Arson dogs help sniff out the facts about suspicious fires
自成立以来, 州立农场®纵火犬计划已经在46个州投入了435多只狗及其伴侣的工作, the District of Columbia and three Canadian provinces.
索厄尔见面. 还有他的人类伴侣, 克雷格·马修斯上尉, 这只狗调查员帮助巴尔的摩霍华德县消防救援部门调查火灾, MD. His job: help find evidence of arson following a fire.
这是很重要的工作. 根据 the National Fire Protection Association, t在这里 are an estimated 261,000 fires intentionally set in U.S. 每年的住宅建筑, 估计造成440人死亡, 1,300 injuries and $1 billion in direct property damage.
That's w在这里 teams like Matthews and his arson dog Sowell, graduates of the 州立农场纵火犬计划, 进来. 索威尔有专门的设备，可以嗅出可能被用来故意纵火的易燃液体，并把马修斯引向他们.
Between investigating arson on the job and time at home being a regular dog, Sowell plays an important role in all parts of Matthews' life. Watch as Matthews explains how he and Sowell were trained.
州立农场纵火犬项目
自1993年起， 州立农场纵火犬计划 在美国和加拿大为超过435个团队的收购和培训提供了资金. 每年都有数十亿美元的财产和数百人的生命因故意纵火而损失. 助燃剂探测犬——被称为纵火犬——被训练来嗅出助燃剂(汽油)的微小痕迹, 打火机液, 等.) that may have been used to start a fire. They live and ultimately retire in the homes of their human handlers, who are either law enforcement or firefighting professionals.
州立农场纵火犬项目选中的所有狗都是拉布拉多寻回犬或拉布拉多混种犬，它们是通过导盲犬和残疾援助犬类组织(以及当地动物收容所和人道主义协会)的合作项目获得的。. As a result of their high energy and social exuberance, 这些狗的职业从残疾援助服务转变为打击犯罪.
纵火犬是如何工作的
助燃剂探测犬(adc)的工作有助于确认纵火或消除纵火的可能性, allowing insurance claim processes to move forward. Canines possess capabilities humans cannot duplicate or often even comprehend. 狗的鼻子对气味的敏感度是人类鼻子的数万倍. 狗可以探测到万亿分之一的气味，它们的鼻子里有多达3亿个嗅觉感受器(相比之下，人类只有大约600万个)。. The part of a dog's brain that is devoted to analyzing smells is, 按比例来说, 是我们的40倍.
州立农场纵火犬项目的狗是用巴甫洛夫技巧训练的. 在可燃液体存在的情况下，当犬采取“坐”的姿势时，表明犬的主要积极反应. 这被称为“被动警报”.“这种训练的好处是，狗狗坐下来，用鼻子指出易燃液体的确切位置, thus leaving the evidence undisturbed. This aids in evidence collection integrity. 一旦狗发现有可燃液体，就会坐下来用鼻子示意, the response is reinforced by food reward and lots of praise. 食物奖励训练也意味着狗只在火灾现场工作或一天完成多次训练时进食, 每一天. They only eat from the hand of their handler, never from a bowl.
警犬警报并不能证明可燃液体被用于犯罪, 纵火或非法焚烧. 样品必须由合格的证据技术人员收集，并由犯罪实验室确认，以确定样品是否含有可燃液体. 火/纵火调查人员, 犬类训练师和化学师必须协同工作，相互证实，以确定犯罪已经发生. The dog is a tool to locate evidence efficiently and effectively, 但最终还是要由纵火案调查员在向检察官提交调查结果之前收集信息.
