Madeleine's last movements tracked by the GNR sniffer dogs.

[stephen25000]

Whilst everyone else who spouts has?

You pretend to, after 'googling'.

[VIXTE]

The dogs can only respond in relation to the item they are given to scent from.
The search & rescue dogs were given an Aztec towel, which may or may not have had Madeleine's scent on it, so the paths they followed may have belonged to any one of a number of individuals who had access to the towel.

This is not true.
If I remember well from the files:
The McCanns have given the dog handlers few different items belonging to Madeleine and the dogs have chosen her pink blanket.

[jassi]

This is not true.
If I remember well from the files:
The McCanns have given the dog handlers few different items belonging to Madeleine and the dogs have chosen her pink blanket.

And how would the dogs know which item to choose ?

[VIXTE]

And how would the dogs know which item to choose ?

I have no expertise in this but it seems the standard procedure.. the dogs get given items belonging to a missing person to sniff and they pick up an item out of few..This is what happened in this case too..

( If you read the dog handlers statements in the files - you will find this in their statements)

[jassi]

I have no expertise in this but it seems the standard procedure.. the dogs get given items belonging to a missing person to sniff and they pick up an item out of few..This is what happened in this case too..

( If you read the dog handlers statements in the files - you will find this in their statements)

I worded that badly. What I was meaning was how would the dogs know which was Madeleine's scent, as opposed to someone else's ?

[VIXTE]

I worded that badly. What I was meaning was how would the dogs know which was Madeleine's scent, as opposed to someone else's ?

I will word it right.. who else you think that scent can belong to?

If it was the parents the dogs would try to find the parents, if it was the twins, the dogs will get the twins. But, they haven't.

There in files I thought I have seen the dogs were given Madeleine's clothing and shoes but the strongest scent they found on her pink blanket.

This is, don't forget, Madeleine's live scent and this was applied less than 24 hours after she disappeared. So, quite soon..
This is why I think this little lead should be taken into account more seriously as this was performed very close to her disappearance. Then again. on May 8 and with the same results.

[jassi]

I will word it right.. who else you think that scent can belong to?

If it was the parents the dogs would try to find the parents, if it was the twins, the dogs will get the twins. But, they haven't.

There in files I thought I have seen the dogs were given Madeleine's clothing and shoes but the strongest scent they found on her pink blanket.

This is, don't forget, Madeleine's live scent and this was applied less than 24 hours after she disappeared. So, quite soon..
This is why I think this little lead should be taken into account more seriously as this was performed very close to her disappearance. Then again. on May 8 and with the same results.

I was thinking there might be a mixture of scents, rather like there was a mixture of DNA, which might have made it difficult for the dogs.

[VIXTE]

I was thinking there might be a mixture of scents, rather like there was a mixture of DNA, which might have made it difficult for the dogs.

If any other scent was dominant don't you agree the dogs would be able the find the second person? No one has left PDL in that 24 hours!

[ferryman]

I worded that badly. What I was meaning was how would the dogs know which was Madeleine's scent, as opposed to someone else's ?

That's where you have two different types of dog and two different types of scent; one that is aerial and differentiates humans as unique from species of animal, but not one human as unique from another; a second at or just above ground level that does differentiate one human as unique from another.

Dogs that track the individual and unique scent are rare and specialised.  There is only one police force in the UK that has them, and I don't believe the Portuguese did.

[jassi]

That's where you have two different types of dog and two different types of scent; one that is aerial and differentiates humans as unique from species of animal, but not one human as unique from another; a second at or just above ground level that does differentiate one human as unique from another.

Dogs that track the individual and unique scent are rare and specialised.  There is only one police force in the UK that has them, and I don't believe the Portuguese did.

Thanks for that.
That would suggest then, that the dogs were probably  not really tracking Madeleine.

[Brietta]

That's where you have two different types of dog and two different types of scent; one that is aerial and differentiates humans as unique from species of animal, but not one human as unique from another; a second at or just above ground level that does differentiate one human as unique from another.

Dogs that track the individual and unique scent are rare and specialised.  There is only one police force in the UK that has them, and I don't believe the Portuguese did.

They were offered specialist dogs ... but they were refused.

 - Snip -
Stubborn Portuguese police chiefs are refusing to let the world’s best sniffer dogs join the hunt for Madeleine McCann.

Senior British cops last night urged officers leading the inquiry to accept help from UK dog teams before it is too late.

 Two dogs attached to Britain’s National Policing Improvement Agency have developed such powerful tracking skills they can follow a scent for miles, even one up to 28 days old.

 By sniffing an item of Maddie’s clothing, they could trace a trail that might finally unlock the mystery of the four-year-old’s disappearance.
http://www.mccannfiles.com/id157.html

[VIXTE]

That's where you have two different types of dog and two different types of scent; one that is aerial and differentiates humans as unique from species of animal, but not one human as unique from another; a second at or just above ground level that does differentiate one human as unique from another.

Dogs that track the individual and unique scent are rare and specialised.  There is only one police force in the UK that has them, and I don't believe the Portuguese did.

I think Portuguese search and rescue dogs are considered to be quite good and are quite high on the scale of these types of the dogs in the world.
I remember researching them and finding out Portugal is one of the four countries in the world responsible for the large scale of search and rescue operations, therefore they have to maintain the good standard of these operations, including the dogs.
Don't ask me where I found this, I have elephants memory and this I read at least 5 years ago..

[ferryman]

I think Portuguese search and rescue dogs are considered to be quite good and are quite high on the scale of these types of the dogs in the world.
I remember researching them and finding out Portugal is one of the four countries in the world responsible for the large scale of search and rescue operations, therefore they have to maintain the good standard of these operations, including the dogs.
Don't ask me where I found this, I have elephants memory and this I read at least 5 years ago..

I don't doubt any of that for a second.  Indeed, I am second to none in my admiration for the work of these handlers and their (I have not the slightest doubt) very well trained dogs.

But there was a fatal hindrance to their efforts.  Their dogs were of the wrong discipline for the type of search required.

The clue is in the title, search and rescue.

For those types of operations, you want dogs of the type that will track the generic human scent, not the unique and individual one ...

[VIXTE]

IMO these dogs did find Madeleine's freshest scent.

I think their route should had been investigated more precisely.. ie. with a fine comb search at the time.

And if they indeed did find her scent the second question is what does this mean?

[Brietta]

IMO these dogs did find Madeleine's freshest scent.

I think their route should had been investigated more precisely.. ie. with a fine comb search at the time.

And if they indeed did find her scent the second question is what does this mean?

I find it interesting that both dogs followed a trail to apartment 5j and am puzzled as to why the fridge had been left open allowing the food inside to rot.

>>>Clip<<< At about 23.00 accompanied by a PJ inspector, the searches were begun. After Rex was given the girl's clothing to sniff, he began to search on the ground floor of block 5 and when he passed the door of apartment 5 A (the place the girl had disappeared from) according to his handler, officer Fernandes, the dog altered its behaviour, sniffing with greater intensity than he had done before. Apartment 5J of the same block was also checked as the dog had been more agitated than before as if there were a very strong strange odour there. It was stated that this apartment had been unoccupied for some time. Afterwards, the same kind of search was carried out using the dog Zarus which in general terms showed the same behaviour in the same places as Rex had done.

 It was only when all the searches of the apartments in blocks 4 and 5 were complete, that the behaviour described above was registered. It is certain that this kind of work does not correspond to the area that these dogs were trained in, but given that these types of dogs manage to discriminate a specific odour from others, although it could be a remote possibility that they related the odour of the missing girl with a possible location where she could have been.

On 10th May at about 20.10, upon the request of the PJ, searches were carried out in all of the apartments belonging to blocks 4 and 5 of the OC, two tracker dogs and two search and rescue dogs being used for this operation, adopting the same methods as those used on 7th May, just that this time the apartments were all open and searched one by one, being accompanied by a representative from the resort, who had the keys to all the apartments (apart from those not under her administration) and also with the objective of helping with the searches. The collaboration of all the guests occupying the apartments at that time was requested for this purpose and those apartments that were found to be empty were opened by the administrator.

 All the apartments were searched by the dogs and when they arrived at apartment 5 J they began to sniff with intensity at the entrance door. During this behaviour it was noted by the PJ officers that there must be some unusual odour, but which with all certainty did not have anything to do with the odour being searched for, but there must have been something strange inside.

 After entering the apartment, it was observed that the dour came from close to the fridge, which was open and contained some rotting meat and vegetables.
http://www.mccannpjfiles.co.uk/PJ/GNR_SNIFFER.htm#p13p3517