Can Police Dogs Smell Vapes? Vet-Verified Facts & Info

You already know that dogs have an incredible sense of smell; this is why they’re often used in police work for sniffing out drugs or bombs. Canine breeds working with the police usually have the best sense of smell among dog breeds, too. So, if you’re carrying a vape, you might wonder if a police dog can smell it.

The answer to that question is that they can, but in most cases, they’ll ignore it because it isn’t what they’re hunting for. Here’s what you should know about police dogs when carrying a vape.

What Are Vapes?

You’re probably familiar with vapes, but in case you are not, vapes are e-cigarettes. They are handheld devices that were designed as an alternative to smoking cigarettes wherein nicotine is released in the form of heated water vapor rather than smoke. Though their original purpose was to help wean people off cigarettes, that’s not often how they’re used today.

Vapes have experienced an increase in popularity over the past few years, especially with teens, as they’re less harmful than cigarettes and feature lots of fun flavors. However, this doesn’t mean vaping is completely harmless. Though vapes eliminate smoke and tar, they still contain chemicals that can cause issues with the lungs (plus, there’s the whole nicotine addiction that comes along with them).

Can Police Dogs Smell Vapes?

A police dog can smell vapes because they have an incredible sense of smell. Whether they’ll be interested in the vape or not depends, though.

The main reason this depends on is that police dogs are trained to scent out a handful of things. Most police dogs are trained to locate illegal substances, like cocaine, meth, or marijuana. However, nicotine isn’t illegal, so many canines aren’t taught to sniff that out, which means they’ll smell the vape and move past it because it isn’t what they want.

There are exceptions to this, though. Because vaping has taken off with kids still in school, some canines are taught to locate nicotine, and some schools invite these police dogs onto campus specifically to find vapes. So, if a dog has been trained to smell nicotine, they will absolutely smell and react to a vape.

The other reason a dog might react to smelling a vape is because not all vapes are used for only nicotine. Vapes can also be used for illegal substances, like marijuana. If a police dog trained to locate marijuana comes sniffing around and you’re vaping that, they’re going to find it.

So, dogs can smell vapes regardless of what they hold, but whether they react depends on what they’ve been trained to detect and what you’re vaping.

How Are Drug Dogs Trained?

How are drug dogs trained to learn the scents of certain substances and then indicate they’ve been found?

Well, it all starts with playtime. A potential drug dog is given a toy that has no scent on it. Once the dog has gotten used to playing with the toy and seeks it out constantly, the real training begins.

At this point, a handler will put the drug scent on the toys. The toy is hidden in different places, and the dog’s job is to hunt the toy down. Once they’ve found it, they get a play reward. Hiding these toys starts off easy but gradually becomes more difficult as the toy is hidden in places that are much harder to find. The dog is searching out the scent of the illegal substance but thinks they’re seeking out their toy.

Finally, a dog is taught to exhibit a certain behavior to signal they have found their toy. This could be sitting down, bowing, barking, etc. Once the dog has mastered this, they are able to locate the scent of the substance at any given time and then give the signal when they find it.

Can I Hide My Vape From a Police Dog?

You cannot. A police dog is going to smell a vape, whether that’s what they’re looking for or not. If you’re concerned about running into a police dog with your vape because nicotine isn’t allowed at your school or work or because you’re vaping a product with drugs, even leaving the vape at home may not work. The dog may still smell the odor of nicotine or drugs on you or your clothes.

Final Thoughts

Dogs have an incredible sense of smell, which is why they’re used so often in police work. Police dogs can sniff out any number of items, including bombs and illegal substances.

Sometimes, these dogs are also trained to locate nicotine, although that’s fairly rare since this substance is legal for adults. Just because a police dog isn’t trained to sniff out nicotine, though, doesn’t mean they won’t smell a vape; they’ll smell the vape, just like they do all the scents surrounding them. However, if that isn’t what they’re trying to find, they won’t react.

Since the dogs detect odors, they can smell the presence of drugs or nicotine even if you don’t have them on you. Just because you leave the vape at home won’t stop a dog from smelling its odor on you.

Featured Image Credit: Dmytro Tyshchenko, Shutterstock