INTERPOL SENT A QUESTIONNAIRE TO THE NATIONAL CENTRAL INTERPOL BUREAUS OF 13 COUNTRIES WHICH WERE KNOWN TO USE DOGS TO DETECT DRUGS-- CANADA, THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF GERMANY, FRANCE, HONG KONG, ISRAEL, ITALY, THE NETHERLANDS, NORWAY, SINGAPORE, SWEDEN, UNITED ARAB REPUBLIC (ARAB REPUBLIC OF EGYPT), THE UNITED KINGDOM, AND THE UNITED STATES. (IT WAS LATER FOUND THAT DOGS WERE NOT USED IN HONG KONG AND SINGAPORE.) THE USE OF DOGS TO DETECT DRUGS IS A RECENT INNOVATION IN MOST COUNTRIES, EXCEPT THE UNITED ARAB REPUBLIC AND ISRAEL WHERE DOGS HAVE BEEN USED FOR THIS KIND OF WORK SINCE 1938 AND 1951 RESPECTIVELY. TWO BREEDS OF DOG, LABRADORS AND GERMAN SHEPHERDS, ARE USED IN FAIRLY EVEN PROPORTIONS BY THE COUNTRIES CONSULTED SINCE THEY COMBINE THE NECESSARY QUALITIES OF A GOOD SENSE OF SMELL, RETRIEVING INSTINCT, SOUND TEMPERAMENT, TENACITY, AND LIVELINESS. LENGTH OF TRAINING OF THE DOGS VARIED CONSIDERABLY FROM COUNTRY TO COUNTRY AND RANGES FROM 6 WEEKS TO 12 MONTHS, WITH THE OPTIMUM AGE OF THE DOG BEING BETWEEN 8 AND 18 MONTHS. ALL COUNTRIES AGREE THAT THE TRAINING PERIOD SHOULD ENCOMPASS THE FOLLOWING PHASES: PERIOD OF ADJUSTMENT FOR DOG AND HANDLERS; PERIOD DURING WHICH THE DOGS LEARN OBEDIENCE; PERIOD WHEN THE DOGS ARE TAUGHT TO RETRIEVE OBJECTS; AND CONDITIONING PERIOD IN DETECTING DRUGS. MOST COUNTRIES TRAIN DOGS TO DETECT MORE THAN ONE DRUG, USUALLY OPIUM AND CANNABIS, ALTHOUGH IN SWEDEN DOGS ARE TRAINED TO ALSO DETECT PSYCHOTROPIC SUBSTANCES. QUESTIONNAIRE ANSWERS SHOW THAT DOGS CAN DETECT DRUGS EASILY ANYWHERE, EVEN WHEN WRAPPED, BUT THEY SHOULD BE WORKED IN A QUIET PLACE, FREE FROM SMELLS, FOR A RELATIVELY SHORT PERIOD (15 TO 30 MINUTES). TWO HOURS WORK PER DAY IS THE MAXIMUM, AND THE AVERAGE NUMBER OF YEARS A DOG CAN BE WORKED IS 8. THE OVERALL COST OF A DOG IS CONSIDERABLE, BUT THE USE OF DOGS FOR DETECTING OPIUM AND CANNABIS, AS WELL AS OTHER SUBSTANCES IN SOME INSTANCES, OUTWEIGH THE EXPENSE. (MJW)