Attributes of specialist search dogs--a questionnaire survey of UK dog handlers and trainer
Rooney, NJ
Anthrozoology Institute, University of Bristol, Department of Clinical Veterinary
Science, Langford, Bristol BS40 5DU, UK.

Bradshaw, JW
Anthrozoology Institute, University of Bristol, Department of Clinical Veterinary Science, Langford, Bristol BS40 5DU, UK.

Almey, H
Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, Fort Halstead, Sevenoaks, Kent, TN8 7BP, UK.

(Received 15 February 2003; Accepted 1 November 2003)

Abstract
The ideal and actual characteristics of specialist search dogs have been examined in questionnaire surveys of 244 dog handlers and trainers from the six main UK dog-using Government agencies. The ten most important characteristics were (ideal level in brackets): acuity of sense of smell (very high), incentive to find an object which is out of sight (very high), health (very high), tendency to hunt by smell alone (very high), stamina (very high), ability to learn from being rewarded (very high), tendency to be distracted when searching (very low); agility (high), consistency of behaviour from day to day (high), motivation to chase an object (high). Significant differences between actual and ideal levels were found for 22 of the 30 characteristics, predominantly in undesirable attributes, suggesting that there is scope for significant improvement in operational effectiveness.

Keywords:
behavioral attributes, forensic science, questionnaire survey, selection, specialist search dog

Paper ID: JFS2003048
DOI: 10.1520/JFS2003048

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Author Rooney NJ, Bradshaw JW, Almey H Title Attributes of specialist search dogs--a questionnaire survey of UK dog handlers and trainer Symposium , Committee on