Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Cool Stuff: Russian Working Dogs Equipped With Cellphones And Cameras
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Iraq: Baghdad To Cull A Million Stray Dogs
This is actually a good thing. The wild dog population in Iraq is out of control and a huge problem there. One thing for everyone to think about when you are out there is don’t be surprised if you see these guys walking around with shotguns, shooting up dogs in the streets and cities. It would be very easy to mistake these guys as the enemy or think there is some kind of firefight with all of the gun fire caused by this culling operation. It looks like they are operating in teams of four–two shooters, two vets, and possibly some police escorting them around. And this is just for Baghdad. I can’t even imagine how big the stray dog population is throughout Iraq. –Matt
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Baghdad to cull a million stray dogs as rogue canine population soars
June 11, 2010
More than a million stray dogs roaming Baghdad are facing destruction.
The initiative has so far led to 42,000 strays being killed in only two months.
Teams of riflemen and vets are trying to thin out a rogue canine population that has reached at least 1,250,000.
Numbers grew hugely after the fall of Saddam because of the lawless state of the Iraqi capital.
But with the streets now much safer, the authorities are trying to clear out the stray dogs.
Friday, May 28, 2010
Technology: Vaper Wake Detection Dogs For Explosives… And COIN?
After reading this, I was wondering to myself if these dogs could be used to sniff out Taliban or Al Qaeda operatives in population centers? This team of scientists have actually bred a dog to detect the scent plume of individuals, and the level of sensitivity and utility of these types of animals are only limited by the imagination of the handlers.
Here is one way I could envision using these dogs. Enemy combatants that think they can disappear into population centers, could technically be tracked into those population centers by teams using these dogs and tracker teams. All teams would have to do is patrol extensively through the crowds or set up check points and use the dogs to find folks that have trace explosive scents on their body. To be able to sniff out entire crowds, like dogs sniff cars now, would make the game of finding these guys a little easier.
These vapor wake or VW dogs could also be used to track down the IED teams or ambush teams. Tracker dogs could sniff the wires of the device or even the spent brass, locate the position of the team and further get a stronger scent. The tracking team would probably follow the tracks into a population center, and that is where the VW dogs come in. Once in the population center, do a cordon of the area, and then send in the VW dog teams. You could put them at check points, and send guys in to sniff the crowds. The basic idea is that the dogs could be used to sniff groupings of humans in order to seek out the combatant, thus taking away a prime hiding spot for today’s enemies. If the village doesn’t want to rat the guy out, the dog could also be used as leverage in the negotiations with the village leaders.
Either way, all and any thoughts should be given to using such animals for separating the enemy from the population, as well as finding combatants with explosives on them. –Matt
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Could Owen, the Capitol Police’s Vapor Wake detection dog, be used for tracking operations in Afghanistan?
Vapor Wake Detection
The Vapor Wake Detection (VWD) Canine Team is a standard explosives detection canine team with the additional ability and training to detect carried or body-worn explosives. The VWD canine samples the plume of air coming off a person and/or what they are carrying as the person passes through a choke point or within a crowd. The canines can also detect an explosives vapor-wake after the person has transited an area and follow the vapor-wake to the explosive source. The canines have been exceptionally successful in this form of detection in areas with a large congestion of pedestrian traffic without impeding traffic flow.
The canine is specifically bred and prepared its entire life to succeed at this type of work. The puppy enters the Detector Dog Raising Program upon birth. We engineer various environmental exposures and develop the puppy over the first 12 months of its life. We use primarily Sporting Breeds for this activity due to the close proximity to people the canine must work. Additionally, Sporting Breed can operate within a crowd causing less, if not any, disruption. After the puppy, or now adult canine, completes the Detector Dog Raising Program it returns to Auburn University (AU) Canine Detection Training Center (CDTC).
The canine receives six weeks of vigorous training at the Canine Detection Training Center before a handler is assigned. Upon the student/handler’s arrival they enter as a team into a 10-week basic explosives handler course. Upon graduating the basic course the team receives a minimum of two additional weeks of training in their operational environment. Continued training in the operational environment is critical to the team’s continued success.
Auburn’s College of Veterinary Medicine has several years of developing this program into what we feel is a strong and capable detection tool in the fight against terrorism. Additionally, we’ve developed evaluation procedures/guidelines for certification which ensure the team is performing at an extremely high rate of proficiency. Our Vapor-Wake work is copy write and patent pending.
Link to Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine here.
Vaper Wake Video here.
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By Jordy Yager
05/25/10
It seemed like a normal morning last Wednesday as hordes of Senate staffers made their way through the Lower Senate Park to get to work by 9 a.m. But Owen, one of the U.S. Capitol Police’s newest hires, was weaving through the crowds, conducting serious undercover work.
Owen has been rigorously trained in a cutting-edge explosive-sniffing technique known as vapor wake. Owen also has a tail that wags. He is a black Labrador.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Iraq: U.S. Military Rushes Bomb Dogs To Iraq
Now if we can actually get the Iraqis to play nicely with the puppies, we can really celebrate. But somehow I have this vision of the dogs being neglected or ‘accidently’ dying or running away under the control of the Iraqis. Maybe not, and I certainly hope they can man up and make friends with the dog. Because that animal, if taken care of properly, will certainly be more effective than those idiotic bomb detecting wands that they have been using. (eyes rolling) –Matt
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US military rushes bomb dogs to Iraq
Feb 4 2010
By CHELSEA J. CARTER
BAGHDAD (AP) – The American military is stepping up the delivery of bomb-sniffing dogs to Iraq with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s government under pressure for using equipment that may be ineffective in finding explosives.
The first 25 of 145 trained bomb-detection dogs are due to arrive Friday in Baghdad, Army Maj. Sylvester Wegwu told The Associated Press. The remaining 120 dogs will be delivered over the course of a year, said Wegwu, who works as military adviser to the Baghdad Police College.
The airlift follows a request to the U.S. military from Iraqi officials for more of the trained dogs, signaling that Iraq is looking to use other bomb-detection methods after questions were raised about the capabilities of a wand-like, bomb-detection device widely used at checkpoints across Iraq.
The dogs will be paired with Iraqi police handlers at the college and will undergo training as a team.
The dogs’ arrival comes as U.S. and Iraqi officials warn of a possible increase in violence ahead of national elections slated for March 7.
