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György Horvath Department of Oncology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Göteborg, Sweden, gyorgy.horvath@oncology.gu.se

Gunvor af Klinteberg Järverud Department of Oncology, Swedish Working Dog Club, Kode, Sweden
Sven Järverud Department of Oncology, Swedish Working Dog Club, Kode, Sweden
István Horváth Department of Oncology, Hungarian Working Dog Club, Dunaszekcsö, Hungary
The high mortality rate associated with ovarian carcinoma is mainly owing to late diagnosis. It is thus essential to develop inexpensive and simple methods for early diagnosis. Papers on canine scent detection of malignancies such as melanoma and bladder, lung, and breast cancer have recently been published in peer-reviewed journals, indicating a new diagnostic tool for malignancies.

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“The use of canines, Canis lupus var. familiaris, in law enforcement is widely accepted; however, there are few peer-reviewed studies confirming their accuracy and reliability. The use of detector dogs for human-scent lineups has been used in Europe, including Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, and Russia, but has not gained widespread acceptance in the United States, mainly due to the lack of definitive studies demonstrating the reliability of this approach. Published results pertaining to the accuracy of canines used in human-scent lineups will be discussed later in the text.”

Link to article in Forensic Science Communications April 2005– Volume 7 – Number 2

http://www.fbi.gov

http://sites.google.com/site/k9scentdiscrimination/

“This website is a work in progress and is subject to change, but my intention is to first outline the ways in which knowledge about the relations between events is gained. Then explain what discrimination training really involves, what animals are learning during the course of discrimination training, and offer a user friendly, applied science plan for scent discrimination training.” E. Hale

This a a great website for scientific information relating to reinforcement, cause and effect relationships and scent discrimination.

Internet Websites and Lists devoted to tracking and tracking support.

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click on Rhett to see his tracking clip

Excerpts: Dogs have been used successfully for years by military and law enforcement. Dogs and their handlers are the most widely used, accurate, durable and flexible system available for detecting illegal drugs and explosives. A critical aspect of canine performance is their effective duty cycle.

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How tracking is like driving a stick shift

When you begin tracking it is like the first time you drove a car with a standard shift in that you had to think about pushing in the clutch and pressing the gas just enough so the car will move forward smoothly. The reason you didn’t observe what your trainer observed your dog doing is you were thinking about the fundamentals and not the nuances. What if he goes off track; how hard to correct him or is he focused, and how can I help, and what if he isn’t, and if not, how long must I let him search for the track. After you have been at it for a while what to do if, will be automatic and you can then concentrate on reading your dog because in tracking that is the most important facet. Then you and your dog will be as one and you will begin thinking like him instead of trying to make him think like you. That is why tracking can be so rewarding no matter whether you’re successful or not.
Norman Epstein.