Anyone who has ever spent time with a dog knows that dogs love sniffing!
They sniff out hidden food, dirty socks, and the visitor who comes to
the door. But some dogs work with police officers, soldiers and even
scientists to put their "sniffers" to work. Sniffer dogs make use of the
amazing biology behind their noses to protect people from bombs, catch
criminals smuggling drugs, or help researchers locate a hard to find
snail in a forest.
A dog's nose is so sensitive that if a human could see as well as a dog
could smell, we would be able to see the small letters on an eye chart
from four (four!) miles away. Is it any wonder then that dogs can be
trained to find missing people in piles of rubble or a certain flower
blooming amongst hundreds or thousands of other smells?
In Sniffer Dogs you will meet many dogs and their handlers and learn
all about their jobs. Some of these dogs are raised from birth to detect
blood sugar levels in their owners. Others are rescued from animal
shelters and their boisterous personalities help make them excellent
sniffer dogs. Featuring a balance between science and social science,
Sniffer Dogs will appeal to dog lovers and science lovers alike.