Six dogs trained on Odor print training aids for TATP had a 51% detection rate on real TATP, compared to 87% for 5 dogs trained on real TATP.

The study tests if working dogs trained to indicate on pseudo training aids for explosives will also indicate on real explosives, and vice versa. Two brands of pseudo training aids are tested. The study was conducted on 18 dogs with no previous experience of the odours in question.

Training the dogs on pseudo odours did not result in detection of actual explosives, nor did dogs trained on actual explosives show interest in the pseudo odours.

The use of electronic shock collars (“e-collars”) is one of the most controversial topics in dog training. In this study, we compared e-collars to methods relying entirely on food rewards in order to stop dogs running after a lure. We found that dogs receiving shocks from e-collars stopped chasing a lure within two sessions of ten minutes of lure running per session. These dogs also refrained from chasing the lure in three out of four test sessions. Two groups of dogs trained with food reward did not refrain from chasing the lure across five training sessions and failed all four test sessions. Aside from presumably pain-induced yelps in the dogs with e-collars when they received shocks, none of the dogs in any groups showed any signs of stress or distress. E-collars may be an appropriate tool in the hands of expert trainers training behaviors that have important welfare impacts, such as running after cars or other animals. Future studies should investigate the levels of expertise needed to use e-collars effectively, the kinds of behavioral problems for which they are best suited, and the longer-term implications of their use.