Incidence of odor discrimination in the training of substance detection canine teams: impact of its evaluation for final certification

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22335/rlct.v12i1.1003

Keywords:

Working dogs, evaluation test, canine performance, canine certification, detector dogs, odor discrimination, behavior

Abstract

The Colombia National Police, selects, trains and certifies canine team, determining which dogs are Fit or Not Fit to start training, continue and verify its subsequent performance. Therefore, the objectives of this research were: 1). Determine the incidence of odor discrimination during the training and final certification of canine substances detectors and 2). Establish the correlation between odor discrimination, perseverance and alertness during "blind tests". The results prove the hypothesis that when performing blind tests in training, using real records and discriminating the smell, a greater number of canine equipment is obtained in the final certification. It is evident that the precision to discriminate target odors is 99% (percentage of detected targets) and specificity of 96% (percentage of correctly discriminated targets), with statistically significant results for the majority of the behavioral variables analyzed individually (P < 0,05) and a level of agreement between the evaluators (Kappa de Cohen) almost perfect for most of the tests, concluding that the warning signs in real contexts, carrying out the blind tests during the training and final certification, make the binomials to being exposed to noise, presence of people and other animals, improve their operational results.

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Author Biographies

  • Paola A Prada-Tiedemann, Texas Tech University

    PhD. Texas Tech University, Institute for Forensic Science, Department of Environmental Toxicology, 1207 S. Gilbert Drive, Lubbock, TX 79416.

  • Martha Ximena Ochoa-Torres, Policía Nacional de Colombia

    Médico Veterinario Zootecnista. MsC (c). Candidata a la Maestría en Ciencias Veterinarias. Docente de la Escuela de Guías y Adiestramiento Canino.

  • Jorge Ulises Rojas-Guevara, Policía Nacional de Colombia
    Médico Veterinario, Especialista en Servicio de Policía, Magister en Ciencias Veterinarias, PhD. Mayor Policía Nacional de Colombia. Director del grupo de investigación “olfateando el conocimiento” de la Escuela de Guías y Adiestramiento Canino.
  • Gabriel Antonio Bohórquez, Policía Nacional de Colombia

    Técnico Profesional en Seguridad Integral Canina, Psicólogo, Intendente Policía Nacional de Colombia. Docente de la Escuela de Guías y Adiestramiento Canino.

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Published

2019-12-20

Issue

Section

Research articles / Original articles

How to Cite

Incidence of odor discrimination in the training of substance detection canine teams: impact of its evaluation for final certification. (2019). Revista Logos Ciencia & Tecnología, 12(1), 31-44. https://doi.org/10.22335/rlct.v12i1.1003