Frequently Asked Questions

Our dogs are working—we ask that everyone refrains from interacting with them (petting, whistling, calling out, etc.), as their focus on their job is important in order to provide you with the best service possible.  
Many of our dogs are very serious about their work and prefer to keep sniffing. We have a few dogs that once the job is complete, they may want to visit with staff, but it is up to the handler, the dog, and how much time we have until our next appointment. 

The goal for Desert Drug Dog is to provide support and resources to administrators, staff, individuals and families that are trying to make their campuses, properties, and homes safer. With trained detection dogs, the goal is to create a deterrence and find odors of narcotics and/or firearms for a safer environment leading to a better quality of life within the community. 

Desert Drug Dog has been serving the community since 2009. We are the longest running private sector narcotics detection company in the state of Arizona.

Desert Drug Dog has been known to travel through out the state of Arizona, however the majority of our focus is spent in servicing the Phoenix Metro Area, Tucson, and Prescott/Prescott Valley. Travel fees do apply to searches outside the Phoenix Metro Area. Please reach out to discuss your individual needs and location if it is outside of the listed above focus areas. 

The pricing starts around $200/hr but depends greatly on your location, your needs, how much time it takes to cover the search area, how many teams are needed, frequency in which you'd like us to sweep, etc. We offer free site visits to tour and discuss what best suits you, call today to get on our schedule. 

Desert Drug Dog has on staff, dogs that are trained in finding the odor of narcotics and/or firearms. We also have contacts for canines trained to sniff out other odors so let us know what you need and we'll see if we can help. 

Narcotic odors include Heroin, Meth, Marijuana, Cocaine, and Fentanyl. This also includes derivatives such as hash, crack, dab, wax, etc. It is not uncommon for our dogs to find paraphernalia as well, such as pipes, razors, and containers or wrappers. Our dogs may also exhibit behavior that tells us there are lingering or residual odors present even if no drugs are found. We include this information in our report.

Our dogs are not trained to have a final indication on prescription medications, however, it is not uncommon for them to help locate prescription opioids, Suboxone, gabapentin and other meds. Often times, they exhibit a "change of behavior" that our handlers will notice and make note of in their reports. 

Our dogs are not trained to have a final indication on spice. However, often times, they may exhibit a "change of behavior" that our handlers will notice and make note of in their reports. 

Target Odor is any odor in which the dog has been trained to detect and give a final indication to when it finds it. Most things in the environment have a smell that to a dog are detectable. During training, dogs are taught which odor "pays" them and which odors to ignore. Keep in mind that there can be odor even if there is not source/product. 

No! Definitely not! Our dogs are trained to find their target odor because when they find it they get a reward. The reward depends on what the individual dog finds the most "valuable" to them. It could be some really yummy treat or a game of tug, or their favorite ball.

Change of Behavior (COB):

A "change of behavior", also noted on reports as "COB", signifies that the K9 showed extra interest in an area. This could occur for reasons to include, but not limited to, lingering odors of a drug that used to be in the area, an odor foreign to the environment (an odor of something the dog isn’t used to smelling in that environment but not an odor that’s been trained for response), etc.

Final Indication, Alert, Trained Final Response:

A "trained final response (TFR)", "final indication", and "alert" are different terms used for signifying that the K9 has exhibited the trained behavior for when they find their target odor. This can occur even if the product has been removed but has left residual odor behind that may or may not be visible to the human eye. 

Residual Odor is odor left behind on a surface due to contact. Residual odor can remain for a long time until the trace amounts are cleaned off. 

Lingering Odor refers to the remaining odor, or odor that may have pooled in an area, after the source has been removed from the area. Eventually, lingering odor dissipates.

Example: Microwave popcorn! We can all smell it when someone walks through a room with freshly popped popcorn. Eventually, the smell will go away. That’s lingering odor. But the splatters of oil in the microwave is residue that is left behind and that can smell until it’s cleaned up. That’s residual odor.

Every dog is a little different but overall our dogs are trained with "passive alerts". That means they generally sit, down, freeze, stare, etc when they find their target odor. Each handler knows their dog very well and is able to read their body language and recognize these behaviors. 

The dogs get to go home with their handlers every night. They live as part of the household and even travel, go hiking, camping, etc with their handlers. They have a very fun and fulfilling life and are treated like royalty, because without them, we couldn't do our jobs. 

People

Due to liability reasons, we do not train the dogs to indicate/alert to people in possession of their target odors. If we do a sweep of a group room, the dogs will be checking the belongings of the clients, not the clients themselves. Keep in mind that the clients will learn that they can keep things on them if we regularly sweep group rooms. 

Vehicles

Yes, the dogs can search vehicles both interior and exterior. These sweeps will be performed at the discretion of the handler on site as it can not be done if it's too hot or in an unsafe area where there may be hazards in the environment (sharp metal, leaking automotive fluids, open mechanic pits, etc).

There are many variables when it comes to training, but on average if you had a dog that was 1-2 yrs old and were able to train consistently with multiple training sessions every week you could have a dog trained up on their target odors in 3-4 months. Some of the variables could include how many target odors they need to learn, what their working environment would be, individual personalities, etc. Sometimes we train our dogs up from puppies. This takes much longer before they are physically and mentally able to work live jobs.

Most any breed is able to smell the differences in things and learn a target odor. However, it takes a dog with a lot of drive and energy to be able to search full houses, 50+ bed facilities, high school parking lots, etc. So though there are not only certain breeds that can do it, there is a very specific type that is suited for the job. Majority of what you see as "standard" breeds in detection work are breeds that were bred to work, a lot of herding, retrieving and bird hunting dogs. For example: Shepherds, Malinois, Labradors, German Shorthair Pointers, Spaniels, Beagles, etc. Size can also be a factor determined by the role and environment they will be working in. So it's important to pick the right dog for the job. Much like you wouldn't send a chihuahua to do a water rescue for a human, a mastiff to fit down a small gopher hole, or a basset hound to race against a greyhound.

That is a great question and it's hard to answer definitively. Since the dogs are looking for odor and not product there are definitely times that they give their TFR (Trained Final Response) and nothing is located by the human eye. It could be residual or trace amounts that we can't see but they can smell, so in these cases, they are not wrong. It's also very dependent on how good of a job the person doing the hand searching does. Along with the fact that we often don't know the results of the hand searches since we provide information of where to look and we keep moving. And to top it all off, even though dogs are amazing creatures, they are not perfect. This is why our company is dedicated to, and handlers spend countless hours training and keeping their dogs' skills up, to be the best that we can be. We take pride in our work and our dogs because we care about the community.