I would like to see a greater use of bomb sniffing dogs.

[undeterred]

Its expensive for police departments to run a canine squad and seems to always depend on volunteer fundraisers. I don't know if the use of a bomb sniffing dog at the right time could have prevented this tragedy yesterday, but it seems possible. But for every police department these animals are a scarce resource. The dogs nose is a gift.

[justiceischeap]

1. Apparently, they had bomb sniffing dogs there.

They used them at the beginning and end of the race lines.

But unless there are 100s of dogs constantly working the 26 miles, it's almost impossible for them to detect something like this.

[DustyJoe]

2. dogs

Plus, pressure cookers are airtight. So if care was used in not letting any explosive residue get on their hands handling the outside of the cooker (using gloves). I would think it difficult for a dog to get a scent of the actual explosive. Maybe someone on the forum with knowledge of the dogs training and sensitivity could expand on that.

[davepc]

8. You don't even need to use an explosive

There are many common household chemicals that can be mixed together to get the same effect, especially if the offgasses are contained in a sealed environment.

[quinnox]

3. Depends on where, I would be against it in many places

We have them come onto the public transit system here on occasion, and it was disturbing to me when I saw these big aggressive looking dogs, held on leashes by cops, come onto the train and start searching around. It felt very much like a police state, and was uncomfortable, to say the least.

[undeterred]

4. They don't have to use German Shepherds, which seem to be a police favorite.

I think they use them because they are intimidating. But all dogs have a very keen sense of smell. You could have an officer in plain clothes walking a poodle or and actually be a bomb sniffer. You could use any trainable dog.

[Retrograde]

10. Customs uses beagles to find produce and meat products

I've seen them at SFO on occasion: very non-threatening looking dogs that seem pretty good at turning up contraband. Unfortunately, I think sniffer dogs are only trained to sniff out one particular type of object. But that doesn't mean they can't use other types of dog for bomb-sniffing.

[hughee99]

6. For the "sniffing" dogs (bombs, drugs, other contraband),

they often use beagles, bloodhounds, or even springer spaniels or labs.

These dogs aren't very intimidating.

[quinnox]

7. well, the ones I saw were, as undeterred rightly guessed, big-ass German Shepherds

If those dogs in the picture had been used, I'll admit, it would not have been so uncomfortable.

[hughee99]

9. Yes, the german shepherds are intimidating.

They are trained for protection, but can also be trained for sniffing. A beagle or bloodhound won't offer as much protection to the officer, but if the mission is just to sniff out stuff, they can do a great job.

[Drale]

5. My Dad's best friend has a Bomb Sniffing dog for the Chicago Police Department

and he's all over the place all the time. They only have two for the city plus any the Federal Government has in the city so its a big job.

[undeterred]

11. Two for Chicago is not nearly enough.

I met the police detective in charge of canines for Milwaukee and he said cost was a big issue. They tend to rely heavily on volunteers.