If anyone can train a dog to find COVID-19,
it is Connie Cleveland and Pat Nolan.
The University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine has commissioned a training facility in Maryland called Tactical Directional Canine Systems to test out the theory. The facility is owned by Pat Nolan and his wife, Connie Cleveland-Nolan.
They are using eight Labrador Retrievers. As Connie said when some of us were having a conversation on my Facebook Page:
Great detection dogs are highly motivated by reward. They can't be distracted or disinterested in searching, ever. If you consider all the jobs that man has invented for dogs (guide dogs for the blind, search and rescue, service dogs), we often reach for the Labrador, primarily because they are, as a group, really environmentally sound. Meaning, nothing scares them or bothers them! Furthermore they are highly motivated to retrieve/tug- a great reward for finding something. The Labs will ignore everything in pursuit of reward. If they believe they can earn reward by using their nose, they will work anywhere, anytime.
Connie is a well-known AKC Obedience Competitor, Coach and Seminar Giver. She is scheduled to conduct a seminar here at Cape Fear Dog Training Club on January 16-17, 2021.
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