United States Customs and Border Protection lays claim to the largest law enforcement canine program in the country. The program’s mission statement:

“The mission of the Canine Enforcement Program is to develop, execute, and oversee the allocation, training, and support of canine resources. These valuable resources combat terrorism, interdict narcotics and other contraband while helping to facilitate and process legitimate trade and travel within the core processes of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.”

History

The Customs Service carried out a feasibility study in 1969 on acquisition and use of dogs to detect dangerous drugs. In 1970 the agency began recruiting skilled dog trainers from branches of military service. The training facility began in cooperation with the Department of Defense at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. By the end of that year, they had proven the same dogs could detect all four drugs of highest priority: marijuana, hashish, heroin, and cocaine.

In 1973, the Customs Service procured excess government property to create the Canine Enforcement Training Center near Washington D.C. The center has continued to grow both in numbers of dogs trained and in training programs. The National Training Center in El Paso, Texas was added in 1991 and USDA’s National Detector Dog Training Center in Orlando, Florida in 1997.

The formation of the Department of Homeland Security in 2003 combined the canine programs of the former U.S. Customs Service, U.S. Border Patrol, U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service and the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The new agency was called U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Two separate canine programs under U.S. Customs and Border Protection handle the diverse responsibilities. Over 800 canine teams stationed primarily at airports, seaports, and land border crossings come under the Office of Field Operations. Over 450 canine teams responsible for the areas between the ports of entry are under the Office of Border Patrol.

Needed: Good Dogs

Of 70 dogs tested for detection work, typically one dog is found to be suited. Dogs come from vendors, animal shelters, rescue groups, and donations by private owners. They can be of either sex, and must be between 1 and 3 years of age.

One notable exception to the age rule comes in the puppies being produced through the agency’s breeding program. This began in 1998 with 12 Australian customs detector dogs possessing the necessary working bloodlines. To these dogs, the agency has been breeding top field trial dogs: Amateur Field Champions and National Champions. Careful pedigree research goes into the selections.

The dogs bred by the program are all Labrador Retrievers, and live in foster homes from around 12 weeks of age to a year. Some of the foster homes are in the community and some are in prison programs.

Dogs coming into U.S. Customs and Border Protection from other sources are not all Labradors. The right qualities for the job are considered more important than breed. Dogs of the following breeds excel in the job: Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, Belgian Malinois, German Shepherds, Dutch Shepherds, English Beagle (Agricultural program), and mixed breeds.

Typically a dog’s career lasts no longer than 8 years. When the dog needs to retire, either the handler adopts the dog or a good home is found. Many of the dogs are trained to a passive alert, a sit at attention that is rewarded by play with a toy made of a rolled terrycloth towel. They can make great dogs for the right homes after retirement.

Their Jobs

Detector dogs and their handlers put in full 8-hour days. On land border crossings they examine vehicles and merchandise entering the United States. A dog can screen or inspect a vehicle in a fraction of the time a human needs to do the job. The new dual-use teams screen for both narcotics and hidden humans.

At airports and seaports, dogs alternate examining aircraft, vessels, baggage, cargo, mail, and passengers. A dog can process 400 to 500 packages in about 30 minutes, a fraction of the time human mail examiners would need. All the dog/handler teams include daily training exercises to keep skills current. Other agencies request the detector dog services, so these assignments become part of the dog’s workday, too.

Besides the new dual-use dogs trained to detect both narcotics and humans, several other detector jobs are ably performed by the dog teams:

1. Chemical detector dogs are trained to detect chemical odors used in weapons of mass destruction in case of attempt to smuggle into the United States.

2. Explosive detector dogs detect odors of explosives that could be concealed in cargo or luggage; or on vehicles, aircraft, or passengers.

3. Currency detector dogs detect the odor of U.S. currency being smuggled out of the country.

4. Agriculture detector dogs detect fruit, vegetables, meat or other items being brought illegally into the United States that pose a risk of harming U.S. agriculture with diseases or other problems.

5. Border Patrol Search, Trauma and Rescue Teams are trained to search off-leash in response to emergency search and rescue situations in the U.S.

6. Narcotics detector dogs detect illegal drugs.

Training

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Canine Enforcement Training Center trains its own teams; as well as other federal, state, local, and foreign law enforcement agency teams when space allows.

The basic narcotic detection course for new Customs and Border Patrol dog handlers begins with 7 weeks of training in inspection and control procedures, passenger and cargo facilitation, law, non-lethal defense techniques, and firearms. The trainee then spends 13 weeks learning to train and handle two dogs. A 13-week course in the use of positive response narcotics detector dogs (provided by the agency) is also available for current state, local, and foreign law enforcement officers.

The passenger processing course is handled similarly, with the 7-week course for new Custom and Border Patrol employees, followed by 13 weeks of dog handling and training classes. A 13-week course on handling and training the dogs is held for current state, local, and foreign law enforcement officers. The currency detection course for Customs and Border Protection officers also starts with a 7-week course and then 13 weeks of dog handling and training.

A 13-week technical trainer course is for unit training officers. This course prepares the officer to identify and solve handler and dog problems, and is also available to current state, local and foreign law enforcement officers in supervisory positions and with prior detector dog experience. Only about one officer per class goes through this program, which includes working as assistant to an instructor.

The Administration and Technical Application Course is three days long and is for supervisors with no technical knowledge of the canine program who are responsible for supervising canine teams. With the ever-increasing work of dogs in all aspects of society, a course like this could help many other operations as well.

The Future of Detector Dogs

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection canine program continues to refine training and everything else related to the practice of turning out and utilizing the best possible handler/dog teams. The functions of the various sections of the agency restructure from time to time, so those interested in pursuing a career with its detector dogs should research where to take their inquiries.

The future of detector dogs looks bright. They’ve proven to be effective and to work well with the public. In fact the presence of a detector dog can make for a better atmosphere in what may otherwise just seem like an intrusive inspection.

We have certainly not discovered all the things that dogs can detect. Training developed by customs and border patrol has had tremendous benefits in other dog work and is sure to continue to do so. Not only does this service develop dog training methods, but it trains dog trainers who learn to train, motivate, and care for working dogs. The more of this knowledge we have in the world, the better for everyone.