sniffer dogs

[demandred]

Hi!!
I know these dogs can find evry drug there is, the one thing I`m uncertain of, is if they can detect medications?? Such as benzodiazepins, sleeping pills and opiat-based painkillers and stuff like that!
And if they can, is one type medication easier to find? Would seem logical that there are easier to find opiat painkillers than f.eks an anti-depressiva or benzos, but you never know with these amazing creatures!!
Hope someone have an answer for me, since I`ve been wondering a long time abaut it, and haven`t found any satisfying answers..

[lankeela]

Basically if it can be smelt they can detect it:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Detection_dog

[hammerman]

As above. My dad was a dog handler with Sussex police and had an explosives dog as well as a "general" police dog. Basically, a dog can be trained to find anything that has a scent.....money, guns, drugs, dead bodies etc etc.

The dogs power of scent is so good that they can find a hidden gun, wrapped in polythene that was last fired 20 years ago !!!!

[woofgang]

our first dog (a weimaraner) taught himself to pick out the exact pinecone that we had thrown for him

[wolf63]

I read that in Ireland they had trained dogs to detect pirate DVDs. Do pirate DVDs smell different from legal ones?

[horselady]

Yes they can. A sniffer dog at our railway station was most interested in my bag once. The officer asked to look in it and there were my blood pressure tablets!

[China Doll]

Apparently dogs can smell cancer... I think I saw that on QI... I can't think where else I would have got it from!

[society]

I’ve read several articles stating how some dogs are capable of sensing their owners’ illnesses and emotions.

[rowanwitch]

dogs have been trained to smell melanoma basically if something has a smell a dog can be trained to recognise it