In the very first AKC / USPCA K9 Detection Dog Challenge, 20 police dogs from across the country will demonstrate the important role dogs play in the security of our country.
The opening event will be televised on ESPN2 on Sunday, November 28th at 10 p.m. ET. Check your local provider for your channel. If you have cable login, you can also view it on the ESPN app or website.
“We are very excited to host this exciting event with the USPCA,” said AKC Executive Secretary Gina DiNardo. “It is amazing to see these dogs in action and to show the spectators their training and precision. We can’t wait to share it with the ESPN2 audience. “
Ten teams of United States Police Canine Association (USPCA) narcotic dog teams and 10 teams of USPCA explosive dogs will be in attendance, with breeds ranging from the Belgian Malinois to the German Shorthaired Pointer to the Weimaraner. The dogs compete against each other to find their illegal substance as quickly as possible.
Teams navigate obstacles and sort out distractions to find the hidden items. They will depend on the accuracy of their search, the perfection of their attention (telling the handler where the hiding place is) and the find itself (a combination of the dog and handler’s ability to tell the judges exactly where the hiding place is ) rated ).
How dogs recognize
If you own a dog, you know that canines have an amazing sense of smell. In fact, they have 225 million olfactory receptors in their nose (compared to a human’s 5 million). Fortunately, we’ve learned to use this to our advantage and use the dogs’ talents to fight crime. Detection dogs can be taught to detect a wide variety of drugs, explosives, accelerators, and even corpses.
You’ve likely seen a sniffer dog at the airport or at major events. Many years of training have gone into quality police dogs.
Popular police dog breeds include the Belgian Malinois, German Shepherd, Bloodhound, Dutch Shepherd, and Labrador Retriever.
Learn about the different ways dogs can help the police and how you can unleash your own dog’s sense of smell.
The 2021 AKC / USPCA K9 Detection Dog Challenge brings together 20 addiction dogs from across the country to test their skills. Check out the exciting event on Sunday, November 28th at 10 p.m. ET on ESPN2.
