Dogs inhabit a world of olfactory sensations of which humans barely understand. So one of the first principles of detection dog training is that a dog is never corrected or punished for mistakes. That’s because the handler can never be too sure that the dog is actually wrong. Just because the handler can’t see whatever the dog is alerting to, doesn’t mean that the search target wasn’t there two hours ago and its scent still lingers. So experienced handlers just accept the uncertainty and send their dogs back to work. There are plenty of other ways for misunderstandings to arise between dog and human. In 2008, I was working with a couple of trainers from the Working Dogs for Conservation Foundation on a pilot study in which we trained detection dogs to find Kincaid’s lupine, a rare prairie plant in the Willamette Valley of Oregon. The dogs had completed their training phase and were being tested on their ability to find Kincaid’s lupine on experimental plots. As Rogue and I were approaching a plot near Fern Ridge, I could already see a number of large lupines ahead. So I was surprised and disconcerted when Rogue passed by the plants without doing an alert. I quickly abandoned the test, got out my clicker, and we went into training mode. I spent the next 10 minutes reinforcing Rogue’s alert behavior on the lupines in the plot. Then it was time to test one of the experienced German shepherds on a nearby plot. She too walked past lupines without alerting. It was at that point when I exclaimed, “Oh Shit!”. Later that day a botanist friend confirmed that the lupines on the plot were not Kincaid’s, but sicklekeel lupine. The dogs had indeed been correct and I had just created a big set back in Rogue’s training. Fortunately Rogue is forgiving partner and I managed to undo the confusion I had caused.
I remembered that mess I created back in 2008 during a search for western pond turtle nests yesterday. Rogue and I were working in a garden next to a home in Albany where there has been a lot of nesting activity this season. As Rogue was wandering along a driveway far ahead of me, he gave indications that he detected an odor on the breeze. I watched Rogue drift upwind, stick his nose in a concrete planter, and sit–a clear alert that he found strong turtle scent. It was obvious that no turtle would have climbed into that planter to lay eggs, but I’ll never make a mistake like I did in 2008 and so now always give the benefit of doubt to my dog. I got to the planter and saw it was empty. I looked at Rogue. Rogue points to the planter. I look more carefully into the planter and finally see a few shreds of old turtle eggs, probably collected by the homeowner last year and haphazardly left in the planter. Rogue smiles and drools as I reached for my bag of chicken livers to give him his reward. Always trust the dog!
Photo courtesy of Jen Newlin
