Home > Our Standards
It is important to New Zealand Detector Dogs that our detector dog teams are operating to a high level of proficiency, their indications are accurate and reliable and teams are deployed in an effective and efficient manner. A high standard of K9 fitness, healthcare, welfare and safety is also essential. 1. Validation Testing This is generally used when a legal right to search may be required to be established or where you wish to measure the accuracy of a detector dog team. This test is conducted in a controlled environment and tests a dog team’s recognition and identification of target odour. New Zealand Detector Dog teams operate to a high level of proficiency with our K9's being tested annually by recognised, qualified assessors. 2. Operational Field ReviewsThis is where the dog team is assessed in their operational environment. The purpose is to ensure that the dog team is deployed in a manner that maximises their effectiveness and efficiency when screening. This assessment also covers the physical and psychological care and management of a detector dog to ensure they are maintained to a high level of health and fitness in order to ensure that they are able to operate to their peak potential. SWGDOGIn 2009 Janet Williams was invited to attend the SWGDOG Conference in Tampa, Florida (Scientific Working Group on Dog and Orthogonal Detector Guidelines). This group of international experts set about establishing best practices for detection teams to improve interdiction efforts as well as courtroom acceptance of dog indication evidence by improving the consistency and performance of deployed detector dogs.Our standards and certification processes are based on these best practice guidelines - which we were proud to have contributed to. Through our accreditation and proficiency testing services we hope to assist other serious operators of detector dogs set similarly high standards of proficiency and care which define and set the standards for their industry increasing credibility and client confidence in the use of their detector dog teams. |
![]() |
New Zealand Detector Dogs has a secure training facility specifically set up for the training of their dog teams in a controlled environment. This is important when undertaking scent association and establishing good foundation training for new dogs. The training is undertaken by qualified, recognised K9 trainers. |
![]() |