Beagles as Detection Dogs

This is a recurring theme. A dog breed such as Beagles were bred for some purpose that has faded somewhat in importance or has become somewhat obsolete; humans get the idea of using the skills that a particular breed was bred with for some other, quite useful purpose.

The Beagle is one of the breeds that have found itself in this particular situation.

Beagles as detection dogs are used because of an incredibly keen sense of smell and the love of following their noses. This, along with other characteristics regarding temperament and personality, have made the Beagle an excellent detection dog used by a variety of organizations around the world to discover a wide spectrum of substances and items, including contraband, agricultural and food products, narcotics and even insect pests.

Not only is the Beagle a keen sniffer & great detection dog, but it also is a very amiable breed with a great personality, lacking aggressive tendencies and of course, always happy to please its owner. It has also a very highly developed food drive and is more than willing to work for treat or two. All agencies that have worked with Beagles as detection dogs have agreed that they are one of the most efficient breeds to be used when it comes to 'sniffing things out'.

Situations where they are not employed usually require a bit more muscle and aggression than Beagles are capable of. One of the fields in which Beagles are receiving quite a deal of praise is in the field of termite detection. Beagles are now being used to enter homes and search for the presence of live termites around the home.

The agencies that have tested the suitability of many breeds, have found the Beagle to be their favorite as a detection dog.

Their outgoing, sociable personality, their enthusiasm for sniffing and their willingness to sniff for the pure pleasure of sniffing has allowed them to excel at their work.

Beagles are used for detective work worldwide. Indeed, it's even been reported that Beagles are being used in Taiwan to locate the presence of deadly fire ants. In the United States, the US Department of Agriculture has their Beagle Brigade - numerous teams of Beagle detection dogs & handlers that are found in a large number of international airports around the country, working tirelessly to make sure that food, plant or any other agricultural diseases do not make it into the country. Again, this agency experimented with various breeds and finally settled on Beagles as their ultimate detective.

Beagles aren't a large breed and they don't cause panic in individuals who are afraid of dogs, someone having a panic attack because they're approached by a large dog is not a desirable scene in a crowded airport. Also,

Beagles are low maintenance dogs, quite smart (though highly stubborn) and, very popular with detection agencies around the world , they love to work for and with food, any kind of food, at all times. They have a sniffing super power, unlike any other breed of dog that allows them to pick up even the faintest of smells and they can distinguish one smell from another without second thought.

This breed can be taught what smells they need to alert their handler about and what scents they can ignore. The Beagle Brigade program has been so successful that similar programs, using Beagles, have popped up in a number of other countries.