Those Amazing Sniffer Dogs - Part I

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A sniffer dog uses his keen sense of smell to detect the presence or follow trails of mainly explosives, blood and drugs.  These dogs get a remarkable level of training to also detect human remains, plants, animals, firearms, mold, food remains and phones!

The training is done to such perfection that dogs are able to distinguish the distinct smells of all the items mentioned above and can also detect them when present in a combination.

For instance if a person tries to get away with drugs camouflaged with the strong smell of eucalyptus oil or  disinfectants, hidden well in his clothing, a dog can still find out that presence of drugs  and stop him!

Some dogs are sharp enough to sniff out and detect bloodstains more than a decade old!  Labradors, German Shepherds, Siberian Huskies are all popular sniffer dogs and are always in great demand because of this. 

Meanwhile scientists are involved in creating an electronic sniffing device.  According to CNN, Yushan Yan, a professor in the University of California and his team are involved with such a project.  They are in an endeavor to create an “electronic nose” that can “smell” as well as a dog!

The device will be hand held and will prove to be an asset in airport security, baggage checking and in military operations, according to Yan.  The advantages, according to the professor is that the device can be deployed without investing time and money on training and maintenance, as one would do with dogs.

With the successful completion of this project will the demand for sniffer dogs decline?  This we will have to wait and watch…..