Episode 4: The Benefits Of Taking Your Detection K9 On Off-Leash Walks

Hello everybody, and welcome back to our next installment of Let’s Go for a Walk. Today we are going to talk about a topic that is relevant to a select group of individuals, but may also be interesting to others. Our topic today is why it is beneficial for detection dog handlers to take their detection dogs on off-leash walks.

This is a niche topic, but bear with me. It mostly applies to detection dogs who work off lead. This includes many conservation detection dogs, human remains detection dogs, and occasionally other types of detection dogs depending on the situation. It is most relevant for dogs who work outdoors and off lead.

Many of these detection disciplines require handlers to work very large search areas. Often, you begin your search with a clear strategy, and your dog starts off strong and motivated. Over time, though, dogs may begin to lose motivation or tire out. It is the handler’s responsibility to recognize these signs and make decisions such as taking breaks so the dog can recover.

For newer handlers and newer dogs, there is also a behavior known as crittering. This is the term commonly used to describe when a detection dog or search-and-rescue dog begins searching for animals or responding to animal scents in the environment. Dogs are canines, and they are natural hunters. It is instinctive for them to be interested in animals. This is very difficult to train out completely, and in some breeds it is more pronounced, but that is not the main focus of today’s discussion.

Crittering is when a dog who is supposed to be searching for a specific target odor begins searching for wildlife instead. They may follow deer trails, pick up the scent of a squirrel in a tree, or begin exploring for animals rather than performing the task they were assigned. New handlers may not always recognize when this shift begins.

So, how can off-leash walks help with this problem?

Off-leash walks allow you to observe what your dog looks like when they are not searching, but are still in an environment similar to the one they usually search in. It will never be identical because the context is different, but if you spend time taking your detection dog on off-leash walks, you will begin to recognize what their body language looks like when they are crittering.

Many of these cues are subtle. For example, when sniffing an animal scent, some dogs will lift a paw while their nose stays on the ground. Their tail position changes. Their ears shift. Their searching pattern looks different. If you are very in tune with your dog’s changes of behavior, you will start to see these signs clearly.

Regular off-leash walks help you learn what your dog looks like when they are crittering, so you can identify it immediately during training or deployments. This is extremely important. A new handler may notice a sudden change of behavior and wonder whether it is alert behavior or simply interest in wildlife. Off-leash experience makes this much easier to distinguish.

This is a shorter episode, but it highlights a valuable tool. There are many other benefits of taking your dog on off-leash walks, which I have covered in previous episodes, but this is one of the most specific and useful advantages for detection dog handlers.

Thank you so much for watching. If you liked what you saw today, please like and subscribe to my channel, and I will see you again soon.