Development and Training for Working Dogs.

Individual differences in behavior lead to wide variability in working dog suitability, and are the primary reason for rejection or early release. Behavioral suitability of a working dog is shaped by interactions with its environment during early development and specialized training. Understanding how aspects of development and training affect a working dog's performance is critical for practitioners to effectively evaluate and treat behavioral concerns in working dogs. This article provides an overview of critical aspects of puppy development that influence future behavior, and reviews important features of training that influence a dog's ability to learn and perform its designated task.

Validation of a Behavior Test for Predicting Puppies' Suitability as Detection Dogs.

Behavioral characteristics are the most influential factor in the success of a working dog. The need for highly capable detection dogs continues to rise; but reliable methods for early selection are lacking. The current study aimed to assess the reliability and validity of a behavioral test for assessing detection dog suitability. A cohort of candidate detection dog puppies (n = 60) were tested at 3; 5; and 11 months of age; as well as at the completion of training at approximately one year. Tests were designed to assess important detection dog behavioral characteristics such as search ability and fearfulness. Inter-rater reliability was high between independent observers. Convergent validity was demonstrated by comparing Principal Component Analysis (PCA) scores from the behavior test to trainer ratings using the Canine Behavioral Assessment and Research Questionnaire (C-BARQ) and a survey of detection dog traits. Performance on the behavior test predicted adult selection as a detection dog as early as 3 months. The methods reported will be valuable for improving selection measures and enhancing collaborations across breeding programs in order to increase the availability of highly capable detection dogs.

Selecting Dogs for Explosives Detection: Behavioral Characteristics.

Detection dogs are widely considered the most effective and adaptive method for explosives detection. Increases in emerging sophisticated threats are accelerating the demand for highly capable explosives detection, causing a strain on available supplies of quality canines worldwide. These strains are further compounded by rigorous behavioral standards required to meet mission-specific capabilities, leading to high rates of dogs disqualified from training or deployment. Ample research has explored the behavioral characteristics important for assistance, guide, and other traditional working roles, while those corresponding to more specialized tasks such as detection of explosives are not as well-understood. In this review we aim to identify the behavioral characteristics important for operational tasks of explosives detection dogs, contrasting with that of other working roles and highlighting key differences between explosives and other types of detection dogs. Further, we review the available research on methods for assessing and selecting candidate detection dogs and make recommendations for future directions and applications to the industry. Improvements and standardization in assessment technology allowing for the identification and enhancement of behavioral characteristics will be key to advancing canine detection technology in general.

Odor span task in dogs (Canis familiaris).

Working memory is essential for organisms to solve problems related to their survival and to adapt to changes in their environment. Researchers sought to create a non-human model of working memory that could be used to better understand its predictive value and underlying brain function. Several of these studies were conducted using the odor span task (OST) with rodents, and here, we present the first OST with domestic dogs (n = 6). The OST is an incrementing non-match-to-sample task in which dogs were presented with both a session novel (S +) and a previously encountered (S -) odor on each trial. A response to the session novel odor was always reinforced. Upon meeting training criterion on sessions with 24 trials or odors to remember, the dogs were tested on the OST with up to 72 odors to remember in the session. All dogs learned the OST and displayed accurate performance (≥ 79%) for the largest set size of 72 odors. In an analysis focused on the effect of intervening odors (i.e., the number of trials since the S - was last encountered), dogs demonstrated above-chance performance for up to eight intervening odors. The implications of these findings are discussed in the context of dog working memory for odors.

Investigation of the Behavioral Characteristics of Dogs Purpose-Bred and Prepared to Perform Vapor Wake® Detection of Person-Borne Explosives.

Specialized detector dogs are increasingly being utilized for the detection of modern threats. The Vapor Wake® (VW) dog was developed to create a dog phenotype ideally suited for detecting hand-carried and body-worn explosives. VW dogs (VWDs) are trained to sample and alert to target odors in the aerodynamic wakes of moving persons, which entrains vapor and small particles from the person. The behavioral characteristics necessary for dogs to be successfully trained and employed for the application of VW are a distinct subset of the desired general characteristics of dogs used for detection tasks due to the dynamic nature of moving targets. The purpose of this study was to examine the behavioral characteristics of candidate detector dogs to determine the particular qualities that set apart VW-capable dogs from others. We assessed 146 candidate detector dogs from a VW breeding and training program. Dogs received identical puppy development and foundational odor training and underwent performance evaluations at 3, 6, 10, and 12 months old, after which they were sold for service. Dogs were categorized based on their final outcome of the training program, independently determined by private vendors, corresponding to three groups: dogs successfully sold for VW, dogs sold for standard explosives detection, and dogs that failed to be placed in any type of detector dog service (Washouts). Comparisons of behavioral evaluations between the groups were made across domains pertaining to search-related behaviors (Performance), reactions to novel stimuli (Environmental), and overall ease of learning new tasks (Trainability). Comparisons were also made at each evaluation to determine any early emergence of differences. VWDs scored significantly higher on Performance characteristics compared to standard explosives detection dogs (EDDs) and Washouts. However, Environmental characteristics did not differentiate VWDs from EDDs, though scores on these measures were significantly lower in the Washouts. Furthermore, differences between groups emerged as early as 3 and 6 months for select measures. We describe the behavioral characteristics targeted for selection in developing the VW phenotype and discuss the relative merit and degree of expression of those characteristics in the success of dogs bred and trained for the VW application.

Real-Time Detection of a Virus Using Detection Dogs.

Viral infections are ubiquitous in humans, animals, and plants. Real-time methods to identify viral infections are limited and do not exist for use in harsh or resource-constrained environments. Previous research identified that tissues produce unique volatile organic compounds (VOC) and demonstrated that VOC concentrations change during pathologic states, including infection, neoplasia, or metabolic disease. Patterns of VOC expression may be pathogen specific and may be associated with an odor that could be used for disease detection. We investigated the ability of two trained dogs to detect cell cultures infected with bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) and to discriminate BVDV-infected cell cultures from uninfected cell cultures and from cell cultures infected with bovine herpes virus 1 (BHV 1) and bovine parainfluenza virus 3 (BPIV 3). Dogs were trained to recognize cell cultures infected with two different biotypes of BVDV propagated in Madin-Darby bovine kidney cells using one of three culture media. For detection trials, one target and seven distractors were presented on a scent wheel by a dog handler unaware of the location of targets and distractors. Detection of BVDV-infected cell cultures by Dog 1 had a diagnostic sensitivity of 0.850 (95% CI: 0.701-0.942), which was lower than Dog 2 (0.967, 95% CI: 0.837-0.994). Both dogs exhibited very high diagnostic specificity (0.981, 95% CI: 0.960-0.993) and (0.993, 95% CI: 0.975-0.999), respectively. These findings demonstrate that trained dogs can differentiate between cultured cells infected with BVDV, BHV1, and BPIV3 and are a realistic real-time mobile pathogen sensing technology for viral pathogens. The ability to discriminate between target and distractor samples plausibly results from expression of unique VOC patterns in virus-infected and -uninfected cells.