About the Mold Detection K9

[Guest guest]

I received a lot of replies today about the Mold K9. I will elaborate

here for all interested.

My dog is my pet. She is a deaf Jack Terrier that was scheduled

to be put to sleep 2 years ago before she was rescued. Her owner did

not know how to train her.

Trixie went through 1200 hours of scent training before she and I went

through K9/Handler Team training. She lives with me, my family, my

kids, my other pets. She is loved, and she lives a very active life.

Most importantly, she is alive.

Trixie runs on a treadmill daily for 30 minutes, or with me and my other

dog in the neighborhood. She sees the vet more than any animal I know

of, except maybe a racing horse. She swims in the ocean at least once a

week. She only eats healthy food, nutrition and health are first and

foremost. She is the healthiest, hardiest dog I have ever met!

Trixie trains every day for about 30 minutes. Of that 30 minutes of

scent training, I would estimate 1 or less minutes are actually spent

with her nose in close proximity to mold. Mold dogs typically signal to

a radius of about 2-3 feet, which is close enough to identify a problem

in a home. The only dogs that need to be more accurate than that are

arson and bomb dogs.

Many studies have been done on the health effects of scent detection

dogs, not just for mold, but consider what an arson dog is smelling.

Dogs have been detecting drugs, benzine (arson), bombs and other potent

chemicals for years with no identified side effects.

The biggest thing to understand is that the Canine olfactory system is

nothing like ours. We smell what we breathe. Dogs do not have to

breathe air to smell it. They possess a chamber that allows them to

pull in air, process the information, and expel it. This is called

PURGING. If you own a dog, you have seen purging. Usually dogs do this

with visitors to the home. They sniff all over the person's legs, and

then blow a bunch of air out. That air never went in the dog's lungs.

But back to Trixie's safety: The mold she dose come into contact with

during training is 1/2 inch squares of inoculated drywall, bagged in a

small ziplock bag, then another bag, then put inside plastic container

(film case or ziplock container). But she can still find the scent.

Dogs smell in parts per trillion whereas we smell in parts per hundred.

A trained arson dog could find one drop lamp oil in a football field in

less than 10 minutes - that doesn't mean the dog spent 10 minutes

breathing lamp oil fumes.

Now, on the job, Trixie transforms from a pet to a TOOL. And there are

certain tools for certain jobs. I don't need to walk into a flooded and

mold covered house with Trixie, she won't tell me anything I don't

already know! I have been to homes where, as soon as I got there, I

have refused to bring in the dog due to concern. Just because Trixie

CAN communicate that she smells mold doesn't mean that I always NEED her

to.

Trixie is good at helping identify what (often) other inspectors and

hygienists missed in a previous inspection. She is also good at helping

someone who thinks they may have mold but isn't sure. Within minutes,

the client knows if they have a problem and then we discuss any testing,

if needed. Trixie can search a 2000 square foot home in the time it

takes to take two air samples!

Even then, I always conduct a visual inspection before ANYTHING. I

usually have a pretty solid idea of what I am dealing with before I ever

bring in my dog or take a sample. And even then, I only do these things

to confirm my opinion and rule out a room in a home, etc.

So Trixie is not " exposed " to any large degree, as it may seem on the

surface. I would estimate that I probably inhale 50 times the mold as

my dog. Thankfully, I am not bothered by it, but I also go to my doctor

often to make sure.

Now, when Trixie gets older, and her immune system is not as strong as

it is now, I will retire her.

By the way, in our free time, Trixie and I work with other DEAF DOGS in

the state. We are in contact with many shelters, and we often take one

in, teach them sign, teach them how to live with a family and other

animals (deaf dogs are usually given up to a shelter only after a long

period of isolation - overwhelmed owners don't know what to do and just

put them in the garage or something.) and then we help get them adopted.

This is an issue that I thoroughly investigated prior to investing in

Trixie. I am satisfied that the precautions we take and the manner in

which we use her is safe. As well, I find most Mold Dog owners follow

the same path as I do.