I'm wondering if dogs know where is a substance when it smells from a few distance? Do they have to get too close to be able to alert the smell?

Have you had a dog who knew where is the substance without you have to point at something and ignore you pointing at something.

The dog has to be right at the source of the odor in order for it to make the alert. If not, your just guessing.
Don't quite understand the second question but it should never have to rely on you to point out the substance. That's a training mistake!

A dog certainly can smell an odor from a considerable distance. There are many varibles that can affect the distance. Properly trained, even though the odor is detected from a considerable distance, it should work to source. Source defined is: as close to the target as physically possible. That is where the dog will give the final response. IF you think about it, it's not much different that doing an air scent problem looking for a person. The dog may smell the person from a couple of hundred feet away. The dog works the odor until it locates the person.

DFrost

 Quote: lindsay janes

I'm wondering if dogs know where is a substance when it smells from a few distance? Do they have to get too close to be able to alert the smell?

You have to be able to read the dog and be able to determine when they are "in scent" and when they are not. A dogs body language, speeds and head level will change once they enter scent.

As far as alerting on source, I like my dog (human remains detection) to get as close to source as she "safely" can. Most of the time she gets right on top of it (close but not touching) and performs her passive (sit) alert. It really depends on terrain, weather and time of day, where the hide is located (high, low or buried or inside a vehicle, trunk ect.....)

 Quote: lindsay janes

Have you had a dog who knew where is the substance without you have to point at something and ignore you pointing at something.

The only time I ever point out source to a dog is when they are pups and we are introducing scent. Even then, we usually engage the dog with their favorite toy and then quickly walk away and drop the toy next to source. (please know that this is a quick explanation and there is alot more to it than just that)

I am not wondering if you are not talking about "detailing an area or object"?
If that is the case.....when I work an area and there are substantial places in the area (piles of rubble, vehicles ect....) I usually send the dog in to do a "hasty" or perimeter search and then I will walk into the area and ask the dog to search certain areas. I give her a "fish here" (her command) and a directional "point" with my arm, but I do not pinpoint source for her.

I am not going to close this thread but use it as an chance to remind everyone that in todays world not all info needs to put out into cyberspace.
If this begins to get into deployment strategies, security methodology, specific odors of explosives and components, etc. I will close it.
Too many of our people world wide are involved in the prevention of the proliferation of explosive devices, movement of their components, and those that use them for political gains.
Thanks for helping and understanding the issues bomb dog handlers and the various entities they work for are facing.

Thanks for not locking this, I was very curious. I was just wondering because I would play a hide/seek game with one of my dogs. Sometimes I would throw a ball outside in the yard so my dog can go out and retrieve the ball. We have a dog door, but I would get in the house while he went after the ball.

Sometimes I would hide in the laundry room and waiting for him to find me. He would come inside and start to look for me with the ball in his mouth. I noticed that he would ran back and forth, but didn't manage to find me right away. He knows I am somewhere close to that area, but it takes a while for him to find me.

I was not interested in anything serective, just wondering if it applies the same as other substances.

Thanks for answering my questions.

While there are certainly some things we don't like to discuss relative explosives detector dogs, the way the dog locates something using their sense of smell is no secret. Neither is it smoke and mirrors. Simply put, dogs locate by the strength of an odor. The same can be said for sound. For example; in the distance you hear a buzzer, if you get closer, the buzzer gets louder. If you get farther away, the buzzer gets less loud. At some point you will make an evaluation that: ok, it's louder here, less loud here, so this must be where the sound originates. The same is said for odor. An odor that means something to the dog, he will work that odor from the weakest to the strongest. Then it becomes; it's the only place around this place that looks like the place, sooooo this is the place.

DFrost

I have never actually heard sound used as an analogy for scent. (I am quite sure you have many!) A simple way of explaining it. Nice one.