Why are dogs trained to detect drugs and bombs?

Cohesion

The relationship between dogs and humans has always been rated as extraordinary. There is no other animal that humans have such attachment and understanding.

We know a dog's cry is happy or threatening, barking is dismissive or hello. We can tell if they are happy, sad, or scared by looking at their body language.

Humans and dogs have created an unbreakable bond and dogs often have an instinct to protect their owners or go out with humans.

With a brave and loyal nature, dogs are not only gatekeepers but also participate in combat. The use of dogs for battle was first recorded in 600 BC by the Romans, Egyptians and Greeks.

As early as 1770, dogs were used to fill the shortage of manpower in France. However, nowhere are dogs so trained and useful for so many purposes as in the United States.

The use of dogs in America for military purposes was during the Seminole War. During the American Civil War, dogs were used to guard, deliver mail, and watch over prisoners. During World War I, dogs were used as mascots on American military and propaganda posters.

Before World War II, dogs were often used in messenger and guard roles; However, today, they are trained to perform a variety of extremely special missions such as tracking, sniffing out drugs and bombs, and even attacking when necessary.

Canine dog warriors have an average professional life of at least 11 years and undergo extensive evaluation before being recognized, and only half of them receive training.

These dogs have an extremely keen sense of smell and do not have physical problems. In addition, they are not tied to the reward system so they can attack on command. Many dogs were removed because they showed signs of fear when attacked.

A common misconception is that every training dog breed is a German Shepherd, but there are other popular breeds, including Belgian Malinois, Doberman Pinchers, Dutch Shepherds and Labrador Retrievers.

These dogs have an extremely keen sense of smell and do not have physical problems.

Special ability

The United States chooses dogs for training from the Netherlands and Germany because their crossbreeds are suitable for many purposes. America chooses ideal dogs with a balance between aggression and intelligence, undergoing training to become brave warriors in the military.

These dogs have been intensively trained, with an accuracy of almost 98% in detecting drugs and bombs. Military dogs are considered non-commissioned officers when they complete their entire training course.

Interestingly, their rank is even higher than a manager to ensure there is no dog abuse while in the military.

Ideally, these dogs are professionally trained for patrol or detection tasks.

Whatever the task, they are trained to carry out the task in an exemplary manner. In the world of dogs, such tasks are like a game because their goal is to please the manager and receive a reward for a job well done, whether it's attacking, developing, etc. showing drugs, explosives or looking for something.

The question is why are dogs and not other animals or devices trained for such purposes? The truth is that they have olfactory glands that work at least 10,000 times more efficiently than humans and any other device ever developed.

Extensive scientific and technological advances have been directed towards attempting to mimic the ability in dogs, but with no appreciable success. Therefore, the value of dogs in performing the above tasks will be long to replace.