A question for the McCanns

by frank zappa 08.10.11 20:54

Q:Kate, presumably if either or both of the twins ever went missing, you would not seek the use of police sniffer dogs because, as you and your husband have been quoted as saying they are unreliable.

Wouldnt it be interesting to ask police dog handlers what percentage they trust their dogs findings.

Answers on a postage stamp please.

by Guest 08.10.11 23:48

There used to be a scrolling question on the portal page on a similar theme. If a sniffer dog had indicated that there were explosives on an aircraft, would the McCanns dismiss its findings as unreliable and insist upon boarding?

Please add your replies to the same postage stamp as before.

by Shibboleth 08.10.11 23:53

I was lucky enough to see working dogs when I was training, they are taught to find people in the rubble of bombed buildings, after earthquakes &c &c They seem very reliable to me, and very brave, they go into dangerous situations all the time and they are never, ever wrong.

by mexx 09.10.11 4:52

I have seen dogs in action identifying survivors under rubble following a massive earthquake. They were incredible.

by **tigger** 09.10.11 7:24

An extract from a poem by Chesterton
..they haven't got no noses
the fallen sons of Eve
even the smell of roses
is not what they supposes
and less than it should be...

by **PeterMac** 09.10.11 8:10

And with explosive-trained dogs you believe them. If they say there is some, you send in the squad to find it, or destroy the whole thing.
If they say there isn't, it is safe and you just walk in and get on with what you were doing.
It is as simple as that.

by Guest 09.10.11 9:14

I had a bomb disposal dog handler come to my house a few years ago, arranged through a mutual acquaintance, to help me as a disabled person train my dog with a specific problem I had. From the moment he stepped inside my house, my dogs whole persona instantly changed. She knew that he was someone to be respected. He used a small device to shine a red light onto the floor to see what she did. He said that stupid dogs follow the light beam all around the floor, the more intelligent ones do not take their eyes off the device. There was me, pleased as punch that my dog kept her eyes fixated on this device, only to be told that she will need more work to keep her mentally challenged as well as physically challenged and showed us how to play with her to wear her out. He knew what he was doing. We sat there for nearly 45 minutes before my dog did what she usually did and only then it was very mild and he snapped her right out of it with just a growl. He said it was about letting her know it was wrong before she did it !!!!! Yep, you have to look for the signs, just like human body language, dogs also have a body language. The trouble was after growling at her for a few days, obviously at all the wrong times laughat

, I lost my voice. So had to resort to the normal Police dog training methods and that's the use of a small fire extinguisher. Not pointing at her, but the other way and again applied as just the right time and thankfully we got a result.

What is more interesting is, that he is flown out to America for 2 years at a time to train their dogs. So I think we can safely assume that British Dog Handlers are well respected and needed, so I'm not the least bit surprised that this is where Martin Grime ended up too.