Cadaver Dogs, Search Dogs, K9 Units

My theory on the hits in the backyard are this...

CA took the clothing and hosed them off. Possibly by or in the sandbox area.

Water from hosing off the clothing "pooled" at the pool area.

Rinsed clothing was then carried and draped in the playhouse to drip most or all of the water out before she took the clothes into the house to put in the washing machine.

The water might dilute the cadaver scent slightly, but only slightly and won't eliminate it.

Strongest scents would be where she rinsed the clothing, where the rinsed material "pooled" and where the clothes dripped dry in the playhouse area.

Dogs would indeed "hit" on those areas and track the trail to those areas.

If the clothing was dry or almost dry when she took them into the house, there may not be much for the dogs to track into the home.

I would be curious to know if those same dogs were worked around the washing machine/laundry room. Pause for thought.

Also, something to keep in mind. Bodies which are donated to science often are used for "cadaver work" for the dogs. While the bits and pieces here or there are useful and very beneficial, full human body decomp has thrown some dogs due to the intensity of the odor. They will hit on the outskirts, where the minimal odor that they trained on (pieces) is, often nowhere close to the actual body. Dogs need to be proofed and certified on full cadaver to help minimize incidents of this.

Hope that helps some.

Your theory sounds very possible. I can see Cindy rinsing the 'stinky' off the clothes prior to throwing them in the washer. Don't have any idea as to if the dogs were brought into the house but you would think so.
Are you of the belief Caylee's body was never hidden back there?
 
Does anyone know if there is a door in the garage that leads directly to the back yard, or would they have to go all the way through the house to access the back yard area? If there IS a door, then looking at the pics, it appears that she could have dug out a small area UNDERNEATH the sandbox and placed her there and then placed the sandbox back on top of her. She could have then removed her from there when she took her where ever it is that she finally took her in the end. Just looking at the red flags, it seems that would have been dirt on either side of where her body may have been lying, and when Casey removed her the dirt still bore the scent.

Also, I know that onelostgrl told me once that only one dog hit on the trunk and I made an effort to find out if that was a fact, but I was unable to "pin it down" so to speak. Does anyone out there have any information about the dog hit(s) on the trunk and does anyone know where to find the testimony of the handler?

Thanks for the pictures Turbo...also, one last question...In order to train a dog to hit on human cadaver smell, where do you obtain that smell? I was curious about that, and just could not work it out in my own mind how the dog could be trained to "hit" it unless you had the real thing? Thanks for all your insights.

There should be a side or back door in the garage because the day the CSI Team went for the gas cans, they entered into the garage and closed the garage door immediately. If there was no garage door, wouldn't they have gone through the gate?
 
Does anyone know if there is a door in the garage that leads directly to the back yard, or would they have to go all the way through the house to access the back yard area? If there IS a door, then looking at the pics, it appears that she could have dug out a small area UNDERNEATH the sandbox and placed her there and then placed the sandbox back on top of her. She could have then removed her from there when she took her where ever it is that she finally took her in the end. Just looking at the red flags, it seems that would have been dirt on either side of where her body may have been lying, and when Casey removed her the dirt still bore the scent.

Also, I know that onelostgrl told me once that only one dog hit on the trunk and I made an effort to find out if that was a fact, but I was unable to "pin it down" so to speak. Does anyone out there have any information about the dog hit(s) on the trunk and does anyone know where to find the testimony of the handler?

Thanks for the pictures Turbo...also, one last question...In order to train a dog to hit on human cadaver smell, where do you obtain that smell? I was curious about that, and just could not work it out in my own mind how the dog could be trained to "hit" it unless you had the real thing? Thanks for all your insights.

In this area, we use actual cadaver pieces. It takes a very small piece. (size of a fingernail or smaller) I have heard of synthetic scents, but I have never met any trainer who has used it.
 
Your theory sounds very possible. I can see Cindy rinsing the 'stinky' off the clothes prior to throwing them in the washer. Don't have any idea as to if the dogs were brought into the house but you would think so.
Are you of the belief Caylee's body was never hidden back there?

Yes. I do not believe that her body was ever near the backyard.
 
:eek:What IS the prompt is what I wonder? I mean, if it IS human cadaver scent, then how on earth do they produce that? I just can't wrap my mind around it for some reason...:confused:

I don't know if this has been answered, but the cadaver scent can be obtained by laying an object like a sheet or piece of material under a cadaver for a certain amount of time.
 
Rinsed clothing was then carried and draped in the playhouse to drip most or all of the water out before she took the clothes into the house to put in the washing machine.

Do we know for sure that the washer and dryer are in the house? In Florida, many homes have the washer/dryer in the garage.
 
Yes. I do not believe that her body was ever near the backyard.

I don't believe she was ever back there either, nor do i think she was killed or died at the house. I believe casey may have brought in the scent or the scent lingered on some items brought back to the house. I think Casey was at the house looking for something.
 
Do we know for sure that the washer and dryer are in the house? In Florida, many homes have the washer/dryer in the garage.

Washers in the garage are mainly in the older homes, pre 1970.
I lived there many years, our Laundry room was in the house since our house was built in the 80's.
 
In this area, we use actual cadaver pieces. It takes a very small piece. (size of a fingernail or smaller) I have heard of synthetic scents, but I have never met any trainer who has used it.

Most do not use psuedo or synthetic scents because the dogs would be trained to hit on that, not cadaver. Then, when one goes into court and has to testify the question is posed, "Has your dog ever hit on anything other than human remains?" The response, of course, would be "Yes." There goes credibility.

I know in the UK they cannot use human cadaver and use porcine instead. That proved to be a costly mistake when TBI brought in that yo-yo with the two Springer "cadaver" dogs from the UK in the Analyce Guerra case in Smyrna, TN. Yo-Yo claimed the body would be in the creek. Hundreds of thousands spent draining the creek after our local teams made it clear that Analyce hadn't headed towards the creek. Their dogs, in fact, tracked to the parking lot and down the road. :(

The end result was that Analyce's little body was found behind Stones River National Monument/Battlefield about 2 miles from me and about 10 miles from her home in Smyrna.

Whether she'd have ever been found alive if so much time hadn't been wasted on bringing in improperly trained dogs, damming and draining the creek, etc., who's to say?

Good luck with your training! It's interesting, fun and a lot of hard work, isn't it? :D
 
Do we know for sure that the washer and dryer are in the house? In Florida, many homes have the washer/dryer in the garage.

No. I do not know for sure. Permission given to "search" the yard may not have extended to the garage either, though.
 
My theory on the hits in the backyard are this...

CA took the clothing and hosed them off. Possibly by or in the sandbox area.

Water from hosing off the clothing "pooled" at the pool area.

Rinsed clothing was then carried and draped in the playhouse to drip most or all of the water out before she took the clothes into the house to put in the washing machine.

The water might dilute the cadaver scent slightly, but only slightly and won't eliminate it.

Strongest scents would be where she rinsed the clothing, where the rinsed material "pooled" and where the clothes dripped dry in the playhouse area.

Dogs would indeed "hit" on those areas and track the trail to those areas.

If the clothing was dry or almost dry when she took them into the house, there may not be much for the dogs to track into the home.

I would be curious to know if those same dogs were worked around the washing machine/laundry room. Pause for thought.

Also, something to keep in mind. Bodies which are donated to science often are used for "cadaver work" for the dogs. While the bits and pieces here or there are useful and very beneficial, full human body decomp has thrown some dogs due to the intensity of the odor. They will hit on the outskirts, where the minimal odor that they trained on (pieces) is, often nowhere close to the actual body. Dogs need to be proofed and certified on full cadaver to help minimize incidents of this.

Hope that helps some.

A well trained dog will find the small scent, but will "follow" it to the strongest scent for the alert area. Where they might make a peripheral hit is when a body in under a tree or something like that where the scent comes up from a break in the ground away from the tree rather than under the tree.

I don't know how they train in other areas, but we train with full cadavers as well as scent. I cannot tell any difference in how mine works with full cadaver or pieces. Casper can hit on a tooth, blood, and other pieces. I have not started cleaned bones yet. We even hang scents in trees to teach the dog to work with the wind to get to the cadaver.
 
Washers in the garage are mainly in the older homes, pre 1970.
I lived there many years, our Laundry room was in the house since our house was built in the 80's.

We have rented new homes in Orlando for vacation and they have all had W/D in the garage. I found that inconvenient. Maybe they have gone back to putting them in the garages.
 
A well trained dog will find the small scent, but will "follow" it to the strongest scent for the alert area. Where they might make a peripheral hit is when a body in under a tree or something like that where the scent comes up from a break in the ground away from the tree rather than under the tree.

I don't know how they train in other areas, but we train with full cadavers as well as scent. I cannot tell any difference in how mine works with full cadaver or pieces. Casper can hit on a tooth, blood, and other pieces. I have not started cleaned bones yet. We even hang scents in trees to teach the dog to work with the wind to get to the cadaver.

Bold by me --

Well trained was my point exactly. Agree, too on the other reason for a peripheral hit.

I've seen others never use a full cadaver and then wonder why their dog fails certification. :(

Never crosses their mind that their dog wasn't properly trained.
 
Most do not use psuedo or synthetic scents because the dogs would be trained to hit on that, not cadaver. Then, when one goes into court and has to testify the question is posed, "Has your dog ever hit on anything other than human remains?" The response, of course, would be "Yes." There goes credibility.

I know in the UK they cannot use human cadaver and use porcine instead. That proved to be a costly mistake when TBI brought in that yo-yo with the two Springer "cadaver" dogs from the UK in the Analyce Guerra case in Smyrna, TN. Yo-Yo claimed the body would be in the creek. Hundreds of thousands spent draining the creek after our local teams made it clear that Analyce hadn't headed towards the creek. Their dogs, in fact, tracked to the parking lot and down the road. :(

The end result was that Analyce's little body was found behind Stones River National Monument/Battlefield about 2 miles from me and about 10 miles from her home in Smyrna.

Whether she'd have ever been found alive if so much time hadn't been wasted on bringing in improperly trained dogs, damming and draining the creek, etc., who's to say?

Good luck with your training! It's interesting, fun and a lot of hard work, isn't it? :D

It sounds like the dogs were poorly trained rather than the scent they trained with. I don't understand why they would bring in dogs from the UK because some of the best cadaver dogs in the U.S. are in Tennessee. I am shocked they brought those dogs into the case.

I am not familiar with this case, but a tracking dog should have been able to tracked her for the cadaver dogs to search. I will read some more about it.
 
Would a cadaver dog identify scent that was located up high? Say, above garage storage area or attic?
Just curious. I remember reading an article about the use of "above garage storage" which appeared to be written by LA on a website. I need to try and find this.
 
It sounds like the dogs were poorly trained rather than the scent they trained with. I don't understand why they would bring in dogs from the UK because some of the best cadaver dogs in the U.S. are in Tennessee. I am shocked they brought those dogs into the case.

I am not familiar with this case, but a tracking dog should have been able to tracked her for the cadaver dogs to search. I will read some more about it.


Turbo -- it was a combination of both poor training and what they were trained on.

We were all shocked to find out they were bringing someone in, too. I mean completely gobsmacked.

Tracking dogs tracked her from the home, to the parking lot and down the road quite a ways before the scent was lost. That dog's handler, as well as the second dog's handler, are friends of mine. The dogs never tracked to the playground area -- completely bypassed it because the freshest scent was the car trail. :( It was all so heartbreaking. I lived in Smyrna at the time and yes, some of the best dogs are right here in Tennessee. Even Memphis dogs were brought in as I recall. Still, due the urinating-match between various LE departments and one of the SAR groups, this yo-yo from UK was brought in.

The whole thing left many scratching their heads. :(
 
Would a cadaver dog identify scent that was located up high? Say, above garage storage area or attic?
Just curious. I remember reading an article about the use of "above garage storage" which appeared to be written by LA on a website. I need to try and find this.

Yes. If the dog is trained correctly (See TurboThink's post referencing hanging scent in trees, just to touch on it) and the handler knows how to read his or her dog, the dog will indicate and the discovery will be made.
 
Washers in the garage are mainly in the older homes, pre 1970.
I lived there many years, our Laundry room was in the house since our house was built in the 80's.

Yes, I realize that but there are still some homes built after those dates that have the washer and dryer in the garage. I know because I live here now. :)

In one of the photos of the house where the garage was open it looked to me as if the back wall may have had a small laundry area there. Also, on the left side of the wall, there appeared to be a rack one would use to drip dry clothes.
 
You know, I asked this months ago and never got a reply. Wish we could find out.

don't know if this got answered, but my home in FL is similar to the layout there. You have to go throught the house. The garage is in front, usually there is a door that leads to a laundyroom, then into your kitchen and the back of the house has sliding glass doors that lead to the pool area or backyard.
 
We have rented new homes in Orlando for vacation and they have all had W/D in the garage. I found that inconvenient. Maybe they have gone back to putting them in the garages.

Mine are in the garage and there are some days I hate it but the day my washing machine sprang a leak, I was glad. :)
 

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