I have said it before here on this blog and it is often said in the dog training community that “The only thing two dog trainers can agree upon is what a third dog trainer is doing wrong”. That paradox makes agreement to methodology always under scrutiny and debate. There is only one way to defeat the paradox and that is by measuring behavior accurately.
I asked a researcher I worked with for the best book on coding behavior and he recommended this book. I actually have a first edition in my pile of dusty books. As I perused the index, I was pleasantly surprised to see a number of topics we have parroted here on the blog. Clever Hans, anthropomorphism and epigenetics all popped out from the text immediately. This means we are on the right track. This is the major thrust in this effort. Can a group of breeders/trainers/raisers work together to define the best practices for working detection dogs through standardized behavior observation and measurement?
It has been a struggle to get all the infrastructure in place, but we now have enough data to at least pull away the first layer of the onion. We now have a significant amount of video observations, weekly records of effort made, and a large number of C-BARQ responses with DNA and a dog sourcing mini survey. Though the information is not exhaustive it is a great start and is unlike most any other effort made. Many thanks to those who have contributed!! Please, please, please, continue the effort and try get more people to make this commitment.
The only thing to replace half baked opinions is with knowledge and facts.