German shepherd who was the best sniffer dog in the US and was about 1000 times more sensitive. He was fed a special diet and housed in purified air.
10. Bloodhound Not an obedient dog. Bloodhounds are able to follow any scent, even human - a rare ability in a dog This breed has been said to successfully follow trails over 100 hours old. He is so determined that he has been known to stay with the trail for over 100 miles (160.93 Km) . A sure tracker that the breed is used worldwide for rescue and criminal searches. The Bloodhound's evidence is admissible in the US court of law.
11. Use of Sniffer Dog in India The Remount and Veterinary Corps (RVC) is the premier training institute of the army which breeds, rears and trains dogs. The RVC institute in Meerut supplies trained dogs to the army, paramilitary forces, commando squads and police departments across India. Sniffer dogs are in high demand in India as officials boost security in the aftermath of the deadly Mumbai attacks in November 2008. To meet this demand, the RVC had to urgently grow 2 ½ times of their capacity in the last two years . The minimum age of a dog should be six weeks ( 1 ½ months) before being imparted training. It takes minimum 32 weeks (8 months) for a pup to be transformed into a sniffer and tracker dog. DELHI POLICE has 32 sniffer dogs and has ordered 50 more ahead of the Commonwealth Games in October. Major airports have increased the number of sniffer dogs by at least 50 percent since 2008. The National Security Guard, an elite commando force, needs dog teams at its new regional hubs.
12. Various trainings provided by RVC Dog Training Faculty (DTF) Army Dog Training Courses for Officers of RVC, Para Military Forces and friendly foreign country students. Basic Army Dog Trainers Course. Basic Army Dog Trainers Course for personnel of Air Force and Para Military Forces and friendly foreign country students. Classification upgrading courses for Army Dog Trainers.
13. Fields of Dog training Obedience training Specialist tasks like Infantry patrolling Guarding Tracking Avalanche rescue operation Explosive and mine detection Search and rescue operation Crude oil leakage detection Detection of IEDs Sanitization of places during visit of VVIPs/dignitaries on call
14. Use of sniffer dogs by Railway Protection Force (RPF) RPF has a deployment of 375 Sniffer Dogs at Railway Stations across the country. RPF has a dog breeding and training centre at Podunur in Tamil Nadu Daya Basti in New Delhi And a dog training centre at Bangalore
15. Desi sniffer dogs 800 security personnel lost their lives in last 6 yrs in Maoist violence. 80% causality was attributable to Improvised Explosive Devices ( IEDs). Since the pedigree dogs are in short supply, the government decided to train the local mongrels at Counter Terrorism and Jungle Warfare College in Kanker, as a substitute to pedigreed sniffer dogs. After nursing the mongrel pups for six months and putting them through a formalized dog training program for nine months, these Desi Dogs were found to be very effective. In the last two years these sniffer dogs have detected IEDs in various situations – from the Bilaspur High Court to the jungles of Dantewada
16. Desi sniffer dogs Mongrels can accompany long range patrol parties (in jungle terrain) for over two to three days without any complaints. They are cost free. (A trained Labrador for IED detection cost Rs 1.25 lakh) Desi dogs hardly require any visits to the vet They handle the summer heat without any visible tiredness or exhaustion Even adjust to the Jungle terrain in humid weather without loss of efficiency
17. Precautions in usage of dogs Dogs are highly sensitive to ‘Rat Poison’. Dog’s pads are very sensitive, should not be made to run on rough ground , metals scrap or area with acid and chemicals. Dog should never be chained to a post or left in a vehicle alone. A dog should not be multi-handled. In that case, it will forget to obey commands.
18. Rules to remember when you see a Working Dog If you see a dog in a place you normally don't see dogs (malls, movie theatres, hospitals etc.) assume the dog is a working dog. Do not touch the dog. No petting, grabbing etc. Do not try to get the dogs attention. No whistling, snapping fingers, calling to the dog. Do not try to feed the dog. Do not let your dog go up to the working dog
19. Working span of Sniffer Dogs A normal Dog has a life expectancy of 12 years but sniffer dogs generally live for 8 yrs only. Dogs who sniff explosives constantly during training often have lung damage and a shorter life span. In Defense of Animals ( IDA India) an NGO is pursuing the cause of retirement for the Police Sniffer Dogs. As per the proposal, all healthy dogs must retire at the age of 8, or earlier, if they are physically unfit to work. India's torrid summer months pose problem for Labradors. Their effective work hours are reduced as they get severely dehydrated and their noses bleed. To overcome this some Indian trainers have procured U.S made jackets with cooling packs for the dogs.
20. Medals to working Dogs ( K- 9 Dog ) In 2003, Buster, a five-year-old Springer Spaniel attached to the Royal Army Veterinary Corps, was awarded the People's Dispensary for Sick Animals' Dickin Medal - 'the animals' Victoria Cross'. Buster helped save the lives of troops and civilians in southern Iraq when he located a hidden cache of arms, explosives and bomb-making equipment.
21. Hybridization of Dogs To work efficiently a dog needs excellent scent and ability to learn quickly. In Russia the unique animals - dog and jackal hybrids (popularly known as Sulimov Dogs ) have been bred for this purpose. The wild jackals have a better sense of smell than any dog breeds. In the course of domestication animals have lost a lot of qualities needed for living at large. It is hard to work with wild animals, they never trust humans and be as obedient as dogs. Jackals endure cold weather pretty badly - unlike their congeners, they perspire from all the skin surface. So, hybridization appeared to be the only solution.
22. Dog Squad Kerala Police Total Dogs =53 Trivandrum Dist = 9 Type of Dogs = Tracker & Sniffer (German Shepherds, Golden Retriever, Labradors and Dobermans) Training at = Kerala Police Academy , Thrissur Capacity of Training Kennel = 30 Dogs
23. Kerala Police Dog used in RBI, Thiruvananthapuram Name = BROWNIE Age = 2 yrs Breed = Labrador Used for= Anti – Explosive Check Periodicity = On call
