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Learning to find drug odor?

2K views 15 replies 8 participants last post by  Bella99 
#1 ·
Hi all. Hope you don’t think this is a crazy question but... how does one go about training their dog to find “drugs”. I’ve seen some people on social media who work their dogs in some form of protection sport but also train their dogs with other trainers at finding the odor of said drug. And these people (not the trainers) have nothing to do with law enforcement. I thought that only police and military could do such things. Reason I’m asking is that I’m very interested in the drugs and narcotics side of police k9 work..and very soon a young dog could be headed my way. So. Is it possible for a normal person like me to learn such things? Or do you just need to have connections?
Thanks!


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#4 ·
#5 ·
Simple answer is no you dont need connections to imprint your dog on narcotic odor.

If you are just wanting to have fun with your dog i would strongly suggest going to the sport route and doing nose work, akc scent work, or american schutzhund if you also have an interest in protection/obedience.

Everyone i know thats tried nose work loves it and you will be doing detection with a bunch of like minded people with tons of support.

If you have intentions of doing detection work professionally, that is a whole other ballgame and absolutely should not be looked at unless you are 1000% committed to it. It is a huge lifestyle change, very expensive to start, and can be dangerous.
 
#7 ·
Ok. I have an IGP club I’ve been going to a lot recently so yeah I’m interested in that part. And I finish my degree in police sciences in a couple months so detection is something I’ve been interested in for some time. I’ll look into to scent work stuff in the mean time but was genuinely curious as how these people were learning real detection while not in law enforcement.

Thanks all for the answers


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#6 ·
We always joke that Lyka was a drug dog in her previous life. She sniffs around every vehicle, jumps up to each window, and if she smells something she will sit and bark. We also joke around saying we could make a fortune breaking into the cars she “alerts” on and stealing and reselling the drugs. In the same joking way we say “when we win the lottery” when neither of us even buys tickets ?

We did do a lot of scent work with her at home, because she just really really loved it. But never for narcotics. I wouldn’t even know where to get them these days!

It took her getting old to stop wanting to do an every parked vehicle check. Leave it was said so often during walks that it started to sound like a foreign or mispronounced word.
 
#8 ·
For the people that are actually doing it professionally, you do need connections to get anywhere with it. There aren't really any organizations that will certify civilians unless you are affiliated with a department or someone who trains police dogs. On top of that you need insurance which is very pricey, insurance will require certification. To get any clients you'd need an "in" somewhere.
There are actually a lot more options in the private sector for explosives detection, and more profitable to go that route, there is a huge demand for them right now. My advice would be to start off with sport, find someone willing to mentor you and learn all you can.
 
#9 ·
About the only way to get into narcotics/explosives detection is working for an agency that will send you through a handler program and pair you with a dog. Put in 2 years on the street and you will be eligible for contract work as an experienced handler.

In order to be certified to train with narcotics, you need a DEA permit. Explosives require an ATF permit. There is a lot that goes into receiving these permits.

There are also handler certifications you must get before you can work. Narc teams have to be 97% accurate, bomb teams 100%.

It's not an easy field to get into, but once you pay your dues, you can do just about whatever you want as long as you are prepared to travel a lot. Overseas contracting in war zones pays a substantial salary.
 
#10 ·
It would be easier to just do nosework, as essential oils are legal and easily obtained. With something like a dozen different organizations that offer titles, there is plenty of opportunity to put the training to use.
 
#11 ·
There are a lot of people online who claim to do narcotics detection with their dogs, you will find that maybe the dogs are "trained" to do it, but they aren't certified, and aren't actually working, just more or less having fun. There's countless dog trainers out there that would do private lessons to imprint anyone's dog on pseudo narcotics but training and actually being a working detection team are two completely different things. You'll find that the legitimate private detection handlers are ex police, military, something of that nature because they are generally the only ones that have the ability to certify, get real world experience, and obtain the actual target odors.
 
#12 ·
Oh we had fun with it! It was an awesome party trick and great fun freaking out the local teens!

To be clear, Sabi was trained and worked as a patrol/protection dog. But since we did a lot of events and crowd control we also had several narcotics detection dogs. Sabi was one of only 3 dogs on our whole team that could do both. She was also trained for tracking.
And just because she was awesome, I want it stated proudly that in all our years at work that girl was never wrong! If she said it was there, it was.
But yes my employer was former RCMP.
 
#15 ·
That is pretty cool! Especially that they used rescue dogs, I can't think of anything that would make a dog happier, get to work, do dog stuff, and spend all day with your handler. I looked into doing private security for a few companies but seems like they were kind of a joke like youre saying. Recently found a good one that we'll be working for on occasion, should be a lot of fun.
 
#16 ·
It’s so interesting to hear your guys stories about jobs you all do or have done. Makes me look forward to pursing my goals and working with my new pup I’ll pick up this weekend


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