Hi there

I was wondering if anyone has information about how many cockers go through the training to become sniffer dogs for places like the RAF, Navy and Customs & Excise.

A friend has put his name on a list in the hope that he will be able to get one of the dogs that hasn't 'made the grade'. It's a cocker he's looking for but I didn't think that there were many cockers involved in this work  - I thought it was mainly Springers.

I've got a sneaky feeling that he's going to be waiting a long time even for a Springer, as I'm sure there are lots of people looking to home these dogs. What do you think? Anyone got experience or information on this?
I'd be interested to hear about anyone elses experiences, so that I can let him know what the likelihood is of him getting a dog in the near future.

Thanks

Shirley

I will ask my neighbour when I see her.  She works for customs and excise and is awaiting arrival of a retired sniffer dog.  She has always kept dogs but lost hers this year and is now giving a home to a retired springer.  She may know about pups that don't make the grade but she will certainly know where to ask.

I have to say there is a group of young people around here who are rather anxious about this dogs arrival!! :-)

In general most of the retired sniffer dogs from various forces tend to end up with the handlers or families.  I don't know of any cockers; springers are generally used and even lively labs and collies for "active" detection and the "passive" detector dogs tend to be HPRs of various breeds.  It is worth bearing in mind that most sniffer dogs have been donated or found at rescue homes because of their "busyness" and tend not to suit most pet environments.

regards

Hi Shirley ,if it is a Cocker you are looking for ,contact Gwen on this forum as she helped us with a beautiful American Cocker ,she is one of two ladies running the Breed Rescue ,her knowledge & help are second to none ,Good luck Sue T.

As far as I am aware the cockers they use are working cockers, which are slightly different than show strain, they are much busier, if your friend wants info on working cockers to see what he is letting himself in for send me a PM and I will direct you to some good sites.

Hi there

Thanks for the info everyone.  Sue, it is a cocker, but not for me, I think two is quite enough for now :D :D With a two year old and a 12 week old running about the place it's going to take me a while to convice the other half that three would be the ideal number :-)

Jackyjat - I'd love to hear what your friend has to say, when you get the chance to speak to her.  LOL :D There would be a few youngsters round here that would have the same reaction :D  :D

The person I'm asking all this for actually works in search and rescue and he may be able to take the dog with him on training exercises, I'm not sure.  He is aware of the fact that they need lots of mental stimulation but it  looks like he may be waiting a long while to get a dog this way, if what you say about dogs going to handlers is true.  I'll pass on the info to him anyway.

Thanks very much everyone :-)

Shirley

I know of someone who had a springer that didn't quite make the grade...He once took him to his local pub and the dog tried to arrest some lads who weren't (shall we say) smoking your average ciggy!! :D

A friend of mine had a drugs and explosive sniffer dog and he is a Cocker.
Dawn.

my spaniel jack has a working cocker for a dad who was a bomb detection dog for our company, he didnt quite make the grade so was rehomed with a family, and his mum was a drug detection springer she is living with her handler, Jack is taking to detection work well and will soon start training with either explosives or drugs, which yet i dont know.

When i left school i was tring to get in the army and went to Melton Mowbray where the DAC is based for a couple of days to see how it all works and for interviews etc, and the different amount of dogs they had there were amazing, we never gotto see the patrol dogs unless they were training but you could always hear shouts of 'keep clear dog coming in' or 'keep clear dog coming out' from the patrol kennels, for the detection dogs there were HPRs labs, collies springers cockers dalmations and the noise was horrendious each different breed had its own block, we then had to walk up the road to where the stables were and it was completely different, the stables were mainly empty though as most of the horses were at the st johns barracks in london as it was 'work' season, i went there too got a place in the kings troop spent a week with the horses it was out of this world, unfortunely i couldnt join the army and im totally gutted that i couldnt.

there are cockers out there that dont make the grade but as with all the dogs are few and far between as the dogs go through rigourous testing before getting excepted, weve had a few dogs that were on the ball for detection but never got excepted,

tanya