A significant issue for the mine dog industry has been to identify dogs that are suitable for mine dog detection. A range of different criteria affect the suitability of a dog and these criteria may vary depending on the type of work and the climate in which the dog will work. The current situation is that German and Belgian Shepherds are the most commonly used breeds, and too few attempts have been made with any other breed to consider them appropriately tested.

The GICHD has completed a study on breeds (see Publications). The report concludes that there are potentially four routes to "producing" a mine dog. The advantages and disadvantages for each of these four routes are discussed and an attempt has been made to scale different breeds using categories relevant to the design of a mine detection dog. 11 different breeds have been examined during this process and their strengths and weaknesses were scaled using 14 different property indicators. The report may encourage training and demining organisations to use alternative breeds than the ones typically used.


One particularly promising breed is the Drever (photo). There is little or no experience with this breed within the MDD community. It is thus likely that the Drever would remain untested if there is no real introduction of the breed. The GICHD has purchased Drevers in the past and given them to demining organisations for experimental training.