"The dogs' potential is without limits"

JOAKIM SVENSSON ANSWERS his mobile in the middle of a Lebanese minefield. Speaking to him gives a remarkable insight into an average day of demining. Later the same day Joakim is still out in the minefield - there has been a detonation and his plans have changed.

Later in the afternoon he gets the first chance to talk. The crackly phone connection cuts out several times, but Joakim's enthu­siasm for mine dogs comes across clearly.

"I am often positively surprised by mine dogs. For example, on several occasions I've found that a dog that has only been trained to recognise TNT also recognises other explosive substances," he explains.

"Trained dogs seem to react ^v to things that we humans don't understand. At least 40 percent of the dogs' capacity is as yet unused — we don't know how to tap in to that potential yet."

joakim svensson has a back­ground as an army officer and he had already worked with tracker dogs and mine dogs in the armed forces when he was asked to par­ticipate in the SRSA's operation in Kosovo in 2000. Since then he has been on many more missions to Bosnia, Croatia, Afghanistan and now Lebanon.

"Dogs can find very small quantities of TNT buried up to a metre deep. We humans have to battle our limitations to be able to learn and understand the dog/'

MINEDOGS

• Most Swedish mine dogs are Alsati­ ans or Labradors.

• A mine dog can search an area of 100 square metres in five minutes

• A mine dog can sniff out an anti­personnel mine buried up to a metre deep.

• The training period for a mine dog is about a year, on average.

The basic training of a mine dog is based on TNT. The way it works is that the dog gets to smell a number of cans, one of which con­tains TNT. When the dog puts its nose into the right can it receives a reward. Then the search becomes more varied and the tasks become more difficult, for example, no­ticing whether there is a certain quantity of TNT and not just mi­nor scent traces. Most dogs are also trained on other explosives.

"Dogs can find very small quantities of TNT buried up to a metre deep. We humans have to battle our limitations to be able to learn and understand the dog."

TRADITIONALLY, ALSATIANS and Labradors have been used as mine dogs, but in recent years Belgian Shepherd dogs have also been used.

"We have experience of these breeds and we know how they behave. However, we're currently looking at other breeds, such as Jack Russell terriers. One of the qualities we're looking for is a good scenting instinct. It's important that the dog finds the work fun and exciting and has a good internal motor. It must also be a mentally stable dog, so that we don't get handling problems in the field." ^u A new breed of dog to this context, with a good scenting in­stinct, could make it possible to cut the time spent training mine dogs, which is currently around 12 months. A smaller breed than the Alsatian or Labrador would also make transport easier and reduce the quantity of dog food consumed.

BOTH MALE DOGS AND BITCHES

are used in mine searches. There are limitations with bitches be­cause they cannot work when on heat, while male dogs can be dif­ficult to work with, as they con­stantly seek to compete with each other.

People need time to get accus­tomed to new conditions in a dif­ferent country, and the same ap­plies to dogs. According to Joakim Svensson, however, dogs are much / better at dealing with this transi­tion than humans — partly because they have the same cage and eat the same food, while humans have to adapt to new circumstances. The most important thing for dogs is to get to know the common scents in the new environment.

The journey home from an operation is much worse for mine dogs — for European dogs at least. A quarantine period awaits them on return, which, although short­ened for mine dogs, still involves a long wait. As a result, dogs get bored and lose some of their physi­cal fitness and skills.

Because of these quarantine regulations, European dogs cannot undertake as many operations as dogs from African countries that don't have quarantine regulations. These dogs can travel from opera­tion to operation all over the world.

"The best thing is to train and maintain a dog in the environment in which it works," Svensson says.

THE DOG AND ITS HANDLER are a

team, and if a new handler takes over it takes time for them to get to know each other. They test each other, and often the dog pretends to find a mine every five minutes just to get the reward.

"Dog handlers are also a unique breed. Few jobs are this trying. You have to have full concentra­tion on the dog's every movement. You might not find anything for seven weeks, and then all of a sud­den there's one right in front of you. The job demands individuals with great mental stamina."

Not all dogs pass the tests that form part of the quality assurance process, one of which is to find every mine laid out in a test field.

"I see that as proof that the quality assurance process is good. Others try to use this information against the mine dogs, but out of the three main methods - dogs, mechanical and manual - the dog tests are the most well-developed in demining operations."

Although Joakim Svensson doesn't do demining work person­ally, his work still involves risks.

"When the teams are out at work, I walk behind them to check their work. If they haven't done their job properly then I am at risk," he explains.

"It's a dangerous line of work, and accidents do happen. I've seen civilian victims and the effects on their families."

Joakim Svensson explains that he tries to maintain a professional balance, which sometimes requires the ability to switch his own feel­ings on and off.

"If I see an accident happen, my reasoning is that the same thing will happen again as long as there are mines left. Things don't get bet­ter if I go home - they get worse."

"Often I am met by gratitude and happiness. People often find it hard to believe that we are prepared to sacrifice our lives in Sweden to do this, but for those of us who are in this line of work, it doesn't feel like we are laying down our lives — we are very care­ful in following instructions."

ROUTINE IS THE BIGGEST DANGER

for everyone who works with mine action. There are clear working methods and procedures, but rou­tine is the main cause of the acci­dents that do happen.

"I have made a rule with myself not to be in the field for more than a year and a half at a time, both to break up the routine and to main­tain contact with my daily life in Sweden. And I have a few key phrases on the inside of my door: 'Stick to the rules. Remember the basics. Don't take any risks.' They remind me of what I'm doing."

The SRSA has a good reputa­tion internationally for its work with mine dogs. Joakim Svensson believes that that is essentially a result of political decisions.

"Sweden and Sida have invested money in mine action and estab­lished SWEDEC - the Swedish EOD and Demining Centre. The SRSA has also boosted Swedish mine action."

"Also I believe we have a good tradition of leadership, we're open-minded and we invest a lot in training and preparation. There are not many people out there who work with mine dogs at a manage­ment level, who can see the big picture and the best way to achieve a task with the right combination of resources."