Some things really need clarification. Earlier on in the thread (first 2 or 3 pages) it was mentioned that pigs smell the closest to human, etc.
1. Cadaver dogs trained on porcine decomp will "hit" on porcine decomp or the decomp of other animals, not the human animal.
2. The dogs trained in the UK (where that link was from) are trained on porcine and psuedo because it's illegal to use human cadaver for these training purposes in the UK.
3. Many people have the ability to get small parts of the human body, decomposing, for "training purposes". Often, the dogs are overwhelmed when they actually come across a whole body decomposing. They are not all trained on a whole decomposing or large percentage of decomposing body. For that reason the dogs really do need proper training and certification. That includes more than just the ocassional decomposing finger or toe. For that reason the dog will give a "false alert" of sorts at the very outskirts of the decomposing body as a result of the "scent". (Very simplified explanation.)
4. "Pseudo" putracine and cadaverine are no substitute for accuracy in the properly trained cadaver dog. They will hit on the "pseudo" which makes for inaccuracy.
Now, if anyone doubts this look at the case of Analice Guerra. Some yahoo who was brought in from the UK with his Brittany Spaniels, a supposed "expert" that puts me in mind of that Anderson woman, at considerable expense.
He stated emphatically that the child would be found in the creek behind the apartments as that's where his dogs tracked. Considerable (hundreds of thousands of dollars) were spent draining that creek. (Guess who ultimately pays for that and Smyrna is not a "big" town.) She was not there. Nor were the remains of any "animals". They did find a missing bicycle.
This was after local Bloodhound teams tracked and found no trace of her heading towards that creek
at all! They were accurate. She was "tracked" to the parking lot and this whole thing was a slap in their faces.
Her remains were found miles away, (less than 4 miles from where I live now) behind Stone's River Battlefield. Not having a map right here I would guess about 10 miles from where she "disappeared", as in home.
There's a lot more to that story, I assure you.
The smell of decomp is one that you won't forget. I can't explain it. It does carry. When we found Terry Lattimer he'd been dead in the California Desert for several days. We smelled it from almost half a mile away while horseback. Two of the horses were skittish for several weeks afterwards in that area, and he was lifted with a backhoe, including underlying material, when he was recovered.
The bottom line is, small "decomp" material, as long as it's human is acceptable to start training with. Pseudo is not acceptable at any time. Larger bodies of decomp are really necessary to train, proof and certify the dog. An arm, a leg, a torso, etc.
Decomp'ing animals, including porcine, are used to teach a dog that there is no reward for alerting to "trash".
