Building a better detector dog: Lessons learned and (many) questions remaining to be explored in Auburn University’s 19 years of detector dog production – Presented by P. Waggoner, PhD

Since 2000, Auburn University has had a program of breeding and raising Labrador Retrievers to be employed as detector dogs. Beginning with a gift of breeding stock from the Australian Customs Service Breeding Program, Auburn has had the longest continual running institutional program for producing detector dogs in the U.S.A. The program has gone through many peaks and valleys over time culminating with the present program focused on providing a context for research and development in how to build better detector dogs. The program has evolved over time and experienced many practical lessons learned and realized many questions in need of answers to enhance detector dog production. This presentation will explore the history, pitfalls, successes, current processes and avenues of research in Auburn’s detector dog breeding and development program. The presentation is hoped to inform the working dog community of usefully generalizable experience in producing detector dogs and prompt directions for future research and development to enhance detector dog production.