Meet our detector dogs and learn how they work to safeguard Florida's agriculture.  

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Division of Plant Industry works in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to safeguard Florida’s agriculture with a detector dog inspection program. The detector dogs operate in parcel shipping facilities to sniff out plant and agricultural materials inside packages. . In addition, the division has one canine trained on invasive snails and slugs. This canine completes surveys at high-risk sites and as needed on pest eradication programs throughout the state.

The detector dogs and their handlers complete extensive training at the USDA National Detector Dog Training Center in Newnan, Georgia, before being paired and deployed to the field. Canines selected for the program are trained to use an active response for target scents. The detector dogs are initially trained on five odors: citrus, mango, papaya, guava and stone fruit. Once the dogs are operating in the facilities, the target range expands very quickly because the dogs are exposed to new odors and because they receive continued training.  

The dog teams act as the first line of defense in preventing unregulated or contaminated products from entering Florida. The dogs can search inside trucks, around palletized boxes and on moving conveyor belts for packages containing plant or agricultural materials that harbor invasive pests and diseases. The detector dog teams forward concerning packages to plant inspectors for follow-up as needed. Currently, the detector dog inspection program has five dog teams stationed around Florida and conducts inspections in approximately 105 different parcel shipping facilities throughout the state.