I didn't believe in sniffer dogs
I read that artice by Ben Goldacre about sniffer dogs being led more by the expectations and reactions of their handlers than actual sniffing. I also read a statistic that claimed sniffer dogs only get correct results 48% of the time - which is, surely, just chance.

Because of this, whenever I was walking past a sniffer dog while carrying weed, in train stations and on nights out and such, I would give the dog a nice big pat on the head and go "aww! what a cute doggy!", totally ignoring eye contact with the police officers and then scoot along.

Recently I read the study that Goldacre was actually talking about, and it turns out, despite what Goldacre said, that the authors of the study explicitly state that handler expectations only contribute to the dog's behaviour, and that actually there was quite a lot of evidence that sniffer dogs can actually do the thing that everyone thinks they can.

That shat me up a bit really, although maybe I've discovered the perfect tactic to evade sniffer dogs, perhaps I was just very lucky. I remember once in Preston train station seeing a guy ahead of me get pulled aside because of the dog. They emptied his rucksack to find an empty grinder. I was carrying a big smelly Q in my inside jacket pocket, I gave the dog a lot fuss and then just walked past.
(leviticus no longer likes the cut of your gib on, Wed 1 Feb 2012, 15:09, 10 replies)

I rather like this, despite the MASSIVE DRUGS tone.
Innocent pothead is innocent.
( Je suis un vagabond is an unfunny, up your own arse middle class knob, Wed 1 Feb 2012, 15:33, closed)

I don't believe in God, Santa Claus or The Tooth Fairy
But I'm fairly sure I've actually seen a sniffer dog.
( scarpe We Stole Bikes, Wed 1 Feb 2012, 15:40, closed)

But have you?
How do you know it wasn't just a normal dog attached to a copper?

I'm still not 100% sure that sniffer dogs are real. Sometimes I think they just give police the excuse to search people they don't like the look of. I am smart enough to doubt my own bullshit though.

Still, I bet if there was an experiment with me, a sniffer dog, and a parade of random people off the street, I'd have the advantage over the dog in picking out which people are carrying drugs.
(leviticus no longer likes the cut of your gib on, Wed 1 Feb 2012, 17:02, closed)

Yes, I've definitely seen sniffer dogs.
They are real. They look just like normal dogs except they are attached to a police.
( scarpe We Stole Bikes, Thu 2 Feb 2012, 11:19, closed)

I rather like this too
The sniffer dog probably had a nasty cold on the day you walked past. Very lucky really.
(TheManWithThePlan cussed your mum on, Wed 1 Feb 2012, 16:24, closed)

I can't be bothered to do the sums
but a 48% hit rate when only, say, 1 in 10 people are carrying is a quite a bit better than chance. As your further reading demonstrated.
Ahhhh, statistics...
( P-MONKE We're all fucked, Wed 1 Feb 2012, 17:02, closed)

I phrased that wrong
can't be bothered looking for the 48% statistic, but it was a 48% chance of being 'correct' (as opposed to finding a positive result) in a double blind experiment. It's the same result that you get if you test dowsing rod folk in the same way.
(leviticus no longer likes the cut of your gib on, Wed 1 Feb 2012, 17:05, closed)

I'm very surprised they let you go near the dog
When I've seen people attempt to stroke or pat them in airports the handlers tell them to fuck right off smartish and no mistake - presumably it's far too easy to queer their noses with something hidden in your hand.
(JohabMorelli is spenging merrily away, Thu 2 Feb 2012, 0:43, closed)

Like most sane people
I don't fuck around in airports. There are police officers walking around with automatic rifles and for some reason it properly shits me up.
(leviticus no longer likes the cut of your gib on, Thu 2 Feb 2012, 10:57, closed)

Was going to say the same thing
not just sniffer dogs, any kind of attempt to play with any Police dog normally brings out a curt 'Don't touch the dog'.
(username failed moderation, Thu 2 Feb 2012, 12:07, closed)