kroniic
Bluelighter
Anyone know why you aren't allowed to pat sniffer dogs? Many times I've tried I've been told not to touch them. Any ideas?

a friend of mine got spiked by a sniffer dog, the officer didnt have direct line of sit, he smacked it on the nose, anyway the dog left him alone lol
Yep, you're right hun, sniffer dogs are "on duty" exactly the same as guide dogs are. This is the exact reason you're generally not allowed to pat them, because it distracts them from their job.footscrazy said:^ Yeah I think that's it, while dogs are working they shouldn't get any 'reward' (like patting) to distract them from their job. That's what it's like for guide dogs anyway and I can imagine it'd be pretty similar for police dogs.
dogs are a psychological law-enforcement technique
n3ophy7e said:I really wish that people would have more respect for sniffer dogs, and remember that they are extremely intelligent and impeccibly trained animals.
Mate, dogs are dogs. They are animals, not objects, do not forget that.
I read spacejunk's comment as being more about how the animals are used by law enforcement, not criticizing the dogs themselves for just doing what they have been trained to do. I'm not a dog person by any means, but I know that when the police use them to sniff out contraband substances it's not as if the animal should be blamed by the drug using community; law enforcement should be the ones criticized for how to use these animals to create fear in people who are most likely carrying only personal amounts of drugs.
Yep, you're right hun, sniffer dogs are "on duty" exactly the same as guide dogs are. This is the exact reason you're generally not allowed to pat them, because it distracts them from their job.
"dogs" as in "(the use of sniffer) dogs".
lazy typing, i didn't intend to imply the dog themselves were to blame.
but the way they are being used (at least in my state in recent years) seems to be for the benefit of the media and the public perception the dog squad creates when they turn up at music festivals.
Footzy took my credit...i said first...if I ever meet u footzyim never sharing my cracky with uhehe
They definitely are amazing creatures. I love watching guidedogs work, they are so clever and make a massive difference in the quality of life of disabled people.
I do know that sometimes police will bring untrained dogs to a scene so they can read people's body language - see who is stressing or trying to sneak away, and that gives them grounds to search.