Can a dog be trained to find gold or silver?

[Honest Samuel]

I recently watched a work dog sniff the outside of a car and find a small amount of drugs inside. It got me thinking. I asked the handler if you can train him to find precious metals and he said it was certainly possible. He said they find bombs and all sorts of things these days. Anyone ever try this? Thoughts?

No, just lives and dead bodies, illegal drugs, bombs, land mines, and plants and seeds not allow in our country.

 

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[Peyton Manning]

the noticeable difference is between organic and inorganic. metal can only be smelled if it was handled

 

[AlabamaClay]

I've thought about this. I figured it wouldn't work on gold due to its lack of reactivity. Silver on the other hand may be detectable due to oxidation which a dog may be able to detect.

 

[Tommybuckets]

Whammy, I think Applecrack means anti tank and anti personell (Land) mines. The nitrates would definitely make these easier to sniff out than treasure. I think dogs can be trained to find silver since when you get a bunch of old silver coins together they definitely give off an odor, albeit very mild.

 

[ivan salis]

sure ever heard of a "golden retriever"...

 

[G.I.B.]

Resurrecting a post from October 2014 can only mean one thing....


It's winter up north!

 

[jrf30]

"I always heard coyotes and fox can smell a steel trap buried an inch or so under the soil"
I think they can smell the human who placed it there more than the trap itself.

 

[sonofdust]

It would be nice not only to train a dog to detect coins and jewels but to dig them up. I try teaching Tippy my cat to detect coins and jewels, and she was so anger with me, she urine on my shoes and my beds for months. Good hunting and good luck. You are on your own.

Honest Samuel
Please leave the poor cat alone and you may want to check your headphones next time?
GL&HH

 

[Grumpie]

If I had a dog that would track down gold I would clone him and sell the clones it would be much more profitable.
Being in a area that has lost gold mines would be more realistic for the dog to locate. The animals that frequent those types of areas the dog could smell, like bats or bat dung

 

[RustyGold]

After owning and training several dogs to respond to hand signals I've come to the conclusion that dogs are on high alert and much more aware than we give them credit for.
While we are lost in a buttery Disneyesque world they have had eons of hardcore reading of the signs all around them.
I believe you can train the dog to find the gold it's just training the human that's the tough one. IMHO as always.

 

[lastleg]

I prefer using goldfish.

 

[Honest Samuel]

I had raise goldfish, but they all died. I am so sad.