 |
When the heat from high ground temperatures bother the dogs too
much, the work and training times are moved to the early mornings
or the late evenings.
|
|
The right nose (2)
All existing attempts to duplicate these "animal" sensors with
electronic technology have had limited success. The problem is that only
an animal can smell in the higher (scent) regions necessary to detect
explosives. But dogs are prone to illness and can only concentrate on
their work for a few hours, so the search for other suitable animals began.
Among others, pigs, mungos, butterflies and cockroaches have been considered.
MgM believes that a viable alternative may involve the use of trained
laboratory rats.
After a year-long positive experience with the MgM dog team under the
guidance of our South-African experts, it was decided to increase our
four legged capacity. Of course, at the same time it was important to
train good handlers for the new dogs. The first candidate was the deminer
who had worked in the dog team. The result was exceptional. Because the
deminer had followed every step of the dogs for over a year with intelligent
interest, he was 100% ready for deployment in only four weeks. The training
of the dog team's driver/radio-operator as a handler followed, with similar
results. Cross training of MgM personnel is common, and essential to our
operations.
Currently MgM operates two dog training camps in Angola. One is in Ambriz,
North of Luanda and the second is in Southern Ondjiva.
|
