534 Canine Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation
● Pests: bed bugs, moles/ground hogs/mice/
rats, invasive species
● Human remains: crime scene, blood, clan-
destine graves, cadaver (Institute of Canine
Forensics, 2015)
● Antiquities, historic and archeological
(Baxter & Hargrave, 2013).
Potential issues
● Mental fatigue: nose shut-down
● Exposure to toxic chemicals
● Medications prescribed to dogs that might
affect ability to detect odor
● Diet: fat amounts and types in the diet of
detection dogs have been shown to have an
effect on scent discrimination (Altom et al.,
2003; Angle et al., 2014), with diets higher
in polyunsaturated fatty acids (linoleic)
showing some mild enhancement of scent
detection
● Environment: heat, humidity, terrain.
Military
Military working dogs are used in many aspects
of defense, detection, and scouting. The major-
ity of breeds used are Belgian Malinois,
Labrador Retrievers, and German Shepherd
Dogs, with some Dutch Shepherds and the
occasional sporting or herding breed. Dogs are
now allowed to be adopted by civilian law
enforcement agencies, previous military han-
dlers, and private individuals after they have
completed service (US War Dogs Association:
Working dog adoptions), so rehabilitation ther-
apists may end up seeing these dogs as retired
or geriatric patients.
Specific tasks
Most dogs are considered dual purpose:
● Detection: human, explosives, drugs
● Patrol: protection, pursuit, apprehension,
tracking/trailing.
Potential issues
● Fatigue: nasal, musculoskeletal
● Heat stroke: extreme environments, equip-
ment and protection vests, booties (Toffoli &
Rolfe, 2006; Baker & Miller, 2013)
● Shoulder joint and soft tissue injuries
from poorly fitting, imbalanced, and/or
restrictive protection and equipment
vests
● Infectious disease exposures from foreign
postings (Toffoli & Rolfe, 2006; Alho et al.,
2016)
● Trauma: gunshot wounds, explosives
(Baker et al., 2009; Bruchim et al., 2014)
● Repetitive stress wear and tear: feet
issues; early osteoarthritis in shoulder,
elbow, hips, stifles; chronic soft tissue
injuries leading to structural and gait
changes; spondylosis; intervertebral disc
disease (IVDD); lumbosacral stenosis
(Evans et al., 2007; Linn et al., 2003; Moore
et al., 2001)
● Cancer: studies of MWDs (German
Shepherd and Belgian Malinois) show a
cancer incidence higher than in the
general canine population. Overseas
deployments with potentially increased
carcinogen exposure may play a role
(Peterson et al., 2000).Police and federal agencies (excluding
military)Since September 11, 2001, increased security
needs in the United States and internationally
have led to a marked increase by civilian law
enforcement agencies in the purchase and use
of working dogs (Figure 21.11). Dogs are
acquired by adoption of retired MWDs,
purchase through private agents (domestic
and international), and direct purchase from
kennels.Specific tasks
These dogs are often dual purpose:● Detection: explosives, drugs
● Patrol: protection, pursuit, apprehension,
tracking/trailing.Potential issues
These are similar to those of MWDs and
detection and miscellaneous protection dogs.
However, unlike in the MWD, and related
to a more focused, urban, law-enforcement