working dogs

Death, Decomposition, and Detection Dogs

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Death, Decomposition, and Detection Dogs: From Science to SceneBy Susan M. Stejskal, LVT, PhD. Published by CRC Press, Second Edition, 2023, $54.95, 259 pgs.

I love this book. It is very well written; the quality of the cover and pages are excellent. It has informative diagrams and color photos. The book thoroughly researched and covers the topic extremely well. Because the author explains in easy-to-understand terms all of the technical aspects of body decomposition, this book is easy to read. There are nine chapters covering a variety of topics which include forensic tools, a dog’s nose, how a body decomposes, the role that bugs play in forensics, how the environment impacts decomposition, electronic detection devices and what is very interesting, actual case studies.

This book is a must have for canine search and rescue handlers, police, fire fighters, those who study forensics, and authors who write murder mysteries or include a death in their stories.

The loss of a pet

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Love runs deep, no matter if it is the love of a person or a pet. When we lose a beloved pet, no matter what species, it leaves a huge hole in our heart and life. For some people, getting a new pet right away helps ease the pain. Other people can never get another pet. I have owned many dogs, cats and birds, each one holds a special place in my heart. When my search dog Scout died suddenly from undetected cancer, I was numb for two weeks. I had other search dogs and pets since losing him, but I could never get another dog of his breed.

Unfortunately, many people do not understand how someone could feel so deeply about an animal. They do not offer the support that they would give if a family member passed, but the person who is heartbroken needs that support just as much.

People handle grief differently and it helps to understand their needs. A pet owner will handle their grief in the same way that someone who has lost person would. Some people need to talk about the lost pet. Others avoid talking about the pet because it is too painful. Almost everyone feels comfort by getting a sympathy card or a hand written note. In this case a hard copy is best because they may want to save it.

As a certified animal behavior consultant, I have had many clients call to tell me about the loss of their pet. They do this because they know that I will understand. Letting a friend who has lost a pet know that you understand is very important. Let them talk and be willing to listen, even if they talk about the pet frequently as they go through the grieving process.

Both the Old and New Testament have a lot to say about animals and how important they are to God. In the book of Matthew 10:29 it says that God knows even if a sparrow falls. Animals are mentioned many times in the Old Testament, illustrating how important they are to God. Knowing this may bring comfort to someone who is grieving the loss of a pet. The big question that people often have is whether or not they go to Heaven. I have explored this and many other questions regarding animals and their importance to God in my book God’s Creatures A Biblical View of Animals. Please feel free to order it on Amazon or directly through my website for an autographed copy. www.sbulanda.com This book has brought comfort to many people, especially when a beloved pet has passed.

A Dog’s Devotion: True Adventures of a K9 SAR Team

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A Dog’s Devotion: True Adventures of a K9 Search and Rescue Team by Suzanne Elshult and James Guy Mansfield, 286 pgs., ISBN: 978-1-4930-6871-5, Published by Lyons Press, $28.95.

As a K9 SAR person with over 20 years in the field, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. What I found refreshing was that Ms. Elshult and Mr. Mansfield included the struggles that they encountered which seem to permeate the SAR community, such as personality differences, leadership conflicts, and gaining acceptance by non-SAR agencies.

The authors share with us some of the search missions that were especially meaningful to them including those for human remains. Ms. Elshult’s dog Keb, a yellow Labrador Retriever was successfully cross trained in both live detection and human remains. Unfortunately, many SAR people feel that a cross trained dog cannot perform reliably. I personally successfully cross trained all of my search dogs so I understand the struggles that she had.

The book is written in a non-emotional, almost report like manner where we are told the facts. The authors reactions to the situations that they faced are covered but not dramatized. However, we are told of all of the hardships and challenges that they faced and how they worked through them. Even though some of the searches involve looking for human remains, the writing style makes it safe for even the squeamish to read and enjoy.

The beauty of this book is that it clearly gives the reader a factual picture of what search and rescue involves, how searches are managed and decisions are made. Ms. Elshult’s love and admiration for her dog Keb is evident throughout the book and Keb is a good representation of what many search dogs are capable of and do throughout the world. While the searches take place in the Pacific Northwest forests, the dynamics apply to all searches.

Hearing loss in dogs

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A number of breeds of dogs, mostly those breeds that have the merle, piebald or white coats, are prone to deafness. However, dogs that are subjected to frequent loud noise can suffer from hearing loss the same as people. This is referred to as noise-induced hearing loss.

A study conducted at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign by Dr. Kari Foss, found that working dogs such as police, sniffer and gun dogs are a strong candidate to suffer from hearing loss. According to Foss,

“Most commonly, noise-induced hearing loss results from damage to the hair cells in the cochlea that vibrate in response to sound waves,” Foss said. “However, extreme noise may also damage the eardrum and the small bones within the inner ear, called the ossicles.”

         The most common signs that a dog is losing his ability to hear are when the dog fails to respond to commands, or they sleep through noise that would normally wake them up. They may bark excessively or make unusual sounds. Sometimes a dog may have a hearing loss in one ear only. If that is the situation, the dog may hear sounds but not be able to tell where it came from.  

         The researchers recommended that dogs who must work around loud noise wear hearing protection that is designed for dogs. It is also possible that dogs can lose hearing from ear infections and illnesses and as they age.

         If a potential dog owner is going to purchase a breed where deafness is a problem, they must be sure that the breeder has done a BAER test to determine if the puppy is deaf or not.

Puppies are wired at birth to communicate with people

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Some people believe that a dog’s ability to understand what a person means when they point at something is learned in adulthood through interaction with people. However, a group of researchers at the University of Arizona School of Anthropology in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences has illustrated that this is not true.

istock

What they did find out is that while puppies are born with an understanding of human physical and verbal cues, they were not able to initiate help from people for unsolvable problems. This ability comes with experience after interacting with people.

The lead researcher, Emily Bray has spent the last decade studying the puppies bred for service dog work at Canine Companions. Bray feels that if they can understand how dogs think and solve problems, they will be able to better identify those puppies that will make better service dogs.     

The researchers noted that the dogs who become successful service dogs respond to people differently than those who are not successful. Because the researchers are able to study the genetics of the puppies in the test, they hope to identify the genes that cause these traits in puppies. This will enable them to predict the potential for service work even before the puppies are born.

Dog petting therapy for college students

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A study at Washington State University focused on college students, especially those students who may be at risk due to mental health issues or learning issues. The researchers developed a four-week program where students interacted with dogs for ten minutes a day. They found that the decreased stress levels lasted for six weeks.

Petting the dogs improved the student’s ability to plan, organize, concentrate, memorize and increased their motivation. The results showed that the students who were most at risk had the most improvements.

free photo from Google Images

Author’s note: I believe that as researchers continue to refine their studies on the benefits that pets in general have on all people, they will be able to recommend the use of therapy animals in more specific ways.

Aggression in dogs

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A recent study at the University of Helsinki showed that aggression in dogs toward humans can be attributed to the following:

  1. Fearfulness
  2. Age
  3. Breed
  4. The company of other dogs
  5. Owners previous experience with dogs

They determined that fearfulness had a strong influence on aggressive behavior. They found that older dogs were more likely to be aggressive than younger ones. They attribute this partly to age related pain or discomfort and impairment of their senses such as hearing and sight.

They found that small dogs were more aggressive than medium or large dogs. However, because of their small size people are less likely to feel threatened by a small dog’s aggressive behavior and thus not take measures to cure or prevent it.

The researchers found that males were more aggressive than females and that neutering and spaying had no effect on aggressiveness.

Not surprisingly, the researchers found that first time dog owners with less dog experience were more likely to have aggressive dogs. They also found that dogs who lived with other dogs were less likely to show aggressive behavior. Even though previous research has shown that multiple dog households have less aggression, it is unclear why.

Interestingly, the researchers found that the Long-haired Collie (Lassie type), Poodle (all sizes) and Miniature Schnauzers were the most aggressive breeds leading to the consideration that this is related to genetics. I would like to point out that it seems that the researchers focused on the common pet breeds and did not consider the breeds that are by nature aggressive, but not common pets.

The bottom line is that anyone who is considering getting a dog should thoroughly research the breed and the lines that are available to them in their area. The temperament of a breed can vary from area to area based on the local breeding practices. I offer an informative brochure at no cost about how to select the right dog and the right breeder. Email me at sbulanda@gmail.com for a copy with “brochure” in the subject line.

GPS Tracker for dogs

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I was given an article to use for my blog site by Your Dog Advisor and it think it is a great article. Unfortunately, it is too long for my blog. I urge you to go to their link and read the whole article. It is very informative.

Global Positioning System or GPS made for dogs is a way to track your dog’s activity, and/or location. There are many kinds of GPS devices and this article explains, with excellent photos, the types available. Many people in K9 SAR use them to show where their dog has searched in an area.

The canine GPS system is critical if your dog gets lost. The GPS can locate your dog for you. Many times, a dog that is lost will wander or will hide if they are frightened. A small dog can be hidden under debris or brush within a few feet of where you are looking. If they are frightened, they may not come out even for their owner.

In all environments, rural, suburban and urban, it is almost impossible to search every place where a dog could go. It is time consuming and manpower intensive. The GPS tracker will allow you to find your dog quickly.

Here is a list of topics that the article covers. I strongly urge you to click on the link and read their article.

What is a Dog GPS Tracker?

How Does a Dog GPS Tracker Work?

Are There Different Types of Dog GPS Trackers Available?

Which Types of Dogs Should Have a Dog GPS Tracker?

Top 6 Dog GPS Tracker Products We Love

Whistle Go & Go Explore Dog GPS and Health Tracker

Tractive LTE GTPS Dog Tracker

PetFon Pet GPS Tracker

Link AKC Smart Dog Collar

4 Pack Smart Pet Finder GPS Tag

Black and Decker 2-Way Audio GPS Dog Tracker

Does a Dog GPS Tracker Take Place of a Microchip?

Other Tips for Keeping Your Dog Safe

Sue’s Note: A GPS tracker may also work for a cat if it is small enough.

Mechanical disease-sniffing device vs dogs

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A number of researchers from various universities have joined together to try and develop a mechanical device that can rival the scenting ability of dogs to detect diseases in people. No one denies that dogs have a remarkable ability to detect the early stages of disease in humans. But the cost of training the dog and the dog’s length of service makes using them expensive. If scientists can develop a device that can equal a dog’s nose it would reduce a lot of the cost.

What has proven elusive to scientists is that dogs can pick up connections that researchers cannot mimic in a machine. For example, some dogs that have been trained to detect one type of cancer will identify other types of cancer as well. When the researchers tried to determine what the dogs were detecting, they were not able to. The differences were not detectable by current tests. What complicates the problem is that the different cancers that were detected by the dogs do not have any biomolecular signatures in common. The dogs were able to generalize from one kind of cancer to be able to identify others.  

The detection system that has been developed is 200 times more sensitive than a dog’s nose but the machine cannot figure out the elusive patterns that the dog can, that allows the dog to detect various cancers. In other words, the machine cannot think and make the connections. Until the researches solve the mystery, the machine cannot replace the dog.

The important point for people who use dogs for scent detection work is that dogs are capable of analyzing scent in a much more complex way then they have been trained to do. The bottom line is that if your scent dog gives you an indication that does not make sense to you, trust your dog and look further.

Breeding dogs (and cats)

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The following is the first part in a series of eight articles about breeding dogs. Although it applies to dogs, it also applies to cats. People do not realize that there are cat mills which are similar to puppy mills. Note that these articles are based on my years of experience, my opinion and that I do not intend to refer to any individual. Please read the entire eight articles to glean a full understanding of breeding.

Dempsey

Part One: The Bitch

First it must be said that only the best bitches and males should be bred. The only reason to breed is to better the breed.

Often in my career I have had clients tell me that they wanted to breed their pet dog. In most cases, they have no idea what is involved. It is much more than simply introducing a male and female.

Here are some of the reasons why they feel they want to breed their dog.

  1. To make a lot of money. Often people will pay a substantial amount of money for a puppy. They feel that if they breed their bitch, they will earn eight to ten times that money.
  • It will be good for the children to watch. Whelping puppies is pretty gory and most children cannot handle what is involved. In some cases, it can traumatize a child and if the child is a girl, make her afraid to have children of her own.

If you still want a child to see this, it is better to find a breeder who will let your child get up in the middle of the night to watch the birthing of a litter.

  • We love our dog so much we want another like him/her.  The chances of reproducing your dog are slim to nothing. Genetics is not an exact science and if breeders could control how a dog turns out there would be many more champions and exceptional dogs.
  • Everyone who meets my dog wants a puppy like him/her.  As soon as the litter is born most people find that all of those friends who said they wanted a puppy have excuses as to why they cannot get one now. Breeders who have dogs that are breeding quality have waiting lists for a reason. A home bred or backyard bred dog has no special qualities to warrant the cost.
  • We really love puppies. Raising a litter of puppies is a lot of work and if done right, is very costly.