Springer Spaniel - Detection Dog Training

Springer Spaniel - Detection Dog Training

English Springer Spaniel

(Archie)

As part of our work detection dog training is one of the most demanding.
The hardest part or certainly one of them, is the initial choice of dog we are going to train.
The breed tends not to be so crucial, any of the gundog varieties will suit, but more often than not they can be split down into groups once we know what jobs they will be doing.
For instance, the Labrador, Labrador mixes are more suitable for passive roles such as multi people queue detecting, such as lines of people to be searched before entering a nightclub/airport/docks, Spaniels more suited to small spaces due to their smaller stature and often used for building searches because the handler can often help by lifting to search more awkward areas.
This is a generalisation of course as different breeds can be used for both types of work, ie  the German Shepherd and Belgian Shepherd, usually but not limited to the Malinois, also the Border Collie is often used.
What tends to be of more importance is the temperament of each individual dog, the will to work for a reward and the stamina to be able to do it day in day out.
Springer Spaniel - Detection Dog Training
On initial meeting the prospective dog, a short check to see if the dog is alert and willing to 'LOOK' for a simple toy, usually a tennis ball, this is carried out in adjacent areas and does not take too long as some dogs get fed up or bored after only a few moments and these tend to be rejected at this stage whereas dogs that keep up the play and keep the enthusiasm, showing a willingness to 'Search' and 'Hunt' for a hidden ball tend to make the initial pick.
Often and the rate is high, the chosen dog will fail not many days or weeks into the training schedule, usually on a simple technical fault, not picked up on earlier sessions but expected as a normal problem. These faults or problems can be many and varied, such as, after a long session the dog reaches its limit and loses interest and never really picks back up after. Not wanting to go into areas to search, these invariably are small dark spaces, loft spaces/basements/cupboards, or floor coverings that to us are inconsequential are indeed a major stumbling block to some dogs and not to others (individual temperaments and characteristics mentioned earlier) like wooden flooring with little grip, metal sheet that ripples and makes noise when walked on and metal galvanised walkway/ gangway/ grid high grip stairways etc.
It was for one of these reasons that my 'Archie' failed and was rejected from the training, but was such a great dog other than not quite up to being a search/detection dog that I decided to make him one of my pack.
Click on video link to see a couple of dogs we have had in recently. 

Springer Spaniel - Detection Dog Training