How does police train sniffer dogs?

What they're actually looking for is their favourite toy. Their training has led them to associate that toy with the smell of drugs.

People often wonder if dogs sniff out hidden drugs because they want to eat them. In fact, the dogs have absolutely no interest in drugs. What they’re actually looking for is their favourite toy. Their training has led them to associate that toy with the smell of drugs.

The toy used most often is a white towel. Police dogs love to play a vigorous game of tug-of-war with their favourite towel.

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To begin the training, the handler simply plays with the dog and the towel, which has been carefully washed so that it has no scent of its own. Later, a bag of marijuana is rolled up inside the towel. After playing for a while, the dog starts to recognise the smell of marijuana as the smell of his favourite toy.
The handler then hides the towel, with the drugs, in various places. Whenever the dog sniffs out the drugs, he digs and scratches, trying to get at his toy. He soon comes to learn that if he sniffs out the smell of drugs, as soon as he finds them he’ll be rewarded with a game of tug-of-war.

As training progresses, different drugs are placed in the towel, until the dog is able to sniff out a host of illegal substances. The same method is used for bomb-detection dogs, except various chemicals used to manufacture explosives are placed in the towel instead of drugs.

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