Something To Consider Before You Purchase A Bed Bug Detection Dog.

As bed bug detection dogs become more mainstream there is an increasing demand for these highly trained dogs. There is much debate in the bed bug detection dog industry over what type of reward dogs are better. Meaning is the dog rewarded with food when it finds bed bugs or is the dog rewarded with a toy and play?

I have trained and worked both and my personal preference is toy reward dogs better. The toy dogs are less likely to false alert from my experience. There are so many bits of food encountered during searches inside couches, seats not to mention people have food out on tables and pet food out. Not having control of the reward is a big problem in my opinion especially when you have a hungry extremely food motivated dog on your hands. Not having to pick up food or worry about it saves me time and makes us more efficient.

My toy dogs do not even care about food that they find and aren\’t even distracted by it as \”toy\” is on their mind not food. They will pass right over a full bowl of dog food or someone\’s lunch on a table during a search. I have seen a few food reward dogs trained to do this as well, but it has been very rare.

I have found that toy reward dogs also work faster, harder and longer than the average food reward dog. It is fun for them as they are using their natural hunt drive to get the toy and play. It is very exciting for the dogs and they love it. Toy reward bed bug dogs must be taught to detail properly as their speed can also make them miss odor if they do not learn the search pattern properly.

Toy dogs can be a bit harder to handle, especially for a new handler depending on the dog because of their very high energy. I have often heard arguments from the food reward crowd that the toy and play is too loud and disruptive in the setting we work in. This issue all depends on how the dog is trained as all of my dogs are as happy as can be with a really short toss and having possession of the toy for a few moments. There is no disruption, noise or wild behavior to cause a disruption.

Another very important part of detection dog training is obedience, which I find lacking in most of the bed bug dogs I have seen. In my opinion, If you are spending thousands of dollars for a dog they should have perfect bullet proof obedience which is simply not happening from what I have seen.

I am not saying that there aren\’t bed bug dog teams out there that can be successful with food reward, but of the many food reward dogs that I have seen only one company\’s 3 or 4 dogs that do a good job. The issue is by far because of the handler’s lack of experience and ongoing training versus how the dog is rewarded.

Once a dog gets away with a false alert and are rewarded for it you are in big trouble. This can happen with toy dogs as well, but considering just about every food reward dog I have seen has been rewarded with a treat before the spot is confirmed puts the handler is a very difficult situation. In my opinion all bed bug detection dogs should never be rewarded unless the handler knows for a fact that the target odor is present where the dog alerted.

There are three trainers that sell the most bed bug dogs and have been around the longest and they train strictly food reward. Needless to say there are far more food reward bed bug dogs out there than toy. So I expect this could be a heated topic considering if someone spent 10K on a food dog and that is all their experience is in they might find this information upsetting. Of course the person they bought the dog from is going to do their best to market their technique and methods, but detection dogs have been around for several decades and you will find worldwide that toy reward dogs out number food reward dogs multiple times over in every other scent discipline.

I have tried to figure out why trainers stick to food reward. The main factor I think may be the issue is finding a good toy reward dog candidate. It is much easier to find a food reward dog to start training. You can go to a shelter and pick up several food reward dog candidates and many if not most will work out. Conversely, it can take evaluating 100+ dogs to find a good toy reward dog if you go the rescue route and if you have to buy a toy reward dog from a breeder that breeds working line dogs it isn\’t going to be cheap. Then you usually run into another issue, if you buy from a breeder you usually have to take the dog as a young puppy which trainers don\’t want because it takes so much time to just raise a puppy and keep them for several months before you can really get into the serious detection work. So from a business perspective food reward would make sense if I was in the business of selling as many dogs as possible.

If you are serious about purchasing a bed bug detection dog, do your research, call around and get references. Meet with the trainer, look at their facility and if anything doesn’t feel right don’t settle. The extra effort and time you put into making the best choice will pay in the long run if you want a detection canine that is actually a useful tool rather than just a marketing piece.

Keith Coddington, has been training dogs for many years. He has worked with some of the best in the business in regards to behavioral training and has been certified as a Detection Dog Trainer. Keith is the owner of Cimex K9 – Bed Bug Detection Dogs and K9 Natural Instincts – Behavior Solutions

Keith Coddington, has been training dogs for many years. He has worked with some of the best in the business in regards to behavioral training, has been certified as a Detection Dog Trainer and is a member of the International Association of Canine Professionals. visit: http://www.cimexk9.com

Author Bio: Keith Coddington, has been training dogs for many years. He has worked with some of the best in the business in regards to behavioral training and has been certified as a Detection Dog Trainer. Keith is the owner of Cimex K9 – Bed Bug Detection Dogs and K9 Natural Instincts – Behavior Solutions

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