We are seeking advice from other agencies on how K-9 handlers safely use their dogs to sniff inmates for contraband. We recently added a barrier for the inmates' safety, but have run into an issue where the dog is alerting on the barrier itself instead of drug odor. We are trying to avoid building that false association and would like to hear how others have addressed this in training.
If your agency uses a barrier or similar setup, what methods have worked to keep the dog focused on the actual odor source rather than the equipment? Any tips on training repetitions, reward timing, handler adjustments, or best practices would be appreciated.