Here is my situation, I have had a number of clients inquire about a K9 that could reliably indicate on a marijuana grow operation. I do not want a dog that hits on marijuana alone, only where people are growing it (for example, which unit within a condo...).

Does anyone know someone that trains this? Buying an already trained dog, or "renting" the dog and handler may be my best options.

If not, are there any tips out there if someone has already done this? I understand the basic concepts of detection work, but I have not looked into what different sents I will need the dog to discriminate to pick out a grow operation, if it is even possible.

I just don't want to re-invent the wheel on this one, so if anyone has any tips at all, I would really appreciate it.

Also, regarding what chemicals this K9 would have to hit on to find a grow operation... Because this is a private K9, probably cause (or reasonable grounds, for us Canucks) is not an issue, so it doesn't matter if these items are completely legal to own, only that it suggests growing marijuana.

Hello Simon,
I'll let others answer the training question. But I'm wondering why you would want to use a dog for this application. Have you considered thermal imaging? I'm not a lawyer , but it sounds like a slippery slope:


Thermal FLIR Infrared Imaging for narcotics detection

Robert

I understand that thermal imaging would probably be the simplest and most efficient tool for this, which is why it has been difficult to find a dog trained for this.

One of my clients, who owns a number of condos, has expressed that he did not want to use thermal imaging, as he felt it was too intrusive, as you are "looking into people's homes", as opposed to smelling what's coming out from under their doors. I don't really see a difference, but hey, the customer is always right.

I appreciate the advice, though. We are looking into thermal imaging technology for industrial and commercial units.

Simon,
Im a little lost on this one. Once a dog hits on a grow house, whats your next move? If an indicaton is given, I assume the police will be notified. When they respond and hear the facts, I dont imagine they will trust your private drug dog. They will want to use their own so that a search warrant may be obtained.

If your client feels that the police will balk at blindly sniffing their property on a hunch, there are other telltale signs to indicate a grow operation. Have your client contact the PD's narc hotline for an investigation.

That being said, good drug dogs are taught to indicate on the drug itself, not the ossociated odors. To admit otherwise in court will have the case dismissed.

Howard

Thanks for the reply. I hear what you are saying. Southern Ontario has a HUGE problem with grow houses, so the police will only do a serious investigation if you can convince them it's a real problem. All my client knows is that he's got a building with hundreds of units, and a lot of electricity gone missing, not sure where it's going... I didn't think a dog would be a good tool for this, but the client seemed convinced so I thought I'd see if anyone had had any success.

Pull the circuit breaker and see who screams the loudest, sorry I couldn't resist <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

If the power runs to each unit are accessible, putting an amp-clamp on the lead would show where the power is going in pretty short order. It would be much less obvious than running a dog and handler around each apartment.

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you beat me to it charlie, I just PM him with the same idea <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />