just a general odor question

[rthonor]

Ok, so do you think that decaying pig odor is similar to decaying human odor?

[oksaradt]

In the early days of "cadaver dog training", many people trained on pig as they didn't have access to human remains. This quickly became an issue because dogs can tell the difference. Especially in the states in the US where there is a wild hog problem, it's critical that your dog know the difference between decomposing pork and human.
Just like in the "Handler Hell" where a lot of dogs indicated/alerted on both human adipose tissue and rancid beef fat, the handler needs to set up training to teach the dog the odors we want the dog to pursue and those to avoid.
You can use the boxes I set up, indication stations set aside for distractions, etc. to give the dog a comparision. When I proof off of similar components in different species, I prefer to have both a human example and examples of other speicies to teach the dog both the good and the bad. This way I can end on a win with the dog on the human find. How you correct the dog off of the improper scents is up to you. Some handlers can get very harsh, but I've found that a simple jeapordy buzzer sound when the dog is contemplating a wrong scent is usually what is required.
As you feel confident that the dog understands both scents to avoid and to pursue, then you set up area problems with eventual overlap situations.
Lastly, you'll want blinds set up for you with both human and non-human decomposing remains where you must rely upon the dog to find out if your training is on track or the dog still doesn't get it. I've found that accurate results come about if you run the dog over (in it's current endurence level) a long negative area with the "distraction" in its scent path first to where it is forced to come to a decision. If this is a known problem you've set up, the best time to correct is when the dog is contemplating telling you it's there, i.e. just about to commit. At that point you can either correct the dog OR tell it to keep working which is a passive correction and an indication to blow off what it's currently on. This solidifies for the dog that you want to avoid that material. It's just like we tend to remember the test problems we worked really hard on and missed versus the easy problems. It leaves a lasting impression.

You will need to routinely proof your dog off of non-human remains through out its career to maintain its accuracy.

Jim