Hawkeye and his handler were both trained at the USDA detector dog training academy in Georgia, but their training doesn’t stop there. To keep up on his skills, Hawkeye goes through routine practice drills on 5 primary training fruits: apple, guava, citrus, mango, and stone fruits.
From these basic 5 smells, he has learned what an "agricultural smell" is and has learned very quickly that he gets rewards for flowers, plants, insects, soil, animals, mushrooms, etc. To Hawkeye, his job is a game and he is constantly trying to increase the number of rewards he receives (treats!) Through lots of practice and experience; Hawkeye has become a very proficient agricultural detection dog.
In addition to practicing these skills in our County, Hawkeye meets up with 5 northern dog teams every month to practice their skills. It also gives them a chance to interact with the other dog teams.
