Explosive detection - Page 1

I live in Boston.  I walk my dog near the finish line of the Boston Marathon all the time.  I've stood at the location where one of the bombs went off during a race in the past.  The bombing changes everything in this town.  Yes, it's still early.  But beyond the feeling of sadness and the feeling of being violated and feeling of like the city is under occupation, there is knowledge of what the bombing means for security at other events.  We have a lot of events open to the public during the warmer months.  The Boston Marathon is like the magnolia trees and the forsynthia - a sign of Spring.  And it's the first of many events open to the public.  We have walks for hunger, cancer, AIDS, you name it, that end in the Commons.  We have Earthday, Shakespeare in the Park, free concerts at the Hatch Shell, and parades whenever a professional team wins a championship.  The winter here is soooo long, that when the weather turns warm, everyone spends as much outside as possible.

The bombing changes everything.  The threat will always be there that it will happen again.  Some copy cat.  The cops will increase their presence dramatically - and yes, I already feel the loss of freedom.  But the cops and their bomb sniffing dogs can't be everywhere - they had been in the area where the bombs were set off earlier in the day - but how to patrol an area so long. 

My dog has a lot of training.  We've done a lot of obedience training, rally training, shultzhund, earthdog - can't help feeling that if he'd been train for explosive detection and we had been near the finish line, he may have detected the bombs.  I know it sounds farfetched but I know people whose dog have been certified for sniffing out drugs - but explosives seem to me to be a little more useful.

Wouldn't it be great if AKC and UKC and all of the other KCs started having events for bomb sniffing dogs?  Get them certified and now anytime they are on a walk, they are automatically searching for explosives.  I have a little terrier with a great disposition.  Be perfect for sniffing out explosives in crowds without making people feel imposed upon.

Sorry - just need to express myself.  Been a tough couple of days.  Sad for the victims.  Sad for the changes that will occur.

What happened in Boston is a horrible tragedy and I'm sure being so close to the event you really feel the impact.  Things are absolutely going to change and need to change.  While it is a noble idea to want to get involved; training pets for bomb detection is really not the answer, IMHO.  I'm sure your dog probably has the ability to do it and to do a good job with the right training.  Knowing what is involved in the training and maintenance of detection dogs including explosive detection dogs it is really not something for the AKC or UKC to get involved with.  Bomb detection is best left to professionals with the skills, ability and resources to do it properly.  

Agree with Slamdunc. The biggest problem I can see with training pets for explosives detection, is unlike narc where if the dog misses then some
narcotics got away, if you miss an explosive device, people die. There are counties here in NC who will absolutely not have an EDD on staff because
they don't want the liability if the dog walks the odor. Best to leave this one alone...

On the other hand, there is a sport gaining in momentum called nosework. It is not yet recognized by AKC but there has been talk of possibly adding
it in the future. Dogs are trained on odors such as anise (I believe this is correct if memory serves me right) and 2 others. Dogs are only allowed to
passive alert... actually thinking about doing this with my narc dog (certified through NAPWDA) because we don't use the narc portion of his training
in "real life" but he loves scent detection.

.02 take it for what its worth.

Meliissa

Auburn University's Canine Detection Research Institute (CDRI), has a Vapor Wake training and breeding program, for law enforcement and faculty associated with other Universities conducting related research.  Although its pretty much a "closed to the public" facility of the university, they do occasionally bring on civilians engaged in related research.  I'm pretty sure there is no way you could just volunteer, however, or drop in to see how they operate.  But you could send and email and see how they reply or who they refer you to: 

http://auburn.edu/research/vapor-wake-dogs-stay-on-target/

http://www.vetmed.auburn.edu/cdri/traning-schedule

As for the possibility of some kind of national program training civilians, I agree with those above, the chances are slim  Its already pretty tough for a civilian with no prior Law Enforcement experience to get involved in search and rescue, let alone explosives or narcotics detection.  However, if I used my imagination and guessed who would be most likely to try such a thing, such a program wouldn't be coming from the AKC, DOHS, State or local government, it would probably come from FEMA.

So sorry, Jeff's. I do understand how you want to do something. Senseless, evil violence, it does change everything, too.