hi, I was looking into taking a course that trains you and your dog or a dog they provide for scent detection. I have emailed the lady about it and asked some questions but still not entirely clear, which is probably my fault coz im not sure what I need to know/ask.

Its a pretty expensive course so I don't want a scam. she was honest about their not being f/t work in detection but most handlers also do patrol as well. I would need to get my security license.

Has anyone taken such courses? how did it benefit you and what type of jobs are their in scent detection? she quoted saying narcotics and explosives, I thought those were police type manners?

I guess I wanna know mostly if there are jobs in scent detection? What they are and what type of training/courses/certifications are needed?

Any insight would be helpful. Im probably not asking the right questions, sorry if this post is confusing, im confused, lol.

thanks1!!

Almost ALL drug and explosive detection work is done by law enforcement.
There are many SAR groups out there for lost and getting hooked up with one of those would be your best bet.
Unless those teams are hooked up with a FD or PD somehow chances are your doing it as a volunteer and not getting paid.
Even then, if your a civilian with a group like that your still going to be doing it as a volunteer.
I was one of a few civilians on a SAR team made up of fire fighters and cops. consequently I still acted as a volunteer with the group.

get a job up in ft mac doing drug detection in work camps .

i thought about it once then realized i'd be the most hated guy in town .

also thought about explosives detection work ( airports , etc ) then realized i'd be looking for things that blow up .

you want to make money doing scent detection ? check the dry rot scent detectors they employ in the uk , checking for dry rot in historic buildings that are being examined for restoration purposes .

or checking for natural gas pipeline leaks .

Im currently waiting to do my security exam later this month. At which point my dog and I will be starting patrol work at various locations. My dog doesnt need any detection training so I cannot comment on that. However he is trained to bark and hold, as well as tracking. We will undergo a few test prior to hiring but will not need any certifications. Some security companies are looking for explosive detection dogs and handlers right now, I could only guess where you
would be working.

Bed Bug detection would be private sector paid work.

There are other ones out there, too, but they're kind of a right place, right time, right connections sort of thing. For instance, some wineries in France employ dogs to sniff out a certain compound in cork that will ruin the wine if used.

Train your dog to find truffles! Italians use dogs for this work. The fungi sell for around $800 a pound as a gourmet food ingredient.

thanks guys!! Great answers! I think im going to try to get my security license and get a foot in the door that way. Im kinda in between jobs right now and just trying to find jobs that pays enough to pay rent that involve dogs. Hopefully if I do that and they see my dog experience I will get to work with a k9 or train havoc, though shes pretty small to be intimidating.

I looked into bed bugs but even if I went and had my dog trained or bought one its like then what? I turned down a job to do just that last year and now im kicking myself. I woulda had a beagle lol. I think you have to be hired by a pest company to get in that way or start your own business.

I want to start my own dog walking/pet sitting business but I don't even know where to begin. Theres a real lack of people who are safety conscious and not squeezing in as many dogs as they can for profit.

Why didn't I just inherit a farm? That'd be my dream lol.

Aric let me know how you like your job and any tips would be appreciated

As to working for a security company with a dog that could also involve having insurance on the dog. That would be up to the company but chances are your going to pay for that.
Many security companies may not have dog work.

Most security companies around here don't even want their people carrying knives. They are trying to limit their liability. My dad has his armed guard card but they don't want him carrying. The police found a homeless guy with a live frag grenade just down the street but they still won't let him carry. I can imagine a dog would not be welcome. This is the largest security company in Phoenix.

Banner Health uses dogs at their hospitals. I remember them because one of their dogs is so old they were allowed to open the door on a car scenario to let him in for a bite. This was at the Desert Dog K9 Trials. I have no idea what their dog's normal duties are.

I looked into bedbug detection also but then realized that you had to maintain a live colony of the critters to provide you with training material. Blech! Unless I have a separate outbuilding for them those critters are not welcome on my property. Maybe somebody will produce a live bedbug pseudo scent.

Some people offer discreet drug detection services for private homes. Parents with teenagers they suspect are using drugs are some of their customers. Some private businesses will also hire them to do sweeps of employee lockers and the like. I thought about doing that but I'd have to get another dog. Tanner isn't up to a work shift even if his nose was adequate.

I've been trying to talk David at Scentlogix into developing a bedbug training aid. I hope he does it. I really want to train up some bedbug dogs, but don't want to house a colony in my home.