What Makes a Dog a Good Gluten Detection Candidate?
Not every dog is a good candidate for gluten detection work. That doesn't mean the dog is poorly trained, not intelligent enough, or incapable of learning scent work. It means that gluten detection asks for a particular combination of skills and temperament that not every dog naturally has; and some of those qualities are much more important than breed, size, or how impressive a dog's nose appears to be. When I'm helping someone choose a dog for gluten detection, I'm not looking for the “best” breed or the dog with the highest drive. I'm looking at the individual dog in front of me. I'm watching how that dog responds when something doesn't go as expected, how they solve problems, how they recover, what motivates them, and whether they can continue working when the answer isn't immediately obvious. Those qualities matter because gluten detection isn't just a matter of finding an odor. The dog has to make repeated decisions in real-world situations, of...
