Valuable abilities for man.
Some dogs are endowed with an exceptional sense of smell, due to olfactory cells and a very good olfactory memory.
Historically, these bloodhounds were used for their olfactory hunting skills.
Today, dog teams (also called dog technicians), made up of a dog handler and his canine partner, are trained for certain police or rescue missions.
Here are a few.
Search and detection dog
The French customs uses anti-narcotics and anti-tobacco Labradors, from working breeding.
They are trained to look for the smell of drugs or tobacco.
Patrice Barsacq, canine trainer at the customs school in La Rochelle, explains that “
the Labrador is
a
rustic, enduring hunting dog with significant working capacities.
It is an easy dog of character, hunter, curious, who likes to play, balanced and easy to live with.
He is a hard worker, with a flexible character who forgives the mistakes of a young novice dog handler
,
”
he continues
.
These search dogs are involved in:
stations
airports
sheds
ports
roads
boats (they must be able to get into a boat, a zodiac, to go from one boat to another.)
A customs dog handler team at the Gare du Nord in Paris French Customs
They are very playful dogs, for whom the control of objects is a game. If they do not want to play, to seek, one can suspect a disease, osteoarthritis...
For the Labrador, controlling objects is a game. French customs
When they have smelled narcotics, for example, they begin to scratch.
The advantage of the Labrador, apart from its flair, is that it does not scare people.
As the checks are also carried out in confined spaces, such as in the aisles of train carriages, it does not cause stress among the general public.
Except for people with narcotics!
To know
Customs officers use the verb “mark” when the dog finds the goods.
For the search for explosives, weapons and ammunition, customs officers have chosen to work with German shepherds.
They are extremely disciplined dogs and, unlike Labradors, do not scratch but sit down when they smell explosives.
These customs dogs have daily training so as not to forget this smell.
Read alsoGerman shepherd or Malinois: how to tell them apart?
To note
The maritime gendarmerie, for the search for explosives, also works with small dogs, such as the Fox terrier.
The education of the future search dog begins as soon as the customs officer picks up the puppy, at two and a half months.
A work program is set up between the future dog handler and the trainers of the Center Cynophile, explains Patrice Barsacq, "
so that the dog is operational in all environments, that he has no particular apprehension, that he he is comfortable and independent in all environments, he is obedient, he has a sociable behavior in society.
He is educated as Mr. Everybody's dog should be educated with the specificities related to his future work environment
”.
To note
Police dogs are essentially shepherds (German, Dutch, Belgian,) of which 90% are Malinois.
But all races are eligible.
The English Springer is part of the squad.
The choice is made according to the character and skills of the animal.
One of the characteristics of police dogs is that they can come from working or private breeding.
Since 2022, new dogs have been trained in passive marking, says Major RULP (responsible for a local police unit) Fabrice D., deputy to the head of the DFTSI / CNFUC center and technical manager of training.
"
They mark the position by sitting or lying on the ground,
" he continues.
To fix the area, it freezes
.
If the detection is done at a height and it is carried by its master, it freezes in his arms.
The principle is always the same, the game and the reward.
The latter is a game object: a pudding (also called a doll) or a ball, a Kong (rubber dog toy, sold for professionals).
But if "
the dog prefers another object, we will give it as a reward
", stipulates Major RULP Fabrice D.
The training of the canine team continues at the customs school in La Rochelle.
For an anti-narcotics dog, it lasts 10 weeks (14 weeks for anti-explosives), followed by a refresher course the following year.
Every 3 years, the pair take a one-week course to test their knowledge and discover new products.
The dog has 2 stages in its life: the 1st around 4-5 years old and the second around 7-8 years old.
Good to know
French customs have: 202 anti-narcotics dog teams 23 anti-tobacco dog teams 22 anti-explosive dog teams
When the dog finds, he receives his doll as a reward, a caress, a hike...
In the summer of 2022, three exceptional cases were carried out by Marseille customs officers, thanks to the marking of anti-narcotic dogs.
The total weight of these seizures amounts to 1.2 tonnes of cocaine, concealed in moving containers.
French customs
Patrice Barsacq emphasizes that "
the dog is led like a top athlete
", he regularly sees a veterinarian, trains a lot, must be physically and morally fit, be very motivated and in good health.
A customs dog is operational on average between 7 and 9 years.
He works with his master during the day and in the evening goes home with him.
He is part of the family.
When he retired, he remained to live with his master, after the latter had requested that he be handed over free of charge to the General Directorate of Customs.
Patrice Barsacq, notes that the bond between the dog and the master is so strong that the death of the animal is very painful for the customs officer Dog master, who shared the extraordinary existence of his canine companion.
"
A part of ourselves is missing,
" he says.
To know
Since 2017, customs have been experimenting with “cash dogs”.
They are dogs trained to detect dirty money: they are trained to detect the smell of ink and paper used for the manufacture of banknotes, from synthetic odors. They are Labradors which have a double specialization: narcotics and cash or tobacco and cash.
Patrice Barsacq points out that only certain dogs already in service are selected.
“
They must be calm, calm, meticulous”
.
LAB is a Labrador specialized in the search for tobacco and cash.
In 2021, he won, together with his dog handler Elsa, the “Dog Hero Trophy” awarded by the Canine Central Society for the search for illicit materials.
French customs
tracking dog
The exceptional flair of certain sleuths is used to search for missing persons (alive or dead) or criminals on the run.
"
The
Hound of Saint Hubert
is recognized as the best dog in terms of smell for human research
", indicates Didier Sallaberry.
He is able to find people 24 to 48 hours after they go missing.
Or even 3-4 days later.
From an object in a plastic pocket, containing an object of the person (handkerchief, ring, etc.), he is able to find the trace.
The president of the French Dog Club of Saint Hubert, specifies that, unlike the Saint Hubert, “
the Malinois will have difficulty looking for human traces in an urban area because of the different smells present.
He's going to block
."
The gendarmerie specifically calls more on the Dog of Saint Hubert, for missing persons.
But they also use Malinois, German shepherds...
rescue dog
Endowed with an excellent sense of smell, rescue dogs are also selected for their endurance, robustness, tenacity, agility and obedience.
In assembly
The dogs trained for the mountain rescue of the CRS Montagne units have a double specialization: they are avalanche dogs and trackers.
Research techniques are different:
winter quest
summer tracking
Helicopter of a rescuer and his dog, from a CRS Mountain unit, during an exercise in Chamonix.
DCRFPN - SDMA - DIP - Gerad Fayet
The
avalanche dog
searches for any smell, nose in the air.
It is the quest.
But for the dog to find the scent, it must emerge from the snowdrift.
However, when the avalanche is very compact, the smell does not "come out", or several hours later, or slowly.
Sometimes the smell does not come out at all, because the body, which was sweaty, is wrapped in ice.
No dog can mark (i.e. find).
Good to know
If the weather is good, in 80-85% of cases, the canine team arrives and leaves by helicopter.
If this is not possible, she must either spend the night there or go down on skis or snowshoes.
The dog must be able to follow when skiing downhill, or be carried.
In spring and summer, when it is tracking, the dog searches on the ground with a reference smell, that of the missing person.
He has only one scent on the ground to track down.
“You need dogs that adapt well.
It's easier to go from tracking to avalanche than the other way around”
, specifies police major Jérôme Dardouiller, head of the CRS Alpes Briançon detachment and former operational dog handler in avalanche and tracking.
Dogs must therefore be versatile.
He specifies by taking the example of the Border Collie, which is a good avalanche dog but not a tracking dog.
To note
Contrary to popular belief, the overly massive Saint Bernard (it can weigh 100 kg) is not used as a mountain rescue dog.
Mountain rescue dogs must also be:
solid
bear the cold
not be too big to be able to be airlifted
to be able to move in the snow
be able to walk for a long time
have a quality of concentration at work
Four breeds of dog are used, says peacekeeper Fabrice Huot-Marchand, dog handler and instructor instructor for the training of avalanche dogs, which takes place every year at the CNEAS in Chamonix (National Center for Training in Mountaineering and Skiing):
German shepherd
Belgian Shepherd Malinois
Labrador
Flat Coated Retriever
“
Managing some dogs is complicated, as there is a lot of waiting time
(before rescues, editor’s note)
.
Very nervous dogs can lose their energy during the day
,” explains the dog handler.
The German shepherd is the dog with which the young dog handlers work because "
it is quite easy to educate and has a small size to climb into the helicopter
", he specifies.
Read alsoLabrador or golden retriever: how to tell them apart?
The Malinois, he continues, is “
a very good search dog, a hard worker.
» For Labradors, the Mountain CRS are working more and more with lines from two specific, fairly fine (27-28 kg), small breeds.
“
They are calm when at rest, and work well when they have to work.
As for the Flat Coated Retriever, the dog handler and instructor mentions that "
they have more willpower at work
".
You also need dogs capable of being on a glacier at an altitude of 3500 m!
The rescue dog and its handler must be able to be dropped off anywhere, including on a glacier at high altitude.
DCRFPN - SDMA - DIP - Gerad Fayet
As the dog lives with his master, “
you also need breeds that are sociable with the family, the children, and easy to manage on a daily basis, while waiting at the station, at home
”, he adds.
Dog training first takes place at the National Training Center for National Police Canine Units (CNFUC), with an instructor and another dog handler.
The dog completes its training at around 2 years old.
It will be very good from 3 to 7 years.
The dog is operational from 2 years to 8-9 years, if he has no health concerns.
Training in Chamonix of a canine team.
DCRFPN - SDMA - DIP - Gerad Fayet
Police major Jérôme Dardouiller, head of the CRS Alpes Briançon detachment, insists on the fact that you need a dog who wants to work, happy to do what he does.
Good to know
Currently, the Mountain CRS units have 13 canine teams, based in Albertville, Grenoble, Briançon, Nice, Perpignan and Lannemezan.
Two others are in renewal training.
rubble
The dogs that specialize in searching for people under the rubble are also very well trained.
Depending on the country, certain breeds are used more.
These include: the German Shepherd, the Malinois, the Beauceron, the Labrador, the Tervueren, the Pyrenean Shepherd, the Doberman.
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