tag:theconversation.com,2011:/africa/topics/sniffer-dogs-6055/articlesSniffer dogs – The Conversation2024-01-07T19:03:59Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2048132024-01-07T19:03:59Z2024-01-07T19:03:59ZDogs are incredible – if unlikely – allies in conservation<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565576/original/file-20231213-15-j64ksb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=10%2C10%2C6699%2C4436&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source"> UniSC Detection Dogs for Conservation</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Dogs have been working with people for centuries. Think hunting dogs, herding dogs, police dogs or search and rescue dogs. But have you heard of conservation dogs?</p>
<p>Conservation dogs fall mainly into two categories: guardian dogs and sniffer dogs (also called scent, detection or detector dogs).</p>
<p>Guardian dogs protect vulnerable species from predators, while sniffer dogs locate targets of interest using their powerful sense of smell.</p>
<p>In the past 15 years, dogs have begun to play a <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/2041-210X.13560">crucial role in conservation</a> around the world. So let’s take a closer look at them, with a focus on their work in Australia. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/koala-detecting-dogs-sniff-out-flaws-in-australias-threatened-species-protection-121118">Koala-detecting dogs sniff out flaws in Australia's threatened species protection</a>
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<h2>The nose that knows</h2>
<p>Guardian dogs were made famous by the 2015 movie <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3401748/">Oddball</a>. The film is based on the true story of <a href="http://www.warrnamboolpenguins.com.au/maremma-dogs#:%7E:text=In%20a%20world%2Dfirst%2C%20Maremma,for%20the%20Middle%20Island%20Project.">Maremma dogs</a>, trained to protect little penguins from foxes on Middle Island near Warrnambool in southwest Victoria. The penguin population had dwindled to fewer than ten before the Maremma dogs got involved. The breed was chosen for its long association with guarding sheep in Europe. </p>
<p>But most conservation dogs are sniffer dogs, because there are so many uses for them. They can be trained to find animals or plants, or “indirect” signs animals have left behind such as poo or feathers. </p>
<p>Dogs can detect <em>anything</em> with an odour – and <em>everything</em> has an odour.
<a href="https://www.ecolsoc.org.au/?hottopic-entry=detection-dogs-provide-a-powerful-method-for-conservation-surveys">Sniffer dogs</a> are trained to detect a target scent and point it out to their human coworker (sometimes referred to as handler or <a href="https://roguedogs.org/iwanttobeabounder">bounder</a>).</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565582/original/file-20231213-26-j686k1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A photo of a sniffer dog during training, dropping to the ground to show where she found the target odour in a jar" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565582/original/file-20231213-26-j686k1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565582/original/file-20231213-26-j686k1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565582/original/file-20231213-26-j686k1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565582/original/file-20231213-26-j686k1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565582/original/file-20231213-26-j686k1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565582/original/file-20231213-26-j686k1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565582/original/file-20231213-26-j686k1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">During training, sniffer dog Billie Jean drops to the ground when she finds her target odour.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Russell Miller, UniSC Detection Dogs for Conservation</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Sniffer dogs have been trained for various missions such as:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>finding rare and endangered species</p></li>
<li><p>detecting invasive animals during eradication or containment such as <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-16/sniffer-dogs-help-fight-battle-against-fire-ants-in-queensland/6623876">fire ants</a> or <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/python-sniffing-dogs-floridas-newest-weapon-fighting-invasive/story?id=74776821">snakes</a> </p></li>
<li><p>locating <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/canberra-saturdaybreakfast/oakley-the-conservation-dog-helping-the-act/102722540">pest plants</a></p></li>
<li><p>supporting wildlife surveys by detecting scats (<a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-17/koala-poo-sniffing-dog-recruitment/7176218">poo</a>), urine, <a href="https://blog.csiro.au/sniffing-out-solutions-detection-dogs-are-helping-threatened-species/">vomit</a>, nests, carcasses and even <a href="https://molecularecologyblog.com/2019/08/19/interview-with-the-author-detecting-pathogens-in-koalas-dogs-versus-qpcr/">diseases</a>. </p></li>
</ul>
<p>They have worked in extreme conditions on land (including on <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-11/wonder-dog-protects-island-from-rodents/12338438">sub-Antarctic islands</a>) and <a href="https://whalesanctuaryproject.org/dio-the-dog-goes-sniffing-for-whale-poop/">at sea</a>, and can even detect <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/sniffer-dogs-conservation-sea-turtles-florida">scent located underground</a>. Sniffer dogs have also trained to recognise <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/4496200">individual animals such as tigers</a> by scent.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566063/original/file-20231215-23-tvog7v.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A sniffer dog poses with an open copy of a french book about the incredible nose of the dog by Frank Rosell" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566063/original/file-20231215-23-tvog7v.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/566063/original/file-20231215-23-tvog7v.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566063/original/file-20231215-23-tvog7v.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566063/original/file-20231215-23-tvog7v.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566063/original/file-20231215-23-tvog7v.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566063/original/file-20231215-23-tvog7v.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/566063/original/file-20231215-23-tvog7v.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sniffer dog Maya poses with a french copy of a book about the incredible nose of the dog by Frank Rosell.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Romane Cristescu, UniSC Detection Dogs for Conservation</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The ultimate scent detection machine</h2>
<p>A dog’s nose is estimated to be <a href="https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/S/bo27611471.html">100,000 to 100 million times</a> more sensitive than a human nose (depending on the dog breed). A much larger proportion (seven to 40 times larger) of the dog’s brain is dedicated to decoding scent. </p>
<p>That means dogs can detect very low scent concentrations – the equivalent of <a href="https://www.exploratorium.edu/blogs/spectrum/dogs-smell-time#:%7E:text=With%20up%20to%20300%20million,continuously%2C%20even%20as%20they%20exhale">a teaspoon of sugar in five million litres of water (or two Olympic-sized swimming pools)</a>. They can also differentiate between very similar odours. </p>
<p>Dogs analyse the air from each of their nostrils independently, detecting tiny variations in scent concentration. This gives them a directional sense of smell that can guide them left or right until they’ve honed in on the origin of the scent.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2871809/">Thanks to very sophisticated nostrils</a>, dogs can avoid contaminating an odour with their own breath (exhaling air through the nostrils’ sides). They also can analyse odours continuously regardless of whether they are inhaling or exhaling. </p>
<p>Besides being the ultimate scent detection machine, dogs are great ambassadors for conservation – melting hearts all the way to <a href="https://ew.com/movies/2019/11/28/tom-hanks-twitter-nice-tweets/">Hollywood</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565570/original/file-20231213-27-awguev.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A still from a video on twitter featuring Hollywood actor Tom Hanks reading and responding to tweets including one about the koala detection dog Bear." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565570/original/file-20231213-27-awguev.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565570/original/file-20231213-27-awguev.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565570/original/file-20231213-27-awguev.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565570/original/file-20231213-27-awguev.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=361&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565570/original/file-20231213-27-awguev.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565570/original/file-20231213-27-awguev.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565570/original/file-20231213-27-awguev.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=453&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">While reading a tweet about our IFAW / UniSC koala detection dog Bear, Hollywood actor Tom Hanks said: ‘This is a Disney movie that must be made’, before suggesting a title: ‘The story of Bear: The Koala Detection Dog’. ‘I like bear!’</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">X/Twitter</span></span>
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<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1723910643353587775"}"></div></p>
<h2>Finding the right candidate for the job</h2>
<p>Some organisations rescue their dogs. They look for the toy-obsessed kind – those dogs that never stop playing.</p>
<p>In many cases these dogs were abandoned for that very reason. They require constant entertainment and become difficult to care for in a normal family setting, where people have to leave for work and devote time to activities other than entertaining their dog. </p>
<p>A sniffer dog gets to be with their handlers almost every day of the week. That work consists of long walks with lots of play. </p>
<p>Trainers use toys and play as a reward, so dogs learn to associate this reward with the target scent.</p>
<p>Learning through association – called <a href="https://open.lib.umn.edu/intropsyc/chapter/7-1-learning-by-association-classical-conditioning/">classical or pavlovian conditioning</a> – is very easy for dogs. It’s so easy that the scent-learning part of the job is usually the quickest. Training a dog to feel confident and be safe in the natural environment is more challenging. And if the dog had a troubled background before being rescued, rehabilitation is the most time-consuming and difficult component of the training. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565581/original/file-20231213-25-h9ef4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Rear view of two sniffer dogs sitting with their handler in a grassy hilltop gazing into the distance" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565581/original/file-20231213-25-h9ef4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/565581/original/file-20231213-25-h9ef4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565581/original/file-20231213-25-h9ef4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565581/original/file-20231213-25-h9ef4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565581/original/file-20231213-25-h9ef4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565581/original/file-20231213-25-h9ef4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/565581/original/file-20231213-25-h9ef4v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=493&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sniffer dogs with their handler Russell Miller near Gympie region in Queensland, Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Katrin Hohwieler, UniSC Detection Dogs for Conservation</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>What type of dog can become a sniffer dog?</h2>
<p>The most important aspect of the association learning process is having the right dog – one with obsessive behaviour. And <a href="https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/2041-210X.13560">any breed, sex and age of dog</a> can present this personality type.</p>
<p>Some breeds might tend to have higher proportions of obsessed and toy-focused dogs, but all breeds, including crossbreeds, have been successfully deployed as sniffer dogs.</p>
<p>Some breeds do have better sniffers – the bloodhound is the champion of olfactory performance – but depending on the target scent, most dogs’ noses are still extremely efficient and more than capable of the task.</p>
<p>Robust, agile and high-energy breeds are better suited to working outdoors. Medium-sized breeds are usually better able to crawl under and jump over obstacles, while also light enough to be easily carried by their human coworker as needed.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553803/original/file-20231015-23-54t3en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A wildlife rescuer wearing fire protective gear carries detection dog Bear" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553803/original/file-20231015-23-54t3en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/553803/original/file-20231015-23-54t3en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553803/original/file-20231015-23-54t3en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553803/original/file-20231015-23-54t3en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553803/original/file-20231015-23-54t3en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553803/original/file-20231015-23-54t3en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/553803/original/file-20231015-23-54t3en.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">International Fund for Animal Welfare IFAW / UniSC koala detection dog ‘Bear’ was deployed during the Black Summer fires (2019-20) to find survivors. Pictured here with the author Romane Cristescu at Two Thumbs Wildlife Trust sanctuaries in Cooma, New South Wales.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Kye McDonald, UniSC Detection Dogs for Conservation</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/scientists-find-burnt-starving-koalas-weeks-after-the-bushfires-133519">Scientists find burnt, starving koalas weeks after the bushfires</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<h2>Top jobs for conservation dogs</h2>
<p>Meet dogs working in conservation around the world:</p>
<ul>
<li><p><a href="https://whalesanctuaryproject.org/dio-the-dog-goes-sniffing-for-whale-poop/">detecting orca poo</a></p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://www.australiandoglover.com/2016/06/detector-dogs-saved-macquarie-island.html?m=0">making</a> and <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-11/wonder-dog-protects-island-from-rodents/12338438">keeping</a> World Heritage-listed islands and Antarctica pristine </p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://theconversation.com/scientists-find-burnt-starving-koalas-weeks-after-the-bushfires-133519">wildlife search and rescue</a></p></li>
<li><p>working as <a href="https://www.warrnamboolpenguins.com.au/maremma-dogs">guardians</a></p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-07-16/sniffer-dogs-help-fight-battle-against-fire-ants-in-queensland/6623876">containing fire ants</a></p></li>
<li><p>leading weed eradication on <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2022-01-23/weed-sniffing-dogs-unleashed-n-tasmanian-central-highlands/100773942">land</a> or <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/canberra-saturdaybreakfast/oakley-the-conservation-dog-helping-the-act/102722540">water</a></p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/aec.13220">monitoring wind farms</a></p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/queensland/how-a-vomit-sniffing-dog-is-helping-save-endangered-owls-20190124-p50tg6.html">finding vomit</a> (rejected owl pellets, to be precise)</p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-13/sniffer-dogs-could-help-win-the-battle-against-extinction/7163098">supporting environmental assessments</a></p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://theconversation.com/meet-moss-the-detection-dog-helping-tassie-devils-find-love-142909">helping Tasmanian devils find mates</a></p></li>
<li><p><a href="https://molecularecologyblog.com/2019/08/19/interview-with-the-author-detecting-pathogens-in-koalas-dogs-versus-qpcr/">detecting diseases</a>.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>These are just a few of the dogs making a difference in our fight to protect biodiversity. But we have barely scratched the surface of their potential!</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/204813/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Romane H Cristescu works for Detection Dogs for Conservation, at the University of the Sunshine Coast. She is receiving external funding through multiple government-funded, foundation association, not-for-profit group, and research council grants. She is a founding member and current executive of the Australasian Conservation Dogs Network.</span></em></p>Conservation dogs perform vital roles across Australia. Some are guardians protecting wildlife from predators while others put their powerful sense of smell to use as sniffer dogs or detection dogs.Romane H Cristescu, Researcher in Koala, Detection Dogs, Conservation Genetics and Ecology, University of the Sunshine CoastLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1833632022-05-20T00:41:00Z2022-05-20T00:41:00ZCan sniffer dogs really detect COVID almost as well as a PCR test? Turns out they can<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464382/original/file-20220519-26-gkluh1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=2%2C2%2C1914%2C1273&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://unsplash.com/photos/N04FIfHhv_k">Victor Grabarczyk/unsplash</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Dogs have an exceptional sense of smell. We take advantage of this ability in many ways, including by training them to find illicit drugs, dangerous goods and even people. </p>
<p>In recent years, a dog’s sense of smell has also been used in the medical field. These remarkable animals can be trained to <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-scent-of-sickness-5-questions-answered-about-using-dogs-and-mice-and-ferrets-to-detect-disease-151832">sniff out</a> cancer, diabetes, and extraordinarily, <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-40721-4">epileptic seizures</a> before they occur.</p>
<p>Early in the pandemic the possibility of using dogs to sniff out COVID was explored in a few countries. And although the results of these early trials surpassed most people’s expectations, many <a href="https://theconversation.com/yes-dogs-can-sniff-out-covid-but-not-after-dinner-when-they-need-a-nap-161669">questions remained</a>. These included how well these findings would stand up to more rigorous scientific scrutiny and how well dogs would perform outside the artificial environment of the research laboratory.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/yes-dogs-can-sniff-out-covid-but-not-after-dinner-when-they-need-a-nap-161669">Yes, dogs can sniff out COVID. But not after dinner, when they need a nap</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In the past week we have moved closer to answering these questions, with an article published in <a href="https://gh.bmj.com/content/7/5/e008024">BMJ Global Health</a>, which found dogs could detect COVID almost as well as PCR tests, in some circumstances.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1526676331735425026"}"></div></p>
<h2>What did the researchers test?</h2>
<p>This article reported the results of two studies. In both studies, four dogs were tested to see how well they detected COVID from skin swabs taken from people with or without COVID (according to the gold-standard test, PCR). </p>
<p>These dogs didn’t just come off the streets; they had already had a significant amount of training in sniffing out drugs, dangerous goods or cancer.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-scent-of-sickness-5-questions-answered-about-using-dogs-and-mice-and-ferrets-to-detect-disease-151832">The scent of sickness: 5 questions answered about using dogs – and mice and ferrets – to detect disease</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>The first study</h2>
<p>In the first study, the researchers looked at whether the dogs could identify COVID in the skin swabs of 420 volunteers, 114 of whom had tested positive to COVID by PCR. </p>
<p>The study was rigorous, with various precautions against the results being compromised. This included an elaborate study protocol that involved a number of separate assistants and a dog handler. None of them knew whether the sample was from someone with COVID, so they could not influence the outcome, intentionally or unintentionally.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464205/original/file-20220519-25-h91ovr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="German Shepherd dogs with trainers" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464205/original/file-20220519-25-h91ovr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464205/original/file-20220519-25-h91ovr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464205/original/file-20220519-25-h91ovr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464205/original/file-20220519-25-h91ovr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464205/original/file-20220519-25-h91ovr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464205/original/file-20220519-25-h91ovr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464205/original/file-20220519-25-h91ovr.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Neither the dog handler or assistants knew who had COVID and who didn’t.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/airport-security-workers-two-german-shepherd-1798027411">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The dogs detected COVID with a sensitivity of 92% (which refers to their ability to correctly identify those with infection) and a specificity of 91% (their ability to correctly identify those without infection). </p>
<p>Although there was some variation between dogs, they all performed exceptionally well. There are no significant disclaimers here, this was a great result.</p>
<h2>The second study</h2>
<p>The second study was important as its goal was to see how well the dogs could do in the messiness of the real world. This real-life trial involved the dogs sniffing 303 incoming passengers at Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport in Finland. Each passenger also took a PCR test. </p>
<p>The dogs matched the PCR results in 296 out of 303 (98%) of the samples and they correctly identified the swabs as negative in 296 out of 300 (99%) samples.</p>
<p>The important consideration in interpreting this result is this happened during airport screening, a situation where you wouldn’t expect many people to test positive.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464207/original/file-20220519-14-ilb0td.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Sniffer dog resting on airport baggage carousel" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464207/original/file-20220519-14-ilb0td.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/464207/original/file-20220519-14-ilb0td.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464207/original/file-20220519-14-ilb0td.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464207/original/file-20220519-14-ilb0td.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464207/original/file-20220519-14-ilb0td.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464207/original/file-20220519-14-ilb0td.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/464207/original/file-20220519-14-ilb0td.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sometimes tired doggies just need a bit of a lie down.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/drug-detection-dog-airport-view-621943664">Shutterstock</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In this type of low-prevalence environment, you want dogs to be able to screen passengers with a high “negative predictive value”. That is, you want the dogs to be able to identify people who are not carrying the virus to differentiate them from those who may be carrying it. Then you would carry out confirmatory PCR testing on that last group.</p>
<p>In an environment where the prevalence of COVID is around 1%, such as an airport, the researchers estimated the “negative predictive value” for dogs screening for COVID to be 99.9%. That is, the dogs would be expected to correctly exclude 99.9% of passengers as having COVID. This is another fantastic result.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/want-to-cut-your-chance-of-catching-covid-on-a-plane-wear-a-mask-and-avoid-business-class-180333">Want to cut your chance of catching COVID on a plane? Wear a mask and avoid business class</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Low tech and instant</h2>
<p>In a world where we rely on expensive technological solutions, there is something reassuring about finding a low-tech option for screening COVID. </p>
<p>Importantly, however, the study highlights dogs are quick to train for this task and are ideal for screening in high-throughput settings, such as airports, given how accurate they are and the fact they give instant results.</p>
<p>Although nothing should surprise us about our closest friend, another incredible outcome from this study was the suggestion the dogs may have been able to distinguish between the variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID. </p>
<p>While other possible explanations cannot be excluded, the performance of the dogs seemed to drop with the emergence of the Alpha variant. This was attributed to the dogs being able to identify a difference between this variant and the wild-type virus on which they were originally trained. </p>
<p>These studies confirm nothing could be further from the truth when we say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-are-there-so-many-new-omicron-sub-variants-like-ba-4-and-ba-5-will-i-be-reinfected-is-the-virus-mutating-faster-182274">Why are there so many new Omicron sub-variants, like BA.4 and BA.5? Will I be reinfected? Is the virus mutating faster?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/183363/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hassan Vally does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>With the right training, dogs can sniff out more than 90% of COVID cases.Hassan Vally, Associate Professor, Epidemiology, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1690122022-02-09T13:20:23Z2022-02-09T13:20:23ZDogs can be trained to sniff out COVID-19 – a team of forensic researchers explain the science<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/429406/original/file-20211029-27-2s0efb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=13%2C0%2C2982%2C1994&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Researchers at Florida International University successfully trained One Betta, a Dutch Shepard, and three other dogs to detect COVID-19 on face masks. The dogs got it right 96% to 99% of the time.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/one-betta-a-dutch-shepard-sniffs-a-mask-for-the-scent-of-news-photo/1339133710?adppopup=true"> Joe Raedle/Staff/Getty Images North America</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>With up to 300 million scent receptors, dogs are among the <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/dogs-sense-of-smell/">best smell detectors</a> in the animal world. The human nose, by comparison, contains only around 6 million scent receptors. Dog brains also devote <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/article/dogs-sense-of-smell/">40% more brain space</a> than humans to analyzing odors.</p>
<p>That’s why people train dogs to search for diverse targets via smell, from <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/detection-dogs-learning-to-pass-the-sniff-test">illegal drugs</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTTECH03791-17">agricultural pests</a> to <a href="https://theconversation.com/for-sniffing-out-crime-and-missing-persons-science-backs-blood-detection-dogs-82213">missing persons</a>, <a href="https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/meet-ernie-and-betty-white-two-conservation-dogs-sniffing-out-invasive-species-wisconsin-180976764/">endangered wildlife species</a> and more. Dogs accomplish this by successfully recognizing the odors of substances called <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/volatile-organic-compound">volatile organic compounds</a> that are specifically associated with these targets. Not only can trained dogs detect these volatile organic compounds, but oftentimes they can do it with <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.forc.2020.100230">greater sensitivity than</a> analytical instruments. </p>
<p>Volatile organic compounds can be produced by living organisms as well as by natural or synthetic materials. In humans, they are produced by the body’s metabolic activity, then enter the bloodstream and are finally released into the air through blood, urine, feces, skin or breath. </p>
<p>Scientists have found that dogs can be trained to successfully recognize unique volatile organic compounds, called “biomarkers,” in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ebiom.2020.103154">exhaled breath of patients</a> with certain diseases or chronic medical conditions, including <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1534735405285096">cancer</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2008.0288">diabetes</a>, as well as for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yebeh.2020.107690">pre-seizure detection</a> in epileptic individuals.</p>
<p>Our team of canine scent scientists at Florida International University wanted to figure out whether COVID-19 is among the diseases that trained dogs can detect. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fsisyn.2021.100155">Our recent study</a>, which we carried out with our colleague, <a href="https://case.fiu.edu/about/directory/profiles/mills-deetta.html">forensic biologist DeEtta Mills</a>, confirms that it is. </p>
<p>We believe that dogs hold great promise as a rapid screening method that, used with other measures <a href="https://theconversation.com/free-rapid-antigen-tests-makes-economic-sense-for-governments-our-analysis-shows-174342">such as rapid tests</a>, can help stop COVID-19 spread and end the pandemic. Some of the dogs trained during our research have already proved their abilities <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/09/09/covid-sniffer-dogs/">at airports</a> and public events.</p>
<h2>Training dogs to detect COVID-19</h2>
<p>For several decades, Florida International University’s <a href="https://ifri.fiu.edu/">International Forensic Research Institute</a> has been a global institution for <a href="https://gfjc.fiu.edu/research/detector-dogs/index.html#tab-N10728-3">research on detector dogs</a>. The majority of this research has focused on identifying the specific volatile organic compounds that natural or synthetic materials and living organisms produce and which dogs can be trained to detect. </p>
<p>In <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fsisyn.2021.100155">our recent research</a>, we hypothesized that people infected with COVID-19 would release specific volatile organic compounds, and that a well-trained odor detection dog would be able to tell these biomarkers apart from other volatile organic compounds. </p>
<p>So in collaboration with Baptist Health South Florida, a nonprofit health care organization, we obtained face masks from hospitalized patients with confirmed COVID-19 diagnoses, as well as from those who tested negative for COVID-19.</p>
<p>We then trained four dogs to respond to COVID-19 positive masks, while ignoring COVID-19 negative masks and unused masks. In the process, the dogs learned to tell the difference between biomarkers originating from COVID-19 breath and from non-COVID-19 breath.</p>
<p>One of the training tools we used was a scent detection wheel. We placed both COVID-19 positive and COVID-19 negative masks in cans with small holes in the lids, which were attached to the ends of the wheel’s arms. The dogs then walked around the wheel sniffing the volatile organic compounds coming out of these holes.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A large black and tan dog walking around a scent detection training wheel." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/427975/original/file-20211022-21-1l67hu8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/427975/original/file-20211022-21-1l67hu8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427975/original/file-20211022-21-1l67hu8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427975/original/file-20211022-21-1l67hu8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427975/original/file-20211022-21-1l67hu8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427975/original/file-20211022-21-1l67hu8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427975/original/file-20211022-21-1l67hu8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cobra, a Belgian Malinois, undergoes training with a scent detection wheel to identify COVID-19 biomarkers on face masks.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Julian Mendel/Florida State University</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>After 40 double-blind trials – meaning that the people training the dogs didn’t know which masks were which –
<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fsisyn.2021.100155">we found that</a> each of the four dogs in this study accurately detected COVID-19 positive masks more than 90% of the time.</p>
<p>Mac, a Terrier mix, got it right in 96.2% of attempts. Cobra, a Belgian Malinois, was correct 99.4% of the time. One Betta, a Dutch Shepherd, got it right in 98.1% of attempts, and Hubble, a Border Collie mix, 96.3% of the time. </p>
<p>After the study, Cobra and One Betta went to work at <a href="https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/health/coronavirus/florida-university-trains-dogs-to-detect-covid-19/67-10687ffa-3a6e-4038-90e3-2a10326e67e4">the State Emergency Operation Command Center</a>, in Tallahassee, Florida, screening for COVID-19 on surfaces. In May 2021, both dogs also put their COVID-19 detection skills to work <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/hallie-jackson/watch/covid-sniffing-dogs-screening-guests-at-miami-festival-112761413511">at the annual Food and Wine Festival</a> in Miami. </p>
<p>In September 2021, Cobra and One Betta worked for two separate <a href="https://www.internationalairportreview.com/news/163866/mia-partners-fiu-covid-19-k9-pilot-programme/">30-day pilot studies</a> at Miami International Airport, screening individuals for COVID-19. </p>
<p>Other agencies are beginning to adopt FIU’s methods for training dogs to detect COVID-19. Recently, with FIU’s assistance, the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office in Massachusetts <a href="https://boston.cbslocal.com/2022/01/04/covid-sniffing-k9s-dogs-bristol-county/">started putting two young labradors</a> named Duke and Huntah to work detecting COVID-19. These two dogs are <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/08/us/covid-detection-dogs-help-ma-schools/index.html">also sniffing for COVID-19</a> at facilities in the nearby Freetown-Lakeville Regional School District.</p>
<h2>Next steps in COVID-19 detection</h2>
<p>Now that we know dogs can be trained to sniff out COVID-19, our team hopes to identify the exact volatile organic compounds – the biomarkers – that they’re detecting. To accomplish this, we are continuing to analyze both COVID-19 positive masks and COVID-19 negative masks in the laboratory.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A large black and tan dog sitting and looking at his handler outside at a Florida beach resort." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/427976/original/file-20211022-17-sisf1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/427976/original/file-20211022-17-sisf1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427976/original/file-20211022-17-sisf1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427976/original/file-20211022-17-sisf1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427976/original/file-20211022-17-sisf1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427976/original/file-20211022-17-sisf1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/427976/original/file-20211022-17-sisf1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Cobra, one of the dogs trained in a Florida International University study to detect COVID-19 biomarkers, prepares to screen guests prior to the Food and Wine Festival in Miami in May 2021.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Julian Mendel/Florida International University</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Pinning down which biomarkers are linked to COVID-19 will help in developing materials and training aids for teaching other dogs how to detect the disease. </p>
<p>[<em>Over 140,000 readers rely on The Conversation’s newsletters to understand the world.</em> <a href="https://memberservices.theconversation.com/newsletters/?source=inline-140ksignup">Sign up today</a>.]</p>
<p>It may also contribute to developing COVID-19 sensors for use in odor-detecting devices – which might then join rapid testing and sniffer dogs like One Betta, Hubble, Mac and Cobra in helping get the pandemic under control.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/169012/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kenneth G. Furton receives funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julian Mendel and Kelvin J. Frank Jr. do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Dogs have such sensitive noses that they can be trained to detect the odors of crop pests, endangered species, illegal drugs – and diseases like COVID-19.Kenneth G. Furton, Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida International UniversityJulian Mendel, Research Assistant Professor in Forensic Research, Florida International UniversityKelvin J. Frank Jr., Forensic Science Professor / Postdoctoral Research Associate, Florida International UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1437562020-08-04T19:56:06Z2020-08-04T19:56:06ZThese dogs are trained to sniff out the coronavirus. Most have a 100% success rate<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/351013/original/file-20200804-16-1fpvzpn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=32%2C106%2C5411%2C3884&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>What does a pandemic smell like? If dogs could talk, they might be able to tell us.</p>
<p>We’re part of an international research team, <a href="https://www.rfi.fr/en/science-and-technology/20200502-france-trains-dogs-to-detect-coronavirus-in-corsica-research-project">led by</a> Dominique Grandjean at France’s National Veterinary School of Alfort, that has been training detector dogs to sniff out traces of the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) since March.</p>
<p>These detector dogs are trained using sweat samples from people infected with <a href="https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.06.03.132134v1.full">COVID-19</a>. When introduced to a line of sweat samples, most dogs can detect a positive one from a line of negative ones with 100% accuracy.</p>
<p>Across the globe, coronavirus detector dogs are being trained in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Belgium. </p>
<p>In the UAE, detector dogs – stationed at various airports – have already started <a href="https://www.thenational.ae/lifestyle/travel/watch-uae-police-dogs-detect-covid-19-at-dubai-airport-1.1057176">helping efforts</a> to control COVID-19’s spread. This is something we hope will soon be available in Australia too.</p>
<h2>A keen nose</h2>
<p>Our international colleagues found detector dogs were able to detect SARS-CoV-2 in infected people when they were still <a href="https://www.eurosurveillance.org/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.10.2000180/">asymptomatic</a>, before later testing positive.</p>
<p>When it comes to SARS-CoV-2 detection, we don’t know for sure what the dogs are smelling. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350988/original/file-20200804-22-1kpnw4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350988/original/file-20200804-22-1kpnw4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350988/original/file-20200804-22-1kpnw4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350988/original/file-20200804-22-1kpnw4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350988/original/file-20200804-22-1kpnw4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350988/original/file-20200804-22-1kpnw4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350988/original/file-20200804-22-1kpnw4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350988/original/file-20200804-22-1kpnw4i.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">On average, dogs have about 220 million scent receptors.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The volatile organic compounds (VOCs) given off in the sweat samples are a complex mix. So it’s likely the dogs are detecting a particular profile rather than individual compounds. </p>
<p>Sweat is used for tests as it’s <a href="https://covid19.nj.gov/faqs/coronavirus-information/about-the-virus/can-the-coronavirus-spread-through-sweat">not considered infectious</a> for COVID-19. This means it presents less risk when handling samples. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-whats-the-new-coronavirus-saliva-test-and-how-does-it-work-141877">Explainer: what's the new coronavirus saliva test, and how does it work?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>COVID-19 sniffing dogs in Australia</h2>
<p>Here in Australia, we’re currently working with professional trainers of detector dogs in South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales. The most common breed used for this work so far has been the German shepherd, with various other breeds also involved. </p>
<p>We are also negotiating with health authorities to collect sweat samples from people who have tested positive to the virus, and from those who are negative. We hope to start collecting these within the next few months.</p>
<p>We will need to collect thousands of negative samples to make sure the dogs aren’t detecting other viral infection, such as the common cold or influenza. In other countries, they’ve passed this test with flying colours.</p>
<p>Once operational, detector dogs in Australia could be hugely valuable in many scenarios, such as screening people at airports and state borders, or monitoring staff working in aged care facilities and hospitals daily (so they don’t need repeat testing).</p>
<p>To properly train a dog to detect SARS-CoV-2, it takes: </p>
<ul>
<li><p>6-8 weeks for a dog that is already trained to detect other scents, or</p></li>
<li><p>3-6 months for a dog that has never been trained. </p></li>
</ul>
<h2>Could the dogs spread the virus further?</h2>
<p>Dogs in experimental studies have not been shown to be able to <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/368/6494/1016">replicate the virus</a> (within their body). Simply, they themselves are not a source of infection. </p>
<p>Currently, there are two case reports in the world of dogs being potentially contaminated with the COVID-19 virus by their owners. Those dogs didn’t become sick.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/hong-kong-dog-causes-panic-but-heres-why-you-neednt-worry-about-pets-spreading-covid-19-133304">Hong Kong dog causes panic – but here's why you needn't worry about pets spreading COVID-19</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>To further reduce any potential risk of transmission to both people and dogs, the apparatus used to train the dogs doesn’t allow any direct contact between the dog’s nose and the sweat sample. </p>
<p>The dog’s nose goes into a stainless steel cone, with the sweat sample in a receptacle behind. This allows free access to the volatile olfactory compounds but no physical contact. </p>
<p>Furthermore, all the dogs trained to detect COVID-19 are regularly checked by nasal swab tests, rectal swab tests and blood tests to identify antibodies. So far, none of the detector dogs has been found to be infected.</p>
<h2>Hurdles to jump</h2>
<p>Now and in the future, it will be important for us to identify any instances where detector dogs may present false positives (signalling a sample is positive when it’s negative) or false negatives (signalling the sample is negative when it’s positive). </p>
<p>We’re also hoping our work can reveal exactly which volatile olfactory compound(s) is/are specific to COVID-19 infection. </p>
<p>This knowledge might help us understand the disease process resulting from COVID-19 infection – and in detecting other diseases using detector dogs.</p>
<p>This pandemic has been a huge challenge for everyone. Being able to find <a href="https://www.eurosurveillance.org/content/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.10.2000180/">asymptomatic people</a> infected with the coronavirus would be a game-changer – and that’s what we need right now. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350760/original/file-20200803-17-yspcfa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/350760/original/file-20200803-17-yspcfa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350760/original/file-20200803-17-yspcfa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350760/original/file-20200803-17-yspcfa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350760/original/file-20200803-17-yspcfa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350760/original/file-20200803-17-yspcfa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/350760/original/file-20200803-17-yspcfa.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A COVID-19 detector dog enrolled in the NOSAIS program led by professor Dominique Grandjean and Clothilde Julien from the Alfort Veterinary School (France).</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>A friend to us (and science)</h2>
<p>Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised about dogs’ ability to detect COVID-19, as we already know their noses are amazing. </p>
<p>Dogs can help detect <a href="https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190115144053.htm">hypoglycaemia in diabetics</a>, warn people who are about to have an <a href="https://epilepsyfoundation.org.au/understanding-epilepsy/epilepsy-and-seizure-management-tools/seizure-alert-dogs/">epileptic seizure</a> and have been used to <a href="https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/323620">sniff out some cancers</a>. </p>
<p>Their great potential in dealing with the current pandemic is just one of myriad examples of how dogs enrich our lives. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>We acknowledge Professor Riad Sarkis from the Saint Joseph University (Beirut) and Clothilde Lecoq-Julien from the Alfort Veterinary School (France) for first conceiving the idea underpinning this work back in March.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/143756/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Susan Hazel is affiliated with the RSPCA (South Australia) and is a member of the Dog & Cat Management Board of South Australia.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anne-Lise Chaber does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>We’re working with professional trainers in South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales to train dogs to sniff out COVID-19. They could be highly valuable in managing the spread of infection.Susan Hazel, Senior Lecturer, School of Animal and Veterinary Science, University of AdelaideAnne-Lise Chaber, One Health Lecturer, School of Animal and Veterinary Science, University of AdelaideLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1399592020-06-08T19:49:12Z2020-06-08T19:49:12ZCurious Kids: How far away can dogs smell and hear?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339941/original/file-20200604-67387-1bkz2ni.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Martin Valigursky Shutterstock</span> </figcaption></figure><blockquote>
<p><strong>How far away can dogs smell and hear? Georgina, age 8, Warrawee, New South Wales.</strong></p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/curious-kids-36782"><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/291898/original/file-20190911-190031-enlxbk.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=90&fit=crop&dpr=1" width="100%"></a></p>
<p>Great question Georgina. We know and learn about the world around us through our senses. The senses of smell and hearing in dogs mean they experience a different world to us. </p>
<p>Dogs have many more <a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2018.00056/full" title="When the Nose Doesn’t Know: Canine Olfactory Function Associated With Health, Management, and Potential Links to Microbiota">smell receptors than humans</a> – a <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/olfactory-receptor">receptor</a> is a part of the nose that recognises each unique smell particle.</p>
<p>Dogs also have a lot more surface area in their noses and are better at moving air through their noses than us. Watch a dog sniffing and you can see this for yourself. If more air passes through their nose they have more chance to pick up smells.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339400/original/file-20200603-130923-5dk2ax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=104%2C85%2C3949%2C2818&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339400/original/file-20200603-130923-5dk2ax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=104%2C85%2C3949%2C2818&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339400/original/file-20200603-130923-5dk2ax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339400/original/file-20200603-130923-5dk2ax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339400/original/file-20200603-130923-5dk2ax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339400/original/file-20200603-130923-5dk2ax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339400/original/file-20200603-130923-5dk2ax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339400/original/file-20200603-130923-5dk2ax.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Dogs have a much better sense of smell than us.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/emayoh/3098990110/">Flickr/Redfishingboat (Mick O)</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>How far dogs can smell depends on many things, such as the wind and the type of scent. Under perfect conditions, they have been <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17368247-the-perfect-dog" title="The Perfect Dog by Roger Mugford">reported</a> to smell objects or people as far as 20km away.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-why-might-you-wake-up-without-a-voice-132592">Curious Kids: why might you wake up without a voice?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>You might be interested to know dogs are not the only great smellers. The scientific family dogs belong to is Carnivora. This includes cats, bears and skunks. </p>
<p>These animals have incredible senses of smell as well. Bears have some of the best senses of smell in the family. Polar bears can smell seals, which they hunt, from <a href="https://www.livescience.com/43673-weird-facts-about-polar-bears.html">more than 30km away</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339966/original/file-20200605-176564-ablshk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339966/original/file-20200605-176564-ablshk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339966/original/file-20200605-176564-ablshk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339966/original/file-20200605-176564-ablshk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339966/original/file-20200605-176564-ablshk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=430&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339966/original/file-20200605-176564-ablshk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=540&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339966/original/file-20200605-176564-ablshk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=540&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339966/original/file-20200605-176564-ablshk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=540&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">What’s that I can smell? Polar bears can detect a seal from 30km away.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Incredible Arctic/Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>How would it feel if you knew just by smell when your best friend was in the next room, even if you couldn’t see them? Wouldn’t you love to know where your parents had hidden your favourite chocolate biscuits in the pantry, just by sniffing them out? </p>
<h2>Dog the detector</h2>
<p>This amazing sense of smell means dogs have some of the most interesting jobs of any animal: the detection dog. </p>
<p>Detection dogs help <a href="https://www.sarda.net.au/">search and rescue</a> organisations to find missing people, look for dangerous materials such as <a href="https://www.police.wa.gov.au/About-Us/Our-Agency/Specialist-Units/Mounted-and-Canine-Operations/Police-Dog-Squad">drugs and bombs</a>, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-06-10/afp-sniffer-dogs-training-explained/8606228">illegal imports</a> at airports, and help <a href="https://www.lfwseq.org.au/sniffing-solutions-detection-dogs-conservation/">find wild animals</a>. </p>
<p>All of it’s done with their noses, which makes dogs some of the best sniffers in the world.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339969/original/file-20200605-176538-b87f5t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339969/original/file-20200605-176538-b87f5t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339969/original/file-20200605-176538-b87f5t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339969/original/file-20200605-176538-b87f5t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339969/original/file-20200605-176538-b87f5t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339969/original/file-20200605-176538-b87f5t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339969/original/file-20200605-176538-b87f5t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339969/original/file-20200605-176538-b87f5t.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sniff! He’s not admiring the colour of the suitcase.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">New Africa/Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Even pet dogs enjoy <a href="https://www.companionanimalpsychology.com/2020/04/beating-boredom-blues-sniffing-out-new.html">playing games using smell</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/curious-kids-why-is-our-dog-so-cute-138035">Curious Kids: Why is our dog so cute?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>One thing that might still puzzle you is why, when dogs have such a great sense of smell, they like to smell things that are disgusting to us, like other dogs’ bottoms. That’s a story for another day. </p>
<h2>Hear and far</h2>
<p>Now we know dogs can smell lots of things from far away, what about their hearing? What can dogs hear, and from how far? To find out, first we have to talk about what dogs and all animals (including us) hear: sound frequencies.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qNf9nzvnd1k?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">WARNING: Do not listen with headphones.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Sounds have waves. The frequency of sound is how close together the sound waves are. The closer together the waves, the higher the frequency or pitch. You can think of this like the beach during a storm, when waves hit the beach more often. </p>
<p>Dogs and people hear about the same at low frequencies of sound (around 20Hz). This changes at high frequencies of sound, where dogs hear up to 70-100kHz, much better than people at only 20kHz. Dogs hear sound frequencies at least three times as high compared to people.</p>
<p>You may have wondered how those special silent dog whistles work? They make high-frequency sounds that dogs can hear but we can’t. Because dogs can hear higher frequencies than us, there are a lot more sounds for dogs to hear.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3eiiaTDLdjM?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>They can also hear sounds that are softer or farther away, as far as a kilometre. That means dogs can be more sensitive to loud sounds. This is why <a href="https://positively.com/dog-behavior/behavior-problems/fears-and-phobias/noise-phobias/">some dogs are scared of fireworks or thunderstorms</a>. It is also why a dog might bark at a sound you cannot hear.</p>
<h2>Prick up your ears</h2>
<p>Part of how dogs hear so well has to do with their ear muscles. Dogs have more than a dozen muscles that allow them to tilt, lift and rotate each ear independently of one another.</p>
<p>This helps dogs locate where sounds come from. It is also part of why dogs may <a href="https://www.petmd.com/dog/behavior/why-do-dogs-tilt-their-heads">tilt their heads</a> to some sounds. Police who use dogs say the first sign their dog has located a suspect is when they see their ears move around to focus on a place.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339972/original/file-20200605-176550-1fd9tgj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339972/original/file-20200605-176550-1fd9tgj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339972/original/file-20200605-176550-1fd9tgj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339972/original/file-20200605-176550-1fd9tgj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339972/original/file-20200605-176550-1fd9tgj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=368&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339972/original/file-20200605-176550-1fd9tgj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339972/original/file-20200605-176550-1fd9tgj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339972/original/file-20200605-176550-1fd9tgj.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=462&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Hear that? The police dog’s on to something.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">ChiccoDodiFC/Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Having great hearing also helps dogs with another one of their interesting jobs: the assistance dog. <a href="https://guidedogsaustralia.com/">Assistance dogs</a> work with people who need help in their daily lives, such as those who are blind or deaf.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-dogs-dont-care-for-being-groomed-and-for-the-love-of-dog-dont-snip-their-whiskers-132656">Why dogs don’t care for being groomed (and for the love of dog don’t snip their whiskers)</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
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<p>Excellent hearing means dogs can identify people arriving at a home or oncoming traffic at a walkway. With such great hearing, dogs can help people in need navigate the world around them too! </p>
<p>Thinking about different senses is a great way to learn about all animals. What are their senses like? How does that help them think about the world differently to us? </p>
<p>This was a fantastic question, Georgina, and we hope you enjoyed these answers as much as we enjoyed answering them.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>Hello, curious kids! Have you got a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to <a href="mailto:curiouskids@theconversation.edu.au">curiouskids@theconversation.edu.au</a></em></p>
<hr><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/139959/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Susan Hazel is on the Dog and Cat Management Board of South Australia, and the Board for RSPCA South Australia.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Eduardo J Fernandez does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Imagine being able to detect a smell from more than a kilometre away. Dogs can sniff out things from a greater distance than that.Susan Hazel, Senior Lecturer, School of Animal and Veterinary Science, University of AdelaideEduardo J Fernandez, Visiting Assistant Professor, Florida Institute of TechnologyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1188272019-07-07T20:10:50Z2019-07-07T20:10:50ZTesting festival goers’ pills isn’t the only way to reduce overdoses. Here’s what else works<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/282609/original/file-20190704-126376-1qy5c4g.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Festival goers bring their phones. So why not use them to receive tweets about high-dose drugs in circulation, as the UK is doing?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/grodno-belarus-september-17-2016-teenagers-1258396705?src=4km6UC1HndwfYPP9pnphCA-1-8&studio=1">from Vinnikava Viktoryia/www.shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/music-festival-deaths-inquest-set-down-for-july-20190228-p510sz.html">NSW inquest into recent drug deaths at music festivals</a> is due to start this week. So focus is turning to how to make music festivals safer by reducing drug-related incidents. </p>
<p>We know that <a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-recreational-drug-policies-arent-working-so-what-are-the-options-for-reform-55493">prohibition doesn’t work</a> to reduce either harms or drug use. But what does?</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-recreational-drug-policies-arent-working-so-what-are-the-options-for-reform-55493">Australia's recreational drug policies aren't working, so what are the options for reform?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>How do drugs cause harm?</h2>
<p>Most illicit drugs used at festivals, including <a href="https://adf.org.au/drug-facts/mdma/">ecstasy</a> (methylenedioxymethamphetamine or MDMA), started out as relatively benign pharmaceuticals. </p>
<p>MDMA is most commonly implicated in drug-related harm at festivals. Fatal and non-fatal MDMA overdoses <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-does-mdma-kill-109506">are usually a result</a> of high-purity MDMA, dangerous contaminants, or environmental factors such as overheating or drinking too much or too little water. So to reduce harms we need to address all these problems.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/weekly-dose-ecstasy-the-party-drug-that-could-be-used-to-treat-ptsd-55149">Weekly Dose: ecstasy, the party drug that could be used to treat PTSD</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What doesn’t work</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0955395916303899">Police presence, random drug searches and drug detection dogs</a> don’t deter drug use and may increase harms. Yet they are common at festivals and come at a substantial financial cost to festival goers, which has to be covered in the price of the ticket. </p>
<p>People who go to festivals say that <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30176423">police presence doesn’t discourage them</a> from taking drugs; and there are many documented cases of people <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30176423">taking multiple pills at once</a> to avoid searches and sniffer dog detection, which increases the risk of overdose.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-drug-detection-dogs-are-sniffing-up-the-wrong-tree-57343">Why drug-detection dogs are sniffing up the wrong tree</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Publicly, the police focus is on drug dealing, but the reality is that most people who are arrested at festivals are people who use, rather than sell, drugs. NSW police reported that, at <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/nearly-200-drug-arrests-at-field-day-music-festival/10679504">Sydney’s 2019 Field Day Festival</a>, of the 28,000 people who attended, there were 155 drug-related arrests: 149 for possession and 6 for supply.</p>
<p>When police dogs are present, people are more likely to <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0955395916303899">buy drugs inside the festival</a> rather than risk detection by carrying drugs in. This means they are more likely to buy from unknown sources, which <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0955395918302755">increases their risk</a> of harm compared with buying from a trusted source.</p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-recreational-drug-policies-arent-working-so-what-are-the-options-for-reform-55493">Decriminalising illicit drugs</a> would significantly reduce harms and allow festival police to focus on public safety issues, such as antisocial behaviour and public drunkenness.</p>
<h2>What works</h2>
<p>There are already effective <a href="https://www2.health.vic.gov.au/Api/downloadmedia/%7B672393DE-E7DB-4118-8C9F-7BD1D5F045DB%7D">harm reduction strategies</a> in place at festivals. These include:</p>
<ul>
<li>presence of peer-led organisations, like <a href="https://www.hrvic.org.au/dancewize">Dancewize</a>, which provide harm reduction information and support</li>
<li>emergency services and first aid</li>
<li>chill out spaces</li>
<li>availability of cool clean water</li>
<li>good ventilation in indoor spaces, and</li>
<li>staff and volunteer training in responding to drug affected people.</li>
</ul>
<h2>Pill testing direct to consumer</h2>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/six-reasons-australia-should-pilot-pill-testing-party-drugs-34073">On-site pill testing</a>, which identifies the content and purity of drugs brought in by festival goers, also includes contact with a health professional to provide a brief intervention, that can include advice about risks of taking drugs and harm reduction information. Festival goers are always told that it is safest not to take drugs at all.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.aracy.org.au/publications-resources/command/download_file/id/106/filename/Interventions_to_reduce_harm_associated_with_adolescent_substance_use.pdf">Brief interventions</a> from a health professional can reduce risky drug use among young people. But without a way to offer an intervention, most young people who go to festivals will not come into contact with a health worker to receive that information.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/heres-why-doctors-are-backing-pill-testing-at-music-festivals-across-australia-109430">Here's why doctors are backing pill testing at music festivals across Australia</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Some <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/festivals-face-permit-system-as-ashton-brands-testing-a-distraction-20190131-p50uq9.html">Australian police</a>, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/health/2018-12-21/guide-to-pill-testing-at-australian-music-festivals/10638732">politicians and policymakers</a> are reluctant to consider pill testing at festivals. That may be because, so far, only on-site, direct-from-consumer testing has been offered as a viable way of reducing harm. </p>
<p>Some people have concerns about the idea of accepting and testing illicit drugs direct from the people using them, given that they are still illegal.</p>
<p>But there are many other ways of pill testing that can also reduce harm.</p>
<h2>Testing of police-acquired drugs</h2>
<p>We could also test drugs on-site that have been seized by police, acquired from emergency services after an incident or surrendered in <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/pressure-mounts-to-introduce-drug-amnesty-bins-at-festivals-20160131-gmhwoi.html">amnesty bins</a>.</p>
<p>This approach has been used at a number of <a href="https://wearetheloop.org/about-us">festivals in the UK</a> since 2013. When a potentially problematic drug is identified during the festival, <a href="https://wearetheloop.org/drug-alerts">an alert</a> is issued on-site through social media usually within hours, to alert others who may have bought drugs from similar batches.</p>
<p>As well as potentially reducing harm for people who use drugs, these alerts mean police are better able to monitor the local drug market; on-site paramedics, first aid and outreach workers are better informed about drugs in circulation, helping to improve responses; and according to the <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0955395918302755">UK testing facility</a>, medical services report having more confidence in dealing with presentations because of the alerts.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/282619/original/file-20190704-126376-rb2fhy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/282619/original/file-20190704-126376-rb2fhy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/282619/original/file-20190704-126376-rb2fhy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282619/original/file-20190704-126376-rb2fhy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282619/original/file-20190704-126376-rb2fhy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282619/original/file-20190704-126376-rb2fhy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282619/original/file-20190704-126376-rb2fhy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/282619/original/file-20190704-126376-rb2fhy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Medical services can also benefit from alerts letting people know which problem drugs might still be in circulation.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/sign-pointing-hospital-emergency-room-melbourne-618969788?src=_Xu6Ho-TVA-Uon0TmZa_yw-1-35&studio=1">from www.shutterstock.com</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This approach is not as effective in reducing harms as direct-from-consumer testing. That’s because it doesn’t include contact with a health professional who can offer a brief intervention, and the information about pill contents doesn’t go direct to the people intending to use them. </p>
<p>But if testing of police acquired drugs is combined with real-time alerts about potential problem drugs to festival goers, it can still reduce harms.</p>
<h2>Off-site testing</h2>
<p>Testing of pills brought in by festival goers can also occur off site before the festival. It works the same way as onsite testing, and includes brief intervention, but operates away from the festival site.</p>
<p>It’s the primary model used in <a href="https://www.trimbos.nl/aanbod/webwinkel/product/af1677-the-drugs-information-and-monitoring-system-dims">The Netherlands</a>.</p>
<p>Off-site testing removes the need to change the way the drugs are policed at festivals, so may be more acceptable to some. If both off-site and on-site testing are implemented, testing services will have greater reach and be more effective in reducing harm.</p>
<h2>Testing drug purity</h2>
<p>The only official pill testing that has been undertaken in Australia has been at <a href="https://www.harmreductionaustralia.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Pill-Testing-Pilot-ACT-June-2018-Final-Report.pdf">Canberra’s Groovin’ the Moo in 2018</a> and 2019. The on-site facility tested samples provided directly by consumers and identified the drugs present. But they could only estimate the purity of drug powders and did not measure the dose of MDMA in the pills.</p>
<p>High-dose MDMA has been implicated in a number of the recent festivals deaths. Knowing the dose may help reduce overdoses from MDMA pills because people can choose to take a smaller amount of the drug if they know the strength is high.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/when-to-seek-help-after-taking-a-pill-109876">When to seek help after taking a pill</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p><a href="https://wearetheloop.org">The Loop UK</a> has developed a method of more accurately measuring the dose in MDMA pills, which could help reduce the harms associated with high purity. The process does not require any specialised equipment and is performed on-site by trained chemists. At this year’s <a href="https://parklife.uk.com">Parklife Festival</a> the organisation identified high-strength pills and send out warnings.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280815/original/file-20190622-61737-1fu9brf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280815/original/file-20190622-61737-1fu9brf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=776&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280815/original/file-20190622-61737-1fu9brf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=776&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280815/original/file-20190622-61737-1fu9brf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=776&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280815/original/file-20190622-61737-1fu9brf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=975&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280815/original/file-20190622-61737-1fu9brf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=975&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/280815/original/file-20190622-61737-1fu9brf.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=975&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Example of alerts from The Loop UK at this year’s Parklife Festival.</span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Understanding drug use at festivals</h2>
<p>We also don’t really know how many young people use drugs at Australian festivals and how much they use. Most of what we know is from anecdotal reports. There’s probably differences between festivals.</p>
<p>We know both festival attendance and <a href="https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/illicit-use-of-drugs/ndshs-2016-detailed/contents/table-of-contents">illicit drug use</a> hit a peak among people in their 20s. So more research on how common drug use is at festivals and the kinds of drugs people use would help inform better and more targeted harm reduction policies.</p>
<p>We will never completely eliminate drug use at festivals but we can make them safer by implementing what we know works and stopping what we know doesn’t. It’s normal for young people to take risks. Whether you agree with drug taking or not, our young people don’t deserve to die just because they have taken drugs.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/118827/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nicole Lee works as a paid consultant in the alcohol and other drug sector. She has previously been awarded grants by state and federal governments, NHMRC and other public funding bodies for alcohol and other drug research. She contributes volunteer time to The Loop Australia.
</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Monica Barratt receives funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, the Marsden Foundation (NZ) and the National Institutes of Health (US). In addition to her academic research role, she volunteers as Director of Research at Bluelight.org and as Victorian Strategic Engagement Coordinator at The Loop Australia.</span></em></p>There are many ways to reduce harm from drugs at music festivals beyond the much publicised pill testing. Here’s what else we can do.Nicole Lee, Professor at the National Drug Research Institute, Curtin UniversityMonica Barratt, Vice Chancellor’s Senior Research Fellow, Social and Global Studies Centre, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/934212018-04-30T20:16:05Z2018-04-30T20:16:05ZTo create safer cities for everyone, we need to avoid security that threatens<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/216415/original/file-20180426-175074-1w5opog.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Police march down Swanston Street in Melbourne. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/melbourne-australia-november-16-2014-victoria-231057058?src=eNlACh7z1lF1Ha860g45KA-1-9">Nils Versemann / Shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This is the second article in our series, <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/cities-for-everyone-53005">Cities for Everyone</a>, which explores how members of different communities experience and shape our cities, and how we can create better public spaces for everyone.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>The central role of public spaces in the social, cultural, political and economic life of cities makes it crucial that they’re accessible to everyone. One of the most important qualities of accessible public spaces is safety. If people do not feel safe in a public space, they are less likely to use it, let alone linger in it. </p>
<p>Perceptions of safety are socially produced and socially variable. It is not simply the presence of crime – or “threatening environments” – that contributes to lack of safety or fear.</p>
<p>All sorts of measures are put in place to make public spaces safer, from design to policing. But when we consider the effectiveness of these measures, we always have to ask: whose safety is being prioritised?</p>
<p>Women and members of ethnic and sexual minorities are among those who experience particular kinds of threats, abuse and violence in public spaces.</p>
<p>If we don’t account for the social dimensions of safety, there’s a risk that measures designed to enhance safety will have the opposite effect for some urban inhabitants.</p>
<iframe src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/UF0nW/1/" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowtransparency="true" width="100%" height="514"></iframe>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-australia-should-be-wary-of-the-rise-of-the-warrior-cop-with-tools-to-match-94175">Why Australia should be wary of the rise of the warrior cop, with tools to match</a>
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<hr>
<h2>Safety for a privileged few?</h2>
<p>There are many examples of safety measures that privilege the interests of some groups over others. </p>
<p>The gating of urban environments and the privatisation of public space allow the wealthy to buy a form of safety by separating themselves from the wider community. Such approaches aim to provide safety for the few, rather than the many. But this might actually <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Behind-the-Gates-Life-Security-and-the-Pursuit-of-Happiness-in-Fortress/Low/p/book/9780415950411">add to people’s fear</a> by creating a kind of urban border anxiety.</p>
<p>In architecture and planning, “crime prevention through environmental design” has gained traction as a way to enhance the safety and accessibility of public spaces. This school of thought suggests that spaces can be designed to reduce crime and enhance feelings of safety and security. Improving lighting and sight lines are examples of this. </p>
<p>These design principles are useful, but can only take us so far. </p>
<p>Design can certainly help to prevent some activities. But we need to ask: exactly what are we trying to prevent, where, and why are we trying to prevent it? Does it make our cities more just, for example, to design teenagers out of public spaces by blasting classical music or <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/13676261.2014.944119">broadcasting ultrasonic frequencies</a> that can annoy only their young ears? </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-use-of-sonic-anti-loitering-devices-is-breaching-teenagers-human-rights-81965">The use of sonic 'anti-loitering' devices is breaching teenagers' human rights</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Who misses out on feeling safe?</h2>
<p>There are more banal, everyday examples of how public security measures can work to make some safe at the expense of others.</p>
<p>Consider the 2011 Transport for NSW “<a href="http://www.sydneytrains.info/travelling_with/trip_tips/customer_courtesy">customer courtesy</a>” campaign. The campaign, which placed posters on trains and train stations, sought to improve the “customer experience” by reducing the discomfort caused by “beastly behaviours” like loud talking and seat hogging. </p>
<p>These may cause discomfort for some public transport users, as surveys suggested. But many passengers are likely to be concerned about another “beastly behaviour” – racism. People from ethnic and religious minorities, especially women, too often experience racism, abuse and violence <a href="https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/race-discrimination/publications/freedom-discrimination-report-40th-anniversary-racial">on public transport</a>. </p>
<p>Not only do those customer courtesy campaigns fail to call out discrimination as unacceptable, they can unintentionally give licence to racist behaviour. Eyewitness videos have shown passengers speaking languages other than English being abused by other passengers who insist they should not have to listen to such speech. </p>
<p>Police use of “sniffer dogs” at train stations, public spaces and events also illustrates how security measures can be exclusionary. In New South Wales, <a href="https://www.ombo.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/4457/Review-of-the-Police-Powers-Drug-Detection-Dogs-Part-1_October-2006.pdf">well over half</a> of all searches resulting from sniffer dog “hits” find no drugs on the person. And the locations in which sniffer dog operations have taken place mean that the young, the poor, ethnic minorities, Aboriginal people and LGTBQI communities seem <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-drug-detection-dogs-are-sniffing-up-the-wrong-tree-57343">more likely to be searched</a>.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-drug-detection-dogs-are-sniffing-up-the-wrong-tree-57343">Why drug-detection dogs are sniffing up the wrong tree</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Police justify these operations on the grounds that they <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2017/oct/19/ineffective-drug-dogs-could-cost-hundreds-of-thousands-a-year-greens-say">“send a message”</a> to potential offenders, thereby enhancing public safety. But this can make people in these locations feel less, rather than more, safe.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.academia.edu/8014588/Complex_Events_Drug_effects_and_emergent_causality">Research</a> in the LGTBQI community in Sydney in the early 2000s found:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Calls for greater numbers of local area police are as numerous … as complaints about their visibility and overbearing presence.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>For members of this community, homophobic violence, not recreational drug use, threatened safe access to public space. And yet while people struggled to have the threat of homophobic violence taken seriously, large groups of police with sniffer dogs constantly patrolled their streets, clubs and festivals, making people feel less safe and more threatened.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/big-city-gaybourhoods-where-they-come-from-and-why-they-still-matter-93956">Big city gaybourhoods: where they come from and why they still matter</a>
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</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Principles for social justice</h2>
<p>So, how can we ensure that safety and security measures in public space actually create safety for all? Setha Low and I have offered a set of <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/13604813.2015.1128679">social justice principles</a> for planning and policing of public spaces. These are: </p>
<ul>
<li><p><strong>distribution and redistribution:</strong> are public spaces equally accessible to all, regardless of people’s income or where they live? </p></li>
<li><p><strong>recognition:</strong> are some identities and ways of being in the city unfairly denigrated or stigmatised? Is there recognition that urban inhabitants have different identities and cultures? </p></li>
<li><p><strong>encounter:</strong> do public spaces create opportunities for encounters across different identities, without discrimination and harassment? </p></li>
<li><p><strong>care and repair:</strong> are public spaces cared for, and are the resources for care and repair fairly distributed? </p></li>
<li><p><strong>procedural justice:</strong> is the planning of public spaces open to all in a democratic process? </p></li>
</ul>
<p>Taking these principles into account can help us to avoid safety measures that have the perverse effect of reducing accessibility for some, and to approach safety in a way that makes the city more accessible and just for all. </p>
<hr>
<p><em>You can find other articles in the series <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/cities-for-everyone-53005">here</a>.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/93421/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kurt Iveson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Security in cities can make some people feel safe while excluding others. New ways of planning and policing public space are needed to ensure cities are safe and accessible for all.Kurt Iveson, Associate Professor of Urban Geography, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/856262017-10-22T11:11:59Z2017-10-22T11:11:59ZHow African elephants’ amazing sense of smell could save lives<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/190996/original/file-20171019-1048-18eenfo.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Chishuru, a male African elephant, indicates a target scent during trials.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Graham Alexander</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>For 27 years Angola was gripped by <a href="http://www.sahistory.org.za/article/angolan-civil-war-1975-2002-brief-history">civil war</a>. Half a million human lives were lost and wildlife, too, was decimated to sustain troops. Rhino and elephants became valuable targets – rhino horn and ivory served as currency for arms among rebel forces. </p>
<p>During the conflict elephant populations fled across the border into Botswana, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. When the war ended in 2002 animal populations slowly started to return to their pre-conflict grazing grounds. But a huge problem remained: <a href="http://www.news24.com/Africa/News/5m-landmines-buried-in-Angola-20020627">millions of landmines</a> were still <em>in situ</em> and <a href="https://www.halotrust.org/where-we-work/africa/angola/">undetonated across Angola</a>. Many elephants were <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159115002063">killed and maimed</a> by the explosives as they attempted to recolonise.</p>
<p>Data collected from collared elephants moving through the affected areas <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/07/070716-elephants-mines_2.html">showed</a> herds avoiding minefields. This suggested that at least some of the returning elephants had associated minefields with danger. What could this association be based on? Had the minefield-avoiding elephants seen others killed in those areas? Or had they associated the smell of landmines with danger, extrapolating risk to other areas where the odour was present?</p>
<p>We couldn’t answer all these questions. To narrow down our search my colleagues and I set about finding out whether elephants could smell the main component of landmines – Trinitrotoluene (TNT). </p>
<p>TNT has a low volatility – the ease at which a substance moves into the air column. This makes it difficult to detect using smell. But some animals are excellent landmine sniffers – among them dogs and <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/10/151006-giant-rats-landmines-cambodia-science-animals/">Gambian Pouched Rats</a>. <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/02/0210_040210_minerats.html">Bees</a> are also good at it. </p>
<h2>Genetic aspect</h2>
<p>What gives an animal a wide sense of smell comes down to how many different kinds of olfactory receptors it has, and this is determined by the species’ genes. </p>
<p>African elephants have more than double the <a href="http://genome.cshlp.org/content/24/9/1485.short">number of genes</a> associated with olfactory reception compared with dogs: about 2000 versus dogs’ 811. This suggests that olfaction must play an enormous role in elephants’ lives. In fact, elephants have the <a href="https://voices.nationalgeographic.org/2014/07/22/animals-elephants-smell-trunks-genes-africa-science/">highest count</a> of any species tested to date, meaning that they could quite possibly be the best smellers in the animal kingdom. </p>
<p>Not only were we eager to find out whether they could detect TNT using olfaction, but also how their abilities compared to those of highly trained, TNT-detection dogs.</p>
<p>To do this, we enlisted the help of three African elephants at “<a href="http://adventureswithelephants.com/">Adventures With Elephants</a>” – an educational tourism facility focused on raising awareness about conservation. Using reward-based training techniques, we trained the elephants to indicate whenever they could smell TNT among a lineup of blank, non-smelly samples initially and then later, highly volatile distractor odours. </p>
<p>Samples were individual filter papers loaded with trace amounts of one of the following odours: TNT; petroleum; acetone; bleach; detergent; tea; or nothing at all (blanks). These filter papers, or samples, were placed individually into a bucket, and sample buckets (eight in total) were placed 6 metres apart, in a straight line. The elephants were trained to walk along the line and investigate each bucket, raising their front leg and waving it over the selected bucket whenever they thought they could smell TNT. </p>
<figure>
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/238896128" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Mussina, a female African elephant, is put through her TNT-sniffing paces.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The results suggest that elephants are <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/279888080_Biological_detection_of_explosives">even better</a> at one aspect of the sniffing process than <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/279888080_Biological_detection_of_explosives">dogs</a>, the animals currently considered the gold standard in landmine detection.</p>
<h2>Sensitivity and selectivity</h2>
<p>Two metrics, sensitivity and selectivity, are incredibly important in detection science. Measures of these allow researchers to understand how well a biodetector such as a dog or elephant is performing. They also allow for comparisons across species. </p>
<p>The elephants missed only one out of 97 TNT samples during our trials. This translated into a phenomenal sensitivity score of 99.7%. Sensitivity is the propensity to indicate whenever a target substance (in this case TNT) is present. In comparison, sensitivity scores for TNT-detection dogs have been reported as 93.7%.</p>
<p>The elephants only made six false-positive indications, mistaking five out of 53 acetone samples and one out of 24 petrol samples for TNT. This incredibly low frequency of false-positives resulted in a respectable selectivity score – that is, the propensity to only indicate TNT, and not just any odourous substance – of 95.1%. This is a bit shy of the 100% score reported for dogs.</p>
<p>Our findings indicate that elephants are almost 5% more likely than dogs to indicate the presence of TNT when, in fact, there is none. But dogs are almost 6% more likely to miss TNT than elephants are. It’s obviously better for TNT detectors to be prone to false positives rather than false negatives: in fact it could be the difference between life and death. </p>
<h2>Real world application</h2>
<p>So does this mean that elephants should take over TNT-sniffing dogs’ duties? </p>
<p>No, absolutely not. We have no intention of putting elephants in harm’s way: their sheer size and weight makes them completely unsuited to being infield TNT detectors.</p>
<p>But remote elephant teams could act as valuable support to current demining operations in countries like Angola. </p>
<p>Samples collected via <a href="https://www.gichd.org/resources/publications/detail/publication/remote-explosive-scent-tracing-rest/#.Wd9xLFuCzIU">Remote Explosive Scent Tracing</a> by unmanned vehicles such as drones could be sent to the elephants for screening. The information gathered from TNT-detection elephants could be passed on to demining teams working at the front lines, even before they are deployed. This early warning system could potentially save the lives of the deminers and their dedicated biosensor companions.</p>
<h2>Other areas to explore</h2>
<p>Elephants’ ability to correctly identify and discriminate a learned scent from other odours suggests that they may also be useful in other biosensor fields such as early disease detection.</p>
<p>Detection dogs are used in medical and biological settings. I have used them myself as a biologically-relevant model to demonstrate that <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-ultimate-in-stealth-puff-adders-employ-camouflage-at-every-level-53316">puff adders</a> are undetectable via olfaction. </p>
<p>Specially trained dogs already screen for cancers, diabetes, epilepsy, alien invasives, harmful microbes and pests. Some <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26863620">scent-matching dogs</a> are even able to match collected samples to individuals, forgoing the need for expensive and time-consuming genetic testing. The dogs’ performance in these fields is, in most cases, proving <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159115002063">more reliable</a> than mechanical devices.</p>
<p>Elephants could rival dogs’ sensitivity abilities in these fields, as they did for TNT-detection. They require less maintenance training than dogs to keep them on the target scent. Our elephants were able to repeat the same tests with high success a year after their last trial, with no intervening maintenance training. </p>
<p>In addition, given their longevity – they can live to around <a href="https://www.sanbi.org/creature/african-elephant">60 years</a> in the wild – elephants, once trained, could serve as long-standing biosensors that far outlive any of their current biosensor counterparts.</p>
<p>And, importantly, biologically appropriate tasks that engage natural behaviours to gain reward is highly stimulating for captive animals. So not only could elephants potentially save lives while sniffing out danger – they could have fun at the same time.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/85626/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ashadee Kay Miller received funding from the Army Research Office (ARO) for this work, and currently receives funding from the NRF, ARO and the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command for her research on chemical crypsis.</span></em></p>Elephants have the highest count of olfactory receptor genes of any species tested to date. This suggests that they may be the best smellers in the animal kingdom.Ashadee Kay Miller, PhD Candidate, School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the WitwatersrandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/606102016-07-07T02:10:52Z2016-07-07T02:10:52ZCan next-generation bomb ‘sniffing’ technology outdo dogs on explosives detection?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/128764/original/image-20160629-15251-9imiqc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C0%2C662%2C433&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Technology is catching up with dogs – and has additional advantages.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/stefz/485663374">Stef</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>With each terrorist attack on another airport, train station or other public space, the urgency to find new ways to detect bombs before they’re detonated ratchets up.</p>
<p>Chemical detection of explosives is a cornerstone of aviation security. Typically called “trace detection,” this approach can find minuscule amounts of residue left behind after someone handles an explosive. A form of this technology called <a href="https://www.crcpress.com/Ion-Mobility-Spectrometry-Third-Edition/Eiceman-Karpas-Jr/p/book/9781439859971">ion mobility spectroscopy</a> is what Transportation Security Administration officers are using when they swab and test your laptop, hands or other items at the airport. In a few seconds, a sample is vaporized, and the resulting chemical ions are separated by molecular size and shape, triggering an alarm if an explosive compound is detected.</p>
<p>But <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0039-9140(00)00565-8">this method</a> is labor-intensive and slow for large volumes of stuff, and its effectiveness can depend on the sampling skill of the officer. It relies on contact sampling, which requires security personnel to have access to surfaces where residue may have been left. That’s not useful if a bomber has no intention of going through a security line and having his personal effects searched.</p>
<p>Some security teams rely on dogs, which can be trained to sniff out explosives using their <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0039-9140(00)00546-4">exquisite sense of smell</a>. But the logistics and training involved with the routine deployment of canines can be arduous, and there are <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0039-9140(00)00565-8">cultural barriers</a> to using dogs to directly screen people.</p>
<p>What researchers have wanted to develop for a long time is a new chemical detection technology that could “sniff” for explosives vapor, much like a canine does. Many efforts over the years fell short as not being sensitive enough. My research team has been working on this problem for nearly two decades – and we’re making good headway.</p>
<h2>More and more sensitive</h2>
<p>The one big hurdle to engineering some kind of technology to rival a dog’s nose is the extremely <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.trac.2012.09.010">low vapor pressures of most explosives</a>. What we call the “equilibrium vapor pressure” of a material is basically a measure of how much of it is in the air, available for detection, under perfect conditions at a specific temperature. </p>
<p>Commonly used by military forces around the world, nitro-organic explosives such as <a href="http://militarynewbie.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/TM-9-1300-214-Military-Explosives.pdf">TNT, RDX and PETN</a> have equilibrium vapor pressures in the parts per trillion range. To reliably sniff out related vapors in operational environments, like a busy check-in area of an airport, the detection capability would need to be well below that – down into the <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-0639-1_46">parts per quadrillion range</a> for many explosives.</p>
<p>These levels have been beyond the capability of trace detection instrumentation. Achieving a 325 parts per quadrillion level of detection is analogous to finding <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature14967">one specific tree on the entire planet Earth</a>.</p>
<p>But recent research has pushed the detection envelope into that part-per-quadrillion range. In 2008, an international team used an advanced ionization technique, called secondary electrospray ionization mass spectrometry, to get <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jasms.2008.10.006">better than part per trillion level detection</a> of <a href="http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/podcast/CIIEcompounds/transcripts/TNT.asp">TNT</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/nov/01/cargo-bomb-plot-petn-explosive">PETN</a>.</p>
<p>In 2012, our research team at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (<a href="http://www.pnnl.gov">PNNL</a>) achieved direct, real-time detection of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RDX">RDX</a> vapors at levels below 25 parts per quadrillion using atmospheric flow tube mass spectrometry (<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/ac302828g">AFT-MS</a>).</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129393/original/image-20160705-817-17yrloc.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129393/original/image-20160705-817-17yrloc.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129393/original/image-20160705-817-17yrloc.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=282&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129393/original/image-20160705-817-17yrloc.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=282&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129393/original/image-20160705-817-17yrloc.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=282&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129393/original/image-20160705-817-17yrloc.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129393/original/image-20160705-817-17yrloc.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129393/original/image-20160705-817-17yrloc.gif?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=355&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Schematic diagram of the elegant simplicity of the AFT-MS device.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">PNNL</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Sensitivity for a mass spectrometer is related to how many of the target molecules can be ionized and transferred into the mass spectrometer for detection. The more complete that process is, the better sensitivity will be. Our AFT-MS scheme is different because it uses time to maximize the benefits of the collisions of the explosive vapor molecules with air ions created from the ion source. It is the extent of reaction between the created ions and the explosives molecules that defines the sensitivity. Using AFT-MS, we’ve now expanded the capability to be able to detect a suite of explosives at <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/ac402513r">single-digit part per quadrillion level</a>. </p>
<h2>Next step: putting it into practice</h2>
<p>So we’ve moved the state of the art of chemical-based explosives detection into a realm where contact sampling is no longer necessary and instruments can “sniff” for explosives in a manner similar to canines.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129465/original/image-20160705-791-1o7gq0x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129465/original/image-20160705-791-1o7gq0x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129465/original/image-20160705-791-1o7gq0x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=562&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129465/original/image-20160705-791-1o7gq0x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=562&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129465/original/image-20160705-791-1o7gq0x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=562&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129465/original/image-20160705-791-1o7gq0x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=706&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129465/original/image-20160705-791-1o7gq0x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=706&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129465/original/image-20160705-791-1o7gq0x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=706&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">PNNL research scientist Robert Ewing presenting a trace vapor sample to the detector.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">PNNL</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Instruments that have the vapor detection capability of canines and can also operate continuously open up exciting new security screening possibilities. Trace detection wouldn’t need to rely on direct access to suspicious items for sampling. Engineers could create a noninvasive walk-through explosive detection device, similar to a metal detector.</p>
<p>The real innovation is in the direct detection of the vapor plume, enabled by the extreme sensitivity. There is no longer a need to collect explosive particles for vaporization – as is the case in past trace detection technologies that use loud air jets to dislodge particles from people. Instead, the greater sensitivity means the air could simply be constantly sampled for explosives molecules as people pass through.</p>
<p>This approach would certainly make airport checkpoints less onerous, improving throughput and the passenger experience. These types of devices could also be set up at entrances to airport terminals and other public facilities. It would be a major security leap to be able to detect explosives that are entering a building, not only when passing through a checkpoint.</p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129081/original/image-20160702-18321-qhd1bc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/129081/original/image-20160702-18321-qhd1bc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129081/original/image-20160702-18321-qhd1bc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129081/original/image-20160702-18321-qhd1bc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129081/original/image-20160702-18321-qhd1bc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=639&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129081/original/image-20160702-18321-qhd1bc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=639&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/129081/original/image-20160702-18321-qhd1bc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=639&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Making two measurements – vapor detection via mass spectrometer and visual image via currently deployed body scanner – in the same time and space.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">PNNL</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A deployed vapor detection capability would also increase safety by adding a second independent form of information to what scanners have available. Currently, most screening techniques, such as x-ray and <a href="http://science.howstuffworks.com/millimeter-wave-scanner.htm">millimeter wave</a> imaging, are based on spotting anomalies – a TSA operator notices a strange shape in the image. A vapor detection technology would add to their toolkit the ability to identify specific chemicals.</p>
<p>It allows for a two-pronged approach to finding explosives: spotting them on an image and sniffing them out in the vapor plume emitted by a checked bag or a person. It’s like recognizing a person you know but haven’t seen in a long time; both seeing a recent picture and hearing their voice may be necessary to identify them, rather than just one of those pieces of information on its own.</p>
<p>Inspired by the tremendous detection capabilities of dogs, we’ve made remarkable advances toward developing technology that can follow in their footsteps. Deploying vapor analysis for explosives can both enhance security levels and provide a less intrusive screening environment. Continuing research aims to hone the technology and lower its costs so it can be deployed at an airport near you.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/60610/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Atkinson works for the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, a US Department of Energy multi-program laboratory. He receives funding for research and technical support from a variety of US government sources that fund explosives detection R&D, such as the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Division. He is also affiliated with Scientific Workshops Inc. as a trustee. Scientific Workshops is a not for profit organization that runs educational subject matter expert workshops related to explosives detection and other scientific topics. </span></em></p>New research is narrowing the gap, creating technology with the detecting capabilities of canines but without the downsides of relying on a biological system.David Atkinson, Senior Research Scientist, Pacific Northwest National LaboratoryLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/380002015-02-25T06:28:34Z2015-02-25T06:28:34ZHow poo-sniffing detective dogs can save elusive, rare gorillas<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/72952/original/image-20150224-25682-1inzms1.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Cross river gorilla: one of the world's most endangered primates.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cross-river-gorilla.jpg">Julielangford</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In a few densely forested patches of Nigeria and Cameroon there lives a gorilla so rare and so elusive that the best way to study it is through training sniffer dogs to track down its faeces. This is the Cross River gorilla, and there are <a href="http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/cross-river-gorilla">just 200-300</a> left in the wild.</p>
<p>To find these shy creatures and learn more about them a team of scientists from Germany and the US turned to detection dogs. They have written about their findings in the <a href="http://rsos.royalsocietypublishing.org/lookup/doi/10.1098/rsos.140423">Royal Society Open Science</a> journal. </p>
<p>Most of us wish our encounters with faeces to be brief before we flush them away, but this is not the case for conservation biologists. The TV series You Are What You Eat hit on a truth: faecal matter is a rich source of information about its depositors.</p>
<p>Faeces doesn’t just tell us what the owner has been eating – it also contains <a href="http://www.primatesmx.com/fecaldna.htm">DNA, gut parasites, and hormones</a> which can tell us about reproduction and stress levels. The researchers in this particular study were after gorilla DNA, which can be used to determine the sex and identity of the individual; this information can then be used to estimate population size, the numbers in a social group, how far the group moves around and how closely related the individuals are.</p>
<p>In the past wild population sizes were estimated by capturing individual animals, marking them and then after some time trying to <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/add_ocr_gateway/green_world/ecologyrev2.shtml">recapture them</a>. It is possible to estimate population size using data gathered this way, but clearly this method is not appropriate for large and endangered species like gorillas. However, this process can be simulated using the “recapture” of faeces from the same individuals, which is what the scientists did in this study.</p>
<h2>Detective doodoo</h2>
<p>Gorillas, as you might imagine, create large piles of faeces. But despite their size, finding such deposits in a tropical forest is not an easy task for humans, especially when the gorillas themselves are so shy. One way to overcome this problem is by using specially trained detector dogs to find the gorillas’ faeces (or scats as we biologists call them).</p>
<p>The use of dogs as odour detectors goes back to the 1960s when they were first exploited to <a href="http://www.mpi.govt.nz/funding-and-programmes/other-programmes/detector-dog-programme/history-of-detector-dogs/">detect narcotics</a>, and these days their olfactory abilities are employed to sniff out everything from explosives to <a href="http://medicaldetectiondogs.org.uk/">cancerous tumours</a> to the floating poop of killer whales.</p>
<p>Scientists still debate how good a dog’s sense of smell is. But research shows that they can detect chemicals in <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/nature/dogs-sense-of-smell.html">parts per trillion</a>, whereas most chemical sensing machines work in parts per billion. Dogs possess 20 times as many olfactory receptors as humans, and they dedicate 40 times more of their brain to processing smells. It is said that if their smell was taste they could detect a teaspoon of sugar in the amount of water needed to fill <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/16/AR2009101601240.html">two Olympic swimming pools</a>. They also can detect all the separate components of a smell; their nose can determine the ingredients list of whatever they are sniffing.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/72960/original/image-20150224-25664-1qomuby.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/72960/original/image-20150224-25664-1qomuby.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/72960/original/image-20150224-25664-1qomuby.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/72960/original/image-20150224-25664-1qomuby.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/72960/original/image-20150224-25664-1qomuby.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/72960/original/image-20150224-25664-1qomuby.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/72960/original/image-20150224-25664-1qomuby.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Thanks for finding the landmine, have a banana.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Food_Reward.JPG">Gooutside</a></span>
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<p>Moths and <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-18496516">bees</a> can also be trained to detect explosives or drugs, while African pouched rats can <a href="https://www.apopo.org/en/">detect landmines</a> and even tuberculosis better than humans with machines. The advantage dogs have over insects and to an extent rats is their ability to cover large areas in short periods of time. But as with all detection animals the problem is the need for a human handler who often slows the dog down, especially in a mountainous tropical forest.</p>
<h2>Africa needs its own dog detectives</h2>
<p>The dogs used in this study were <a href="http://workingdogsforconservation.org">Working Dogs for Conservation</a> flown in from the US . They proved more successful at finding scats than human fieldworkers and they were less biased in site location. Where human fieldworkers tended to look for gorilla nests and then procure scats nearby, dogs would instead scan the whole area. This meant the dogs found scats belonging to more individual gorillas, which in turn bumped up the estimated population size. Given sufficient field time the authors believe detection dogs would provide a precise estimate of gorilla population size.</p>
<p>However, specially trained dogs and handlers imported from the US meant the cost per scat found was seven times more expensive than those found by human fieldworkers. This pilot study of just a few weeks cost nearly US$100,000. </p>
<p>The authors of this study recognise, despite the cost, the value of using detector dogs in longer term studies of highly endangered species such as Cross River gorillas, especially if dogs are simultaneously searching for scats of several endangered species. And they suggest the establishment of a local detection dog program. Gorilla-hunting sniffer dogs for Africa? It’s a novel cause – but a worthy one.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/38000/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Robert John Young does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Sniffer dogs are great at finding gorillas in thick forest – but it comes at a price.Robert John Young, Professor of Wildlife Conservation, University of SalfordLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.