Beagle Brigade Membership and Training
| Beagles are first trained on basic scents like beef and citrus. During their careers, some dogs learn nearly 50 different odors. |
| The Beagle Brigade uses passive-response training. The dogs are trained to sit when they sniff agricultural contraband. |
All canine candidates for the Beagle Brigade are donated by private owners and breeders or selected from animal shelters. Many of APHIS' canine "employees" would have otherwise been euthanized. Trainers first evaluate a dog for its soundness of temperament. If the dog fails the initial evaluation or if the candidate is dropped out of the training course for any reason, APHIS ensures that the animals are adopted into a good home. Dogs are never returned to animal shelters.
To determine whether an airport could use a Beagle Brigade team or teams, APHIS personnel perform a feasibility test to check out the airport's environment, work load, and types of flights. Once the agency decides to place a Beagle Brigade team in a location, a dog and a human handler are sought.
Teams screen passengers in an area that allows maximum exposure to baggage. The detector dogs are trained to sniff the baggage of international passengers as they proceed through FIS areas. When a dog sniffs prohibited agricultural items in a passenger's luggage or packages, it sits to alert its human partner. The PPQ canine officer then checks the passenger's bags, confiscates any prohibited items, and gives the dog a food reward.
Beagles and their handlers go through the bulk of the startup training together. In 8 to 12 weeks of training, trainers teach the dogs to respond passively by sitting when they smell the scents of citrus fruit, mango, apple, beef, or pork; this behavior alerts their handlers to the presence of a possible prohibited item. Dogs receive food rewards for desired responses. At the end of training, the Beagle Brigade teams are transferred to their duty stations and spend at least a week with a trainer onsite.
Working Beagle Brigade dogs wear distinctive green jackets with "Protecting American Agriculture" on one side and "Agriculture's Beagle Brigade" on the other. After 6 months to 1 year of experience, beagles sniff out prohibited material correctly 80 percent of the time. Their success rate rises to about 90 percent after 2 years' experience. PPQ canine officers continue to train their partners in new odors throughout their career. Some beagles have been known to recognize nearly 50 odors during their 6- to 10-year career.
A beagle works an average of six to eight flights per day with its human handler. When working a flight, the dog and the canine officer roam the FIS area. Each piece of luggage is sniffed. When the dog recognizes an odor, it sits as close to the source of the odor as possible, whether it comes from the passenger or something in his or her luggage. The officer then asks the passenger whether he or she is carrying agricultural products like food, fruit, meat, or other prohibited items and then examines the Customs declaration card to see if any items are declared. The bag in question is inspected if possible. A notation is put on the Customs declaration card in green ink so the passenger's baggage will be inspected by a PPQ officer before the passenger leaves the FIS area. If ³yes² is checked on the declaration card in response to inquiries about carrying food or other agricultural items and a prohibited item is found, the item is confiscated but no civil penalty (fine) is levied. If the response is "no" and contraband is found, the passenger may be fined up to $1,000.
USDA's National
Detector Dog Training Center
In early 1997, the three regional
detector dog training centers
The center is located on almost 2 acres of land with the buildings occupying 7,800 square feet. Kennels for 30 dogs, 5 quarantine runs, postal and passenger training areas, and classrooms. The center has 24-hour fire and break-in monitoring and a fire sprinkler system. USDA doubled the number of full-time trainers since the Center opened and now trains approximately eight classes per year.