...could it be that the tracker dogs were used hours after the child disappeared whereas the cadaver dogs weren't brought in until weeks later. I know which ones I would trust completely.
If Madeleine had been carried out of the apartment the dogs would not have found her ground scent. As it was she walked out barefoot and they found her scent with no trouble whatsoever.

how do you explain the PT prosecutors conclusion then?
“At 08.00 the GNR Search and Rescue sniffer dog team came into action, searches were begun from the resort in the direction of the beach, covering a 2 km area; in Praia da Luz 300m radius searches were made as well searches of abandoned houses, wells and waste land, the radius subsequently being expanded to 600m including the verges of the EN 125 motorway.
Subsequently an attempt was made to reconstruct the route taken by Madeleine by giving the dogs a blanket/towel used by her, but the results were not significant, given that the dogs are more trained for use in rural areas rather than urban or populated areas, the existence of more odours in the air making it impossible for the tracker dog to identify/locate the “target smell”.
Not all abducted children are carried anyway. She could have been taken from the Apartment and made to walk to the car.