To train Explosive Dogs you have to know Explosives.
and you have to know how to handle this.
You have to know the Chemistry,
you have to know how to handle the Substance
and when you know the Substance,
this makes the Training much easier.

We train our Dogs on:
Black Powder, Ammonium Nitrate, TNT (Trinitrotoluene),
PETN (pentaerythrite tetranitrate), Nitroglycerin,
RDX. (Research Development Explosive)
and some Others.

You have to know the Substance
of each different Explosive.
For Example.
The Russian A91 has RDX with a small Amount of a
Paraffin Stabilizer added.
Pentolite is a Mixture of equal Proportions of
PETN and TNT..

C-4 is comprised of RDX, plastic Stabilizers and Motor Oil.

Semtec (Semtex) is a varying blend of PETN and RDX.

When you study all of these Explosives, then, you filter
out what the main Smell is that you have to train your Dog
to find.

Now, you have to have the right dog and bring the right
training technique together.
My philosophy is to train only high-quality dogs on
explosives.

I have three main things that I look for in explosive dogs
and we Germans call this TSB(Trib, Selbstsicherheit,
Belastbarkeit)
[drive, confidence and very strong in taking pressure].
All three of these criteria must be excellent in the dog I
am looking for.
The most dogs in who I find these qualities are in
Schutzhund trained dogs

With a dog like this, I am starting to play with the tennis
ball.
I have different techniques that will assist me later on
when I start training the dog with explosives.
The first time I throw the tennis ball and I let the dog
catch the tennis ball.
The second step is I throw the tennis ball and I hold the
dog until the tennis ball stops.
For a dog it is very easy to catch a moving object.
It is more difficult for the dog to locate an item that
doesn't move any more and now he has to start searching
with his nose.

Here I see the quality from the dogs in how intense he
searches for his drive target.

Later on I throw the tennis ball in different areas like in
bushes, in high grass, under a car, in a closet, and other
different situations.
This way I see the dog takes all this pressure from the
environment and goes more focused to find the drive
target.
I really see the quality from the dog.

Now, is the time to bring the different smells from the
explosives together with the drive target and to teach the
dog he cannot catch any more the drive target on his own
only when I give him a command or I let the target jump
out or I pull the target out. Here helps me the hold and
bark and escape exercises from Schutzhund.

I let the dog find his drive target, take the barking away,
and he sits there, stares at the object, and waits until I
give him the command or the target tries to escape and
he can catch it.

I have here my own technique that makes the dogs very
easy and gives the dog a lot of confidence and he has fun.
It is very important that I control the dog 100% in his
drive and he works only how I want him to work

This is my training technique. For me it is very important
the dog have a lot of confidence to go in any crazy
situations and places that you can imagine and feel
comfortable and focused on his drive target and for this I
need real high quality dogs
HOW WE TRAIN OUR EXPLOSIVE DOGS!!!!!!
www.wolfgang@vomSchwaebischenWolf.com
                       Tel: 015784 593 965
                        Fax:07184 2937 289