” Dogs are smart and want to please their handlers.
If the handler is convinced you have contraband, the dog may pick up on his unconscious clues and “hit” on that.”
I am a dog trainer, but not for LE (mainly schutzhund and other sports, particularly tracking). However, I am quite familiar with LE dog training.
Mostly, your statement is correct; but likely not for the reason you stated.
Most if the issues with dogs are with the handlers. They are generally not “dog people” and not trainers: the dogs are trained by contractors outside of the department. Then the dog/handler team are “trained” for a short time by the trainer. (I know one who does this for a living.) Most handlers can’t reliably tell a real indication (”hit”) from a false indication. (Reliably is the key word here.) And if the department doesn’t periodically have the team undergo outside refresher training courses, the dog’s training goes to pot. Training of this sort requires constant work, and most departments cannot/will not do the required work, nor have the resources and expertise to do so.
So, a dog team can have multiple problems for different reasons. Not all teams have these issues, but for small-to-medium size departments, these are real concerns.
So, don’t blame all the problems on the dog: most of the blame falls onto the handler and/or department. A dog is a very complicated “piece of LE equipment” and requires an amount of expertise and resources most LE departments don’t have.
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