Who’s a Good Boy?

Three metal boxes were spread out across the stage. Zeke’s task was to sniff each one in search of a particular smell. He reached the first box, gave it a sniff, and then ran to the second box. After poking his nose into a hole, Zeke moved to the third box. He gave this one a few sniffs before signaling to his handler, Officer Matthew Prater, that he had found the right one.

“Good job, buddy!” Officer Prater tossed a ball to Zeke who caught it in his mouth as the audience applauded. The pair were performing in the K9 Encounter, a weekly demonstration at the Ark Encounter (the life-size Noah's ark attraction in Kentucky), where Zeke and the other Department of Public Safety (DPS) dogs showed off their skills.

While Zeke chewed on his ball, another officer from the DPS team walked on stage and rearranged the boxes.

Officer Prater took Zeke’s ball and once again gave his dog the cue to search. Zeke took off across the stage. This time, after sniffing each one, he found his target in the second box.

Canine Companions

God created the dog kind on day six of creation week about 6,000 years ago. (A kind refers to animals that can have babies together.) These original canines had all the information in their DNA to produce the different features in the dogs we have today.

When God created Adam, he gave humans dominion (the authority to rule) over all creatures (Genesis 1:26). Since then, humans have practiced dominion by breeding dogs to help us with jobs like hunting, herding, guarding, and pulling sleds.

After Adam and Eve disobeyed God, sin entered the world. Now dogs help us detect sickness, search for lost people, and find drugs or explosives. Thankfully, the Creator equipped dogs like Zeke with amazing abilities to help keep us safe in our fallen world.

K9 Boot Camp

Many places that get lots of visitors, like the Ark Encounter, use K9s (dogs that work with police or public safety departments) to help keep people safe.

K9 is a homophone (a word that sounds like another word) for canine, another name for dog.

Before a dog can become a K9, it goes through a lot of training. When Zeke was just over a year old, the DPS officers began training him to sniff out explosives.

The most important part of a K9’s training is learning obedience. These dogs must listen and immediately respond to their handlers' signals to sit, wait, or search.

Just like a human police officer, Zeke must also go through physical fitness training. Think about trying to yell at the top of your lungs while running. Pretty difficult, right? It’s like that for dogs when they are running while sniffing for a target scent. Zeke must train to build up stamina so he can perform his job well.

Zeke also had to train to detect certain smells. During this stage of training, Zeke was imprinted on an odor—that means he was exposed to the scents he would search for. Zeke eventually learned to recognize the smell of 33 different explosives. When Zeke is searching for a threat, he ignores millions of other scents, even the delicious smell of a hot dog!

K9s also must pass an explosive detection test with a 93% success rate. Most of the dogs don’t make any mistakes at all! That's even better than machines. Machines that search for explosives only find them 60–70% of the time.

Though God has given humans the knowledge and abilities to create technology, he designed dogs with special noses to do what we can only dream of doing. In fact, their sense of smell is so powerful that some dogs can detect a single drop of blood in an Olympic-sized swimming pool!

The Nose Knows

How can a dog smell so well? It all starts inside the nose.

You have quite a few nasal receptors in your nose, allowing you to smell your mom’s fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies before you see them. Scientists don't know exactly how many nasal receptors humans have, but we do know that dogs have more. The average dog has around 300 million nasal receptors. These extra scent receptors mean your dog smells way more than chocolate chip cookies—he can smell each individual ingredient used to make the treat!

But that’s not all. Humans and most animals have a space in the brain devoted to interpreting smells, called the olfactory (ole-FAK-tor-ee) bulb. A dog’s olfactory bulb is about 30 times larger than a human’s.

Dogs also have an extra organ in their noses called the vomeronasal (vah-mer-OH-nay-zul) organ. This organ allows dogs to smell odors that humans can’t smell, including chemicals called pheromones (FEH-ruh-mowns). Animals use pheromones to communicate with one another. Humans also let off pheromones when we feel certain emotions like fear—so it’s true that dogs really can smell when you’re afraid.

With a sniffer like this, it’s no wonder Zeke can sniff out his target!

Throw Me a Bone

If you have a dog at home, you probably know that he’s more likely to sit, stay, or shake if you reward him for his behavior. K9s like Zeke are no different.

Every dog has natural desires, or drives. Some of these include prey, defense, fight, hunt, retrieve, food, possessive, pack, and working. Each dog has some drives that are stronger than others. Maybe you’ve heard someone say their pup is “food motivated.” That means the dog probably has a high food drive—he’ll do anything for a treat. Zeke has a high possessive drive, so he’ll work hard when he knows he’ll get paid with something that belongs to him, like his ball.

Lending a Helping Paw

Zeke has an important job protecting guests. But K9s aren’t the only dogs hard at work in our fallen world—other dogs have special jobs, too. Seeing-eye dogs help guide the blind. Hunting dogs help their humans pursue prey like rabbits and deer. Medical dogs have been trained to sniff for certain sicknesses or to alert their owner when a seizure is about to strike. Search and rescue dogs track down lost people.

Even your pet dog has a purpose. Studies have found that our furry friends have a special way of bringing us happiness and comfort when we feel sad.

God designed dogs with amazing abilities, and he gave us the important job of managing his creatures wisely. With each sickness dogs detect, each person they guide to safety, and each explosive they sniff out, our canine companions help to relieve the effects of our broken world. No wonder we call them man’s best friend!

A Paw-Some Partnership

How did Officer Prater and Zeke become such a great team? We talked with Officer Prater to find out!

How does Zeke know when it’s time to work?
When I put on Zeke's vest and collar, he knows that it’s time to go to work.

Where does Zeke go at the end of a workday?
Zeke comes home with me each night. At the end of the day, Zeke has to know that I’m going to take care of him and look out for him. I spend time outside of work throwing the frisbee or ball with Zeke to grow our trust and build our relationship.

What do you like best about working with Zeke?
I like always having a buddy there to protect me. Zeke is always on guard, and it’s nice to have some level of protection that’s always there with me.

How long does it take to train a K9?
We like to joke that it takes the people holding the leash longer to learn than it takes the dogs. It can take a dog a month or two. A handler can take 2–3 months. But training doesn’t ever really stop because we’re constantly trying to improve.

What is the most challenging part of being a K9 handler?
Being a K9 handler is a lot of responsibility! You have the responsibility of training your dog right and the responsibility of taking care of another living creature. If Zeke gets hurt at work, I have the responsibility of taking care of him at home, too.

K9 Contest!

Does your furry friend have any special skills or tricks? Let us know why your pooch is top dog, and you could win a plush toy of Zeke the K9! Write to us at kidsfeedback@answersmagazine.com or PO Box 510 Hebron, KY 41048. Be sure to include a return address and an adult’s email address. The contest ends on August 31, 2024.