SNiffing Dogs

[+grundie]

I'm fairly new to geocaching and I'm still learning the ins and outs of it all.

 

I have noticed that many urban caches (particularly nanos and micros) tend to be placed at corners of fences walls etc. This got me wondering, seeing as dogs also like corners - has anyone's cache been disturbed by an inquisitive dog?

 

Most caches have human odours that a dog could detect. So it stands to reason that a dog could find and retrieve a cache or even alert it's owner who may remove the cache wondering what on earth it is.

 

Although I use the example of corners, I suppose the same could go for a cache in any area that a dog may pass.

 

Has this actually happened to anyone?

[+mndvs737]

We've got a large local park in our area (actually one of the largest urban parks of its kind in the US, I believe) that has an off-leash area for dogs. There are a couple of hides right on the edge of that section of the park, and they have been in place for some time with no ill-effects. Also, a lot of people take their dogs into the other areas of the park, and the dogs are no doubt passing within a few yards or even few feet of the caches on a daily basis. Again -- none of the hides seem to have really been compromised.

 

I think it's because the world is full of smells to a dog, and unless there is a particular smell that grabs their attention (say, peanut butter or some other form of kibble), most dogs are going to pass right on by most hide spots without a second thought. If they do pause, most owners seem to keep the dog moving and show very little interest in what is being sniffed. Most of your pet dogs don't give a specific alert to an odor, because they have not been trained in that aspect -- they just sniff and keep moving.

 

Now, if there was a law enforcement officer with a dog trained to alert on a specific scent, and they were searching in the area of the cache (just by coincidence), and somehow a cacher had also used whatever had that specific scent and had recently found the cache, would it be possible that the dog could alert on the cache location? Possibly, but I think the chances of this are very small.

[+gof1]

I've seen magnetic caches on fire hydrants. They always make me wonder...Hmmm?

[+J-Way]

One of many reasons why food items (or anything an inquisitive animal might think smells interesting) should NEVER be put in a cache. Also why containers previously used to hold food is generally a bad idea.

 

As for human smell, doesn't almost everything in an urban area have some sort of human smell attached to it? Why would a dog be particularly attracted to a box when that nearby rag, bottle, or can has the same smell?

[+StaticTank]

I've been traing my dog to find caches. It is kind of fun. He can't find anything that is real challenging but he can find some of them.

 

StaticTank

[+Jumpin' Jack Cache]

I've seen magnetic caches on fire hydrants. They always make me wonder...Hmmm?

 

Yep. Found one once & as I was leaving I saw a dog walking his owner and making a beeline for it. Don't reckon he was goin' for the cache.

[+NYPaddleCacher]

I've seen magnetic caches on fire hydrants. They always make me wonder...Hmmm?

 

Yep. Found one once & as I was leaving I saw a dog walking his owner and making a beeline for it. Don't reckon he was goin' for the cache.

 

I ran into a couple of newbie caches (one of them was on her first hunt) last weekend. It was at the third of five recently placed caches along a trail on State land. They said that their dogs had found the first two.

[+Tequila]

A trained police K9 would never "retrieve" it, for obvious reasons. If they alerted on it, they would most likely just sit beside it.

 

But, a trained K9 wouldn't do that if it wasn't "working". K9's are trained to know when they are supposed to work or not. Typically, if they are not "in harness" they are not working.

[+TeamZebra]

I make it a point to let my dog sniff each and every cache we find. (and every cacher we find!) She has found a few on her own, mainly FTFs because there is only one "people" scent trail. When dealing with urban locations my "find the people" command doesn't work nearly as well because people are all over the place.

 

As previous posters have said, most people walking their dogs in an urban setting aren't gonna pay much attention if their dog starts sniffing around a corner, light pole, fire hydrant, etc. They'll just figure they're sniffing where other dogs have been and urge them on.

[+Bubbles&Bonkers]

LOL! My dog would NEVER be able to find a cache unless there was a big, old dog snack inside of it! Hasn't happened yet...

[+edscott]

Yes my dog has found caches also, but she is sneaky. Just gives it a quick sniff then goes on to more important stuff. However when she goes on a maintenance trip with me to one of mine that she's been to before, she runs ahead and lies down beside the cache to wait for me.