Another form of contraband a drug sniffing dog may find is items such as ivory. This is especially prevalent in some parts of Asia and Africa. Dogs see training specifically to combat this sort of contraband in an effort to stop poaching.
Catching drug smugglers is important, but at the end of the day, a bag of illegal drugs in a suitcase doesnt cause physical harm. An explosive device, however, can cause quite a bit. These dogs are trained more to find these explosives and prevent any dangerous events, intentional or unintentional.
Among the substances that an airport dog is trained to detect are many of the common chemicals used to build bombs. In fact, its more common that the dogs you pass in the airport are smelling for bombs and explosives rather than drugs.
Tasking drug sniffing dogs in your airport can help to drastically increase safety. This has the added benefit of helping to cut down on illegal activities like smuggling illegal substances and animals.
Airport dogs excel at finding such animals and alerting authorities. This can help to cut down on smuggling and invasive species being introduced where they can cause damage. This not only saves environments but also saves the animals, often leading to their return.
How do detection dogs detect the substance?
Detection dogs are used at airports for a number scenarios. They sniff passengers and hand luggage at security checkpoints and if someone reports a suspicious package or incident on a plane, bomb dogs sniff the aircraft, its passengers and its cargo hatch.
When the dog finds a scent, it leads the handler toward the source and the universal sit signal tells the handler that it has found something. If you’ve ever watched a sniffer dog at an airport, you may have noticed that it works in silence, with neither a word nor a bark is exchanged between the dog and its handler.
“It’s often said that the handler’s emotions travel down the leash and can affect the performance and mental state of the K-9, he said. “As a former handler, I would have to agree.”
Five explosive scent stations were constructed to introduce and challenge teams to successfully locate, detect and indicate a positive response to live explosive odor. Forty-eight canine teams and supporting personnel worked with other agencies to develop nontraditional techniques to improve canine explosives detection capabilities.
What’s your reaction when you detect the tantalizing aroma of popcorn at the movie theater or the first, sweet whiff of early morning coffee? How do your senses respond when you realize you smell gas or smoke indoors? Odors produce strong responses. A well-trained nose roots out danger.
One of the benefits of this event “was the fostering of new relationships within the law enforcement canine community and in the improvement and well-established [relationships],” said Scomillio. Based on positive feedback of the event, spearheaded by Supervisory Transportation Security Specialist Nathan Case, more trainings at LaGuardia are planned.
Keeping these two- and four-legged teams at the top of their “sniff game” takes work. A recently completed multiagency explosives detection training event at the TSA LaGuardia warehouse allowed representatives from TSA, the U.S. Coast Guard, FBI and regional police departments to share best practices. Scomillio provided logistical support for this unique training event.
Border Force Sniffer Dog Finds Drugs Hidden in a Package! | Heathrow: Britains Busiest Airport
Do TSA dogs sniff for weed? No. While some people think airport sniffer dogs will seek out illegal drugs, they’re predominantly trained to sniff for explosives, and to sniff for things that could introduce an invasive species into a foreign ecosystem.