Canine threshold to double base smokeless powder

Canines have been employed to thoroughly search susceptible areas such as schools, sporting events, concerts, and more for explosives and other weapons. Unfortunately, while dogs are so readily utilized, little is known about dogs’ detection limits to essential odorants. This study aimed to determine eleven dogs' thresholds to double-base smokeless powder utilizing an air dilution olfactometer to evaluate individual differences. Using a 2-up, 1-down adaptive descending staircase procedure, dogs completed two threshold assessments which were required to meet a specific repeatability criterion. More assessments were required if dogs did not meet our repeatability criterion. Using dog as a fixed effect in our linear model, we found that there were important differences in detection limits between individuals, with some dogs showing consistently lower thresholds and an overall variation of 1,100-fold difference between the best and worst threshold. The results from this study validated the use of an air dilution olfactometer with a correlation measure of 0.86. highlighted individual differences in detection dogs. In addition, the data highlighted individual differences in detection dogs, suggesting that some dogs are inherently better at detecting smokeless powder.

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