# Do you train to find articles?



## Melissa Kwiatkowski (Nov 24, 2014)

On my search team our area search dogs are required to find living persons, recently deceased (still decomposing) persons, and human scent articles. The idea is that if our dogs can find an article on a search, it gives us a clue as to where the person might be, and a new PLS to start a trailing dog from.

I have heard that many teams across the country do not train for article detection, and personally I am finding that it causes more confusion than it's worth. Anything a human touches can be an article, as far as the dog is concerned.

Since my dog is already partially cross-trained on HR, I was considering training for the NSDA HRD test. But while reading the test standards, I realized my dog could potentially give lots of "false" indications, because he might indicate on the live human scent left on the car or in the building. ](*,)

What are you opinions on article detection?


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## Nick Hrycaj (Mar 30, 2014)

I'll be interested to see what more experienced people say but I'd be surprised to hear of people having issues with false indications under the examples you gave. 

this post http://www.workingdogforum.com/vBulletin/f53/articles-43066/ was being discussed recently and with the type of imprinting advocated by the experienced trainers the dog never has reason to equate the small-ish article where they are rewarded vs human odor hot spots on vehicles/ buildings.

what happens in training if you have someone sit in an area for a prolonged period then move prior to dog finding? do you get a false similar to the risidual odor idea In narcotics?


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## Melissa Kwiatkowski (Nov 24, 2014)

Nick Hrycaj said:


> what happens in training if you have someone sit in an area for a prolonged period then move prior to dog finding?



Well, at a recent training I ran into just such a scenario. My dog indicated on a tree. I found out later that someone had sat at the base of the tree for awhile.


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## Sarah Platts (Jan 12, 2010)

The problem, as I see it, is that you have not clearly defined what the dog is hunting for and/or the dog is not focusing exactly for what you want. The issue you describe is sometimes see in cross-trained dogs. I fix this by doing transition drills. But the each search needs a seperate starting command and don't choose ones that sound similar. Ex: HR= Find your Fish, Articles only= Go Catch, Live human= Buscar. You can use anything.

You could lay out articles and HR in the same area. I would put an article in one area, say to the left, and the HR in a similar area to the right. I may lay up 3 or 4 seperate locations. Then I send the dog on HR- complete and reward then go back to the start and now send the dog for the article. The article search has a different start command than the HR. Then I go to the next area and switch what I want him to look for first. I will flip-flop back and forth until the dog will accurately move between the commands. If the dog defaults to the wrong item for that search command then you ignore and re-target the dog to the correct object for that search command. They will pick it up fairly quickly.

Now since my dogs are scent specific, I have to scent them on the human odor that is connected on the articles. So I have a scent pad with a particular person's odor that I scent the dog on and then send them after the article that has that human scent on it. They are to ignore any other items that lack that human scent component. Is this more complicated than the normal general wilderness dog that is taught to alert on the odor of any human scent? Yes. But since my dogs are scent specific it works for us.

You can also do the same between live scent and dead scent. You can hide a volunteer in the area and HR off to one side. You can do the same flip-flopping of target search item (volunteer or HR) until the dog learns to transition smoothly. "I'm looking for ABC, go find it. Now I'm looking for XYZ, go find that. Now I want ABC again, go find it."


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## Melissa Kwiatkowski (Nov 24, 2014)

Sarah Platts said:


> But the each search needs a seperate starting command and don't choose ones that sound similar.


I have thought (and heard) of this before but I can't get past: how do you know what you are looking for on any given search?

Sometimes we have a pretty good idea that the subject is deceased, but other times we're in that time range where you just don't know. Would you search your sector twice, first with the live command and second with the HR command? 

Is it too late to change the work command for articles and HR, if a dog has been working everything with the same command for a couple years?

Do your dogs also have a separate indication for each type of find?

Thanks for your detailed reply. It gives me a lot to mull over.


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## Sarah Platts (Jan 12, 2010)

I do mantrailing. So I start on live scent at the PLS and the dog trails into an area. You will get body language changes or the dog circles an area looking for a live scent exit (this is common for water entries). I will then stop, pull off the harness, re-command to HR. 

Because I live in the big city, I focused on the scent specific aspect on articles because we have so much trash and discarded items present. I only want stuff the subject touched or handled. This could range from discarded items or things like door handles

For pure airscenting, you might see a different sequence of events. I started with airscent but then moved quickly to mantrailing since I need that skill more in the urban searches here in the big city.


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## Sarah Platts (Jan 12, 2010)

I tried to add to my post.....

If I want to start in HR then that's the search command I use. Since he's not been scented on a particular human its pure HR work.


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## Sarah Platts (Jan 12, 2010)

Melissa Kwiatkowski said:


> Is it too late to change the work command for articles and HR, if a dog has been working everything with the same command for a couple years?


Was thinking on this and this is probably why you dog alerted to the location where the guy sat but didn't contain HR. You have, in the dog's mind, tied live scent to dead scent. For the dog, it's all one and the same because you have made it so. 
Its not to late to change but will require alot of remedial work to split the behaviors andthe dog may never be totally reliable because of the initial years-long foundation work using the same command for finding these totally dissimilar items. You can tie live to live but not live to dead. Live finds + articles you can probably get away with using the same command but there are times I've been sent out looking for just articles. I like different commands because the searching behavior is different. If looking for a human, the dog's sweeps are bigger and faster. For articles, they tend to work tight and more nose to the ground and its a more detailed task. 

But I would definitely give it a try. It costs nothing to try and will help you grow as a handler and trainer. Cycle back to the basics and start the article work all over again with a new command (or your live command). Do not mix HR with articles until the dog is 100% with the new arrangement under all the typical search conditions and locations. Then cycle it back and set up a problem with a really large article in one location and a very small cadaver source in the other. Command, release, and work the dog to the article (what you are doing is proofing the article command against the HR- which in this arrngement is a distraction odor). Since you have commanded the dog for articles, if he went to the HR, you would not reward but move the dog on to look for the article. Later you will do the same proofing with the HR command. What you need to decide is if you want to keep your current command and if so what you want that command to mean OR trash that command and start over with 2 new ones that don't have any built in associations from your previous work. What ever course you take just be sure to document in your training records.

This incident is just something to file away as what NOT to do with your next dog. We all do it. We make mistakes on each and every dog and tell ourselves that you won't make that same mistake with your next dog.


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## Melissa Kwiatkowski (Nov 24, 2014)

Sarah,

I can see why you would do teach the three separate commands for trailing. I have never heard of a trailing dog being trained to find HR before, but it makes perfect sense. I can see how that would be a useful skill for drownings, in particular.

I think that if I continue to work articles, I will put them on a new command. At the least, it's a nice skill to have when I drop my radio in the the woods. 

I'm still stuck on separating live and HR. I would like to; it would make finding smaller HR sources easier, I would think. I'm just concerned about those situations where we don't know which we are looking for. (Yes my dog is air scent.) Either way I probably won't separate them with this dog, so I have another couple years to think it over.

You are right about the mistakes! I'm putting together a long of list of "won't do that next time"!


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## Sarah Platts (Jan 12, 2010)

Melissa Kwiatkowski said:


> Sarah,
> 
> I can see why you would do teach the three separate commands for trailing. I have never heard of a trailing dog being trained to find HR before, but it makes perfect sense. I can see how that would be a useful skill for drownings, in particular.


I don't know why you haven't run across it before. There are lots of us out here. I know of several teams that require mantrailing on the dog before heading off for specialty work. The only trailing dogs that may not routinely get it is the BHs. Partly because its a PITA to do cadaver on a long line. And worse if its a situation with a bunch of snagging oppotunities like brush or debris. Its so much easier when you can cut the dog loose which you cannot do with a BH. I know of three folks who certed their BHs for cadaver in addition to their Mantrailing. Most at least expose the dog to the odor. 




Melissa Kwiatkowski said:


> I'm still stuck on separating live and HR. I would like to; it would make finding smaller HR sources easier, I would think. I'm just concerned about those situations where we don't know which we are looking for. (Yes my dog is air scent.) Either way I probably won't separate them with this dog, so I have another couple years to think it over.


Depending on how much working life you have left in this dog, I would seriously consider it. I would start over the cadaver work on a whole new command so that you have a clean slate (so to speak) but it would probably be worth it. Mostly because at this time, you will be getting extraneous alerts due to the live scent confusion. As far as not knowing what you are looking for, only in fresh MP cases will you run across "we don't know if he's alive or dead" issues. If you are looking for small HR sources then you know the dude ain't alive. For your current situation I think you can carry on but only if you don't plan on doing cadaver work that might be tied to a criminal case. In those cases extraneous alerts cost time, money, and will sink your reputation.


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## Melissa Kwiatkowski (Nov 24, 2014)

Sarah Platts said:


> I don't know why you haven't run across it before. There are lots of us out here.


Maybe it's a regional thing? :-k Or I just haven't met enough trailing people. 



> Depending on how much working life you have left in this dog, I would seriously consider it. I would start over the cadaver work on a whole new command so that you have a clean slate (so to speak) but it would probably be worth it. Mostly because at this time, you will be getting extraneous alerts due to the live scent confusion. As far as not knowing what you are looking for, only in fresh MP cases will you run across "we don't know if he's alive or dead" issues. If you are looking for small HR sources then you know the dude ain't alive. For your current situation I think you can carry on but only if you don't plan on doing cadaver work that might be tied to a criminal case. In those cases extraneous alerts cost time, money, and will sink your reputation.


I hear you on the criminal case issues. I have not worked my dog on any such cases but have seen how much documentation and preciseness is required.

I'll be thinking about all of this.


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## Melissa Kwiatkowski (Nov 24, 2014)

I have decided to put HR on a new command. Once we get that solid I will practice the drills like you mentioned.


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