We’ve received a comment from a gentleman that seems to really question our use of The Captain in investigations, and also  seems bothered by the use of dogs in the paranormal field in general. Due to the hostile tone of the comment, I’ve decided to take the high road and not get into a personal exchange with this individual, but to take this as an opportunity to publicly address the general science behind The Captain’s training for those who may remain legitimately skeptical.

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The following are scientifically proven facts that be easily confirmed with a simple internet search. Dogs can smell diseases in humans, detecting cancer in patients before the multi-million dollar pieces of medical equipment are able to. Cadaver dogs have located drowning victims that were over 80 feet below the water’s surface. The Military, Federal Government, local law enforcement, and the medical field all rely heavily on dogs. Dogs in these fields will detect and sniff for bombs, drugs, people trapped under rubble from disasters or feet of snow after an avalanche, fugitives or missing persons, and so much more making the world a better place for us all. Again I will reiterate a scientifically proven fact; dogs can smell electromagnetic fields and the ozone which is emitted. That being said I’m not sure how this simple concept could seem so improbable.

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My methodology was also attacked by this individual. This is understandable as someone with no experience training dogs might not understand how it works. Again a simple internet search will reveal the basics of K-9 scent work. This is the foundation of any training in related fields such as search and rescue, bomb/drug sniffing, cadaver recovery, forensics, medical alert / detection dogs, and so on. Every one of these dogs you might see in action started in the same place. Formal training always begins with the dogs looking for hidden treats and being rewarded by a handler thus building the understanding that the task at hand is. This tells the dogs that we want them to sniff out and locate a predetermined item, and then let us know they’ve found it. That is the first step, not the endgame. Training is a process and you move on until you get the desired result without the crutch and continue training well after that. Due to the language/species barrier, we can’t reason with dogs, no matter how hard you try. We communicate with dogs through training.

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It’s a simple fact that the better understanding one has of the field they are going into, the more successful they will be. I have done a tremendous amount of work to make sure that The Captain’s field presence is nothing less than an asset to the team, our clients, the paranormal community, and both Captain and myself. Otherwise I wouldn’t bother spending a large chunk of my free time training and researching the subject. I am confident in the science behind my hypothesis, but am not too proud to recognize there is an alternate viewpoint. If you have anything (scientific, not opinion) that contradicts ANY of the work I’m doing, please feel free to bring it to my attention. I’m able to admit when I’ve made a mistake and would acknowledge it publically if proven wrong.

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-Josh