CPT Trainer Seminar- Canine Olfaction

January 2, 2019

On Saturday, December 15, CPT Trainer Alexandra “Alex” Collier delivered an outstanding seminar on canine olfaction to CPT Atlanta’s trainers. Alex is a member of Central Georgia K-9 Search and Rescue. Alex and her Boxers, Angie and Darwin, are certified by the National Association for Search and Rescue (NASAR), North American Police Working Dog Association (NAPWDA), and Georgia Emergency Management Administration (GEMA). Her dogs are certified both in human search and rescue/trailing and cadaver search/human remains detection.

Classroom Education on Canine Olfaction:

Alex began the seminar with a 1.5-hour Powerpoint presentation and open discussion that educated CPT’s trainers on:

• Anatomical and biological process of canine olfaction,
• Comparisons of dog vs. human nasal anatomy and olfaction,

• Advantages of using dogs vs. humans, other animals, or spectroscopes,
• Differences between trailing and tracking and the advantages/disadvantages of each,
• The importance of selecting an appropriate scent article when conducting scent-specific searches,
• How humans release scent into the environment,
• Trailing with a “scent cone” vs. area searches,
• Individual vs. group area searches,
• Non scent specific vs. scent-specific dogs,
• Certification qualifications for Search and Rescue (SAR) dogs and handlers,
• The role(s) of SAR dogs, Disaster Search dogs, and Humans Remains Detection (HRD) dogs,
• Types of indications and alerts, including passive vs. active alerts,
• Effects of the topographic environment and weather on odor concentration and distribution,
• The effects of breed acuity and motivation on training outcomes,
• Training methodologies,
• How and where to start training a trailing dog, and
• The utility of GPS devices for training and monitoring trailing dogs.

Live Presentations of Canine Olfaction:

The group then traveled to a pasture and a wooded area in North Alpharetta to observe Alex’s certified dogs perform demonstrations of live trailing and human remains recovery.  Demonstrations started with a short distance and a hot scent. The final demonstration had Darwin locate a human target hiding about a half mile into a deeply wooded area, with an aged scent of about 30 minutes duration.

The staff found the seminar very interesting and informative. CPT is committed to maintaining the most educated and knowledgeable training staff in the Atlanta area.

Consequently, when you search for dog training in Atlanta, you can be confident that CPT’s services will outperform those provided by any competitor.

Alex Collier lecturing the group. Her backpack includes many tools beneficial for search and rescue trailing.

Pictured L-R: Patricia King, Meghan Markham, Alex Collier, Judy Ricketson, Lisa Carroll, Megan Jefferson, Caleb Jefferson, Kate Viola, Melissa Nelson, and Jeanne Hodson. Taking the photo and out of frame is Mark Spivak.

(Dog training Atlanta)

(Dog training Alpharetta)

(Pet training Sandy Springs)