Dog Handlers Influence Dog's Thinking

Research finds that when dog handlers believed drugs or bomb materials were present, their dogs did as well - even when there wasn't.

In a 4 room experiment, researchers left the 1st room clean, the 2nd with taped red paper, the 3rd with hidden Slim Jims, the 4th with red paper taped to Slim Jims. Handlers were told they might smell weed or gunpowder up to 3 times/room, sometimes marked with red paper - despite there being no scents. Still, teams called 225 false alerts — most often where red paper was found but irrespective of the presence of Slim Jims.