Training, Evaluation and Maintenance

Presently, US explosives detection dogs tend to be German or Belgian Shepherds, Malinois or Labradors, but there is more variation within a breed than between breeds [22]. Selecting a dog or breeding a dog with optimal olfactory capabilities has only recently been emphasized. Yet, for centuries animals have been bred to perform select tasks. Perhaps olfactory detection has lagged behind in this 

Canines are a proven operational tool for substance detection, but as a practice, canine detection remains more of a craft than a technology. The quasi-technological state of detector dog technology fosters variabiHty in detection capability and reliabiHty, resulting in varying degrees of skepticism. Nevertheless, canine detection is used as the basehne capability to which instmmental devices are compared. Furthermore, despite aU the unknowns and uncertainties, there are stiU many situations where detection dogs remain the best or, indeed, the only available option. 

Pinal Technical Report for T-187B (N41756-01-7445), Combating Terrorism Technical Support Working Group, 2005. 

Color reactions are chemical reactions that produce colored products. Identification of a compound, or more commonly a group of compounds, by color reactions is one of the oldest and simplest methods in analytical chemistry. It is based on the fact that a specific compound or a group of compounds, when treated by an appropriate reagent (often called color reagent ), produce a color that is characteristic of this compound or group of compounds. 

Color reactions have been extensively used in the field of explosives analysis [1-3]. Their application is easy and the equipment required is simple and inexpensive. Their sensitivities are often in the sub-microgram range. They enable rapid, on-site diagnostic detection of explosive materials, and are also used for preliminary laboratory tests of materials suspected of being explosive. Moreover, these tests can help in diagnosing impurities and degradation products of explosives. 

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