Came out of laredo a few days back and found some frisky critters sniffing my truck at the check station,heard it was going to happen before they even did it. Beefed up inspections at the check stations on big trucks has started again with those oh so hyped up drug sniffing dogs nose in around your trucks doors. I'd say don't keep the jerky in your drivers side door pouch if you don't want to attract any attention, those critters looked hungry. I can only imagine what would transpire had I left my venison jerky in the door pouch like I usually do because its easier to reach down and grab a bite on the roll than to reach out and over to the cooler or passenger seat without stopping the truck. DMus
Those dogs are "more professional" than many drivers out here. I would expect you could hang a piece of jerky on your door step and not attract any unusual dog attention. They may be more apt to alert on the smell of coffee than dried meat.
I remember watching a special on how they train those dogs. A qualified candidate is one that gets fixated on an object, like a tennis ball. One that goes absolutely nuts, wanting that ball at all costs. When they are trained, the object of their passion has the scent of narcotics added so they associate the scent with their toy. So when the dogs are "working", they aren't looking for drugs, they are looking for their "toy" so when they catch the scent, they are bound and determined to find it. Jerky might catch their attention but its no where near the passion they'd show if they sniffed some 420!
My cousin works as a Border Patrol agent in Ocala. His K9 is trained very well, and it does alert on coffee as stated above. Many smugglers try to hide marajauna and cocaine in cases filled with coffee grounds. So they just trained the dogs to go on point at the smell of coffee.
In the early 2000's I ran freight to the yukon territories, and coming back from one of my runs returning through the port at Sumas, when they put the dog in my truck he went right for the loaf of sandwich bread sitting in my grocery bag. Amazingly, the handler offered to pay for the bread even though it was only a few dollars. I laughed and said maybe I should buy them both lunch if they are that hungry. Must have been a new dog or something.
