Ambiguity, Ambivalence, and Affective Encounters: An Ethnographic Account of Medical Detection Dog–Trainer Relationships

Abstract

A relatively novel application of dogs' olfactory capabilities involves training them to detect and alert to the odour of human diseases. Drawing on research using ethnographic methods of participant observation and semi-structured interviews at two medical detection dog training and research facilities, this paper examines interspecies relationships and knowledge production during the medical detection dog training process. This study aims to understand how trainers experience this work. However, the analysis moves beyond a wholly anthropocentric focus by considering the agency of both human and non-human animal. Within the medical detection dog domain, ambivalent human perceptions towards the dogs are identified. On the one hand, the dogs are perceived as machine-like extra-sensory tools that can be employed to identify odours imperceptible to the human nose. Simultaneously, however, the trainers understand the dogs as agentic individuals: a perception associated with the potential for unpredictability or ambiguity in a dog's search behaviour. To overcome such ambiguity, trainers learn to "listen" to the dogs and rely on interpretive flexibility in order to successfully interpret a dog's behaviour. The analysis finds medical detection dog training encounters to be mutually affective as both parties are changed in the process. In this context, knowledge is produced collaboratively, though not equally as attention to the power relations that underpin this interspecies work reveals asymmetries reflected in the training system. This study builds on previous literature that has shown ambivalence to be central to the relationships between humans and other species, and extends our understanding of interspecies work practices.

All Creatures Great and Small: A Review and Typology of Employee-Animal Interactions

“…Service dogs often go through multiyear training from puppyhood to perform specialized tasks, such as guiding individuals with visual impairments; detecting medical emergencies, such as seizures; or providing support to veterans who struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Abraham et al, 2022;Craigon et al, 2017). The humans they serve must then learn to "operate" the animals that are technically classified as "medical equipment" (Holland, 2022).…”

“…They also tend to hold low beliefs in speciesism—the belief that animals are inherently inferior to humans (Knight & Sang, 2020; Leach, Kitchin, Sutton, & Dhont, 2023). Instead, they profess agentic views of animals as autonomous and sentient beings with unique personalities, desires, and capacities (Holland, 2022; Oehler, 2021; Schuurman, 2021; Yam, Tang, & Lam, 2023). In short, though the work takes diverse forms, all champion the animals’ needs.…”

“…More research has been conducted on their experience of engaging in such work. Whereas working for animals requires specialization only for the human employee (e.g., veterinary training), working with animals generally requires extensive training for both, often together, and uniquely tailored to each partner's needs and skills (Holland, 2022). For instance, drug- and medical-detection dogs must be trained to use their superior olfactory abilities to detect specific scents to extend the abilities of teams in law enforcement (Adams & Johnson, 1994).…”

“…Human employees work hard to learn and interpret their behaviors and intentions (Jalongo & Guth, 2022) and take into account their past experiences, feelings, and actions (Schuurman, 2021). Medical-detection trainers, for instance, “build an understanding of the nuances of that dog's body language in order to deduce further information” (Holland, 2022, p. 266). Despite their instrumental classification, animals are generally seen not as “possessions or tools for humans to use” (Taylor, Fraser, Signal, & Prentice, 2016, p. 136) but as individuals deserving of consideration and respect.…”

“…Together, these examples illustrate the many ways in which today's employees encounter and work with animals (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2021). More organizations are enacting pet-friendly policies (Hall & Mills, 2019), and more professions are integrating animals in novel arrangements, such as therapy assistance (Brazier, 2014) and medical detection (Holland, 2022).…”