This talk will cover some of the latest discoveries in our understanding of the ability of canines to detect odors and as science progresses many odor myths are being dispelled and our scientific knowledge is being used to in the development of national standards aimed at improving the performance of detector dog teams. Common canine odor myths will be discussed and the current scientific facts available will be highlighted. Examples include how sensitive are dogs really compared to sensors, can dogs follow 24 hour old human scent trails, can dogs reliably complete human scent lineups, can dogs differentiate marijuana from hemp, what chemicals are dogs using to find mass storage devices and to find emerging drugs such fentanyl, how quickly does odor move and how can neutral odors such as universal detection calibrants be used to improve the performance of detector dog teams. This talk will also cover the history and latest efforts to develop national standards for detector dogs beginning with SWGDOG best practice guidelines in 2004 which then transitioned to OSAC Dogs & Sensors guidance documents in 2014 which were then were used to develop ANSI-accredited standards by the American Academy of Forensic Science Standards Board (ASB) beginning in 2016. There are currently dozens of national standards that have been approved or are in the approval process. This talk will conclude with an explanation of how the attendees can get involved in the approval process including through the International Commission on Detector Dogs (ICODD).
