Ever Wondered How They Train Cadaver Dogs?

Do Cadaver Dogs Smell an Actual Corpse to Train to Find Decomposing Bodies?

When I was watching a show where the cops took a dog to look for a cadaver in the woods, a question popped into my mind.

How do they train dogs to sniff out a decomposing body?

After a little sleuthing, here’s what I found.

For a dog to qualify as a cadaver dog, they need to undergo anywhere from 18 months to two years of training. That’s 1,000 hours of training before they can go out into the field.

Although Labradors and German Shepherds are chosen for this crucial task, the cadaver training facilities also look at other traits. They prefer dogs that are avid hunters, are confident, and have strong nerves. Therefore, these traits trump the breed. A lot goes into training cadaver dogs.

Cadaver dog trainers use pig remains to train them and teach them to ignore all other food sources. Additionally, dogs can differentiate between the scent of animal and human remains and hence won’t be distracted when searching.

Other times, they may use special chemicals that emanate the scent of human remains. They then train the dogs to recognize and follow the pungent aroma. However, a scientist at Nevada’s Desert Research Institute said that effective cadaver dog training involves regularly exposing them to decaying flesh and bones and human blood.

In the United States, cadaver dog trainers can legally use specific bodily components such as human blood and the placenta. Since these aren’t easily available, they rely on using their own blood and substitutes called ersatz odors.

The three types of ersatz odors available are the Recently Dead, Decomposed, and Drowned. The scientist also recommended practicing on a real cadaver because dogs are born with a powerful sense of smell, so they can more effectively pick up the volatile organic compounds that humans produce.

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