Heroes
Dogs Sniff Out Cancer: A Scent-sational Breakthrough!
Quick Smiles:
- Pioneering pooches in the UK are being trained to detect bowel cancer through scent.
- These talented canines have already shown promise in identifying Parkinson’s and COVID-19.
- The initiative aims to offer a more sensitive early-stage cancer detection method.
In a groundbreaking venture, a group of gifted dogs in the UK is making waves by being the first to be trained to detect bowel cancer through scent.
This innovative study, initiated by the Medical Detection Dogs charity in 2024, involves teaching seven dogs to identify tumors by sniffing urine samples.
The group includes cocker spaniels, Labradors, and a retriever, all of whom have shown significant progress in the initial phase of their training.
These results are encouraging researchers, as the dogs have demonstrated their ability to identify bowel cancer in urine.
However, they will soon undergo a new phase of double-blind tests, aiming for 100% confirmation of their findings.
The charity hopes these dogs will provide an accurate and faster early-stage bowel cancer detection method than current human capabilities.
This could lead to healthier outcomes and potentially save lives.
In addition to bowel cancer, these dogs have been trained to detect a variety of conditions, including Parkinson’s disease, pseudomonas, COVID-19, Addison’s disease, and heart conditions like postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS).
“The charity has been investigating the odor of diseases for 15 years,” shared Gemma Butlin, head of communications at the charity in Milton Keynes.
“The bowel cancer study is new to us, but detection is not.”
The training process involves early scent training, where the dogs learn to identify diseases in urine samples.
As the training progresses, the sample sizes decrease, and the dogs learn to detect diseases even in samples from patients with other conditions.
Sample pots from Hull University Teaching Hospitals are placed on interactive metal stands designed by The Open University.
These stands feed data through to a computer, logging every sniff, and the dogs signal their findings by standing still or sitting.
“When they sniff the odor, they give us a signal such as sitting or standing to indicate the smell,” explained Gemma.
“If they identify a positive sample, which takes less than 10 seconds, they’ll get lots of treats, cuddles, and affection.”
Gemma also emphasized the importance of bonding between the dogs and their trainers, ensuring the process is enjoyable.
“The first and most important thing is that we need to prove that they can smell cancer from the samples.”
“At the moment, we’ve got them smelling 1ml of urine per pot—which, as you can imagine, is a minimal amount.”
The same method has been successfully applied to detect prostate and bladder cancer from urine samples.
These talented dogs joined the charity at just eight weeks old, coming from breeders or rescue organizations.
Now, they are starting to have puppies of their own.
“We’ve just welcomed our second-ever litter of puppies from our dogs, so we’re hoping to source more of them ourselves.”
This inspiring project is a testament to the incredible abilities of our canine companions and their potential to make a significant impact on human health.

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