If you own one of the breeds in the collage seen below, you may think you own an “auburn” dog:

 

In fact, only one of the breeds seen in the collage has an “official” right to refer to itself as an “auburn” dog because only the Finnish Spitz (bottom left corner of the collage) has a standard in which “auburn” is mentioned by name: “Color: Varying shades of golden-red ranging from pale honey to deep auburn are allowed.”  The rest of the breeds in the collage are referred to by their respective AKC standards as bright red, golden red, red wheaten, wheaten, mahogany, rich chestnut red, clear red, golden red, dark coppery red, and golden rust in varying shades. Many other breeds include a shade of red in some form, but the breeds in the collage were ones we chose randomly.

Out of the 202 currently AKC recognized breeds, and only the Finnish Spitz (or Finkie) mentions “auburn” as of this writing. This seems worthy to be an interesting factoid, but this post isn’t about auburn as a coat color.

It’s about a type of detection dog, and more specifically, an explosive detection dog. If we fine tune the category even more precisely, it is a vapor wake detection dog.

That said, there are dogs specifically trained by Auburn University’s Canine Performance Sciences program to detect explosives by following vapor trails left behind by moving objects. These dogs are known as Auburn Vapor Wake Dogs because (wait for it) the technology and training methods used to train the dogs were pioneered by researchers at Auburn University’s College of Veterinary Medicine.

What is Vapor Wake technology?  Simply put, it is a method that detects explosive particles by tracking the trail of warm air and particles left behind by moving individuals using specially trained dogs.

A bad guy walking through a stadium carrying a bomb leaves an invisible trail of scent particles from the explosives in the bomb. The particles float into the air and stick to the bad guy’s clothes or body.  Dogs trained with Vapor Wake technology detect the particles and follow the trail. This technology is exceptional because dogs can detect potential threats in crowded areas without needing to search everyone individually.

Over 95% of Auburn Vapor Wake dogs are Labrador Retrievers. Their excellent sense of smell, intelligence, motivation, and friendly demeanor allows them to work effectively in crowded, noisy, and smelly environments without intimidating people or scaring children.  The remaining 5% include other breeds like the German Shorthaired Pointer which are occasionally introduced to enhance specific traits or diversify the genetic profile.

Interestingly, a psychology professor has helped identify the best dogs for the Vapor Wake program. Professor, Jeffrey Katz, along with graduate students, Andie Thompkins, Lucia Lazarowski, and Gopi Deshpande, developed an endophenotype that looks at the behavior and brains of potential dogs to see if predictors can be found early on in training to determine if a dog is going to be successful. Studies have shown that good Vapor Wake dogs show distinct traits such as vigilance, focus, and trainability, which differentiates them from standard explosive detection dogs.

The “Auburn Dog” Vapor Wake technology and training process was so successful, it was granted a patent in 2015.

Learn more about “Auburn Dog” Vapor Wake technology and training here and here. You just might have a Vapor Wake dog candidate!

Collage photo credits: Dachshund by SPphot/Depositphotos, Chow Chow by Łukasz Rawa, Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever by © Madrabothair/dreamstime, Irish Terrier by Andrey Medvedev/Dreamstime, Irish Setter by Author/Depositphotos, Golden Retriever in water/dreamstime, Vizslak by form PxHere, Finnish Spitz by PavelRodimov/iStock, Cirneco dell Etna by otsphoto/Adobe, and Shiba Ina by Margarita

Image of yellow Labrador Retriever by anuskiserrano/AdobeStock