RAF/UKBA Scent Carousel
The 18 arm carousel is an adaptation of the NATO 12 arm developed at the same time in conjunction with RAF Northolt Police dog section.
The 18 arm carousel carries 50% more arms giving the dog more options making the probability of guessing less likely as the odds decrease from 1/12 (0.0833333) to 1/18 (0.0555555) when compared to the 12 arms.
With more arms, it’s not just about making it more difficult for the dog or proving statistically the dog’s ability to find the target! It offers more choices which can be used to desensitise none target odours the dog may encounter during operational searches.
Desensitising is an important part of the training as it will help focus the dog on the target and speed up the decision making process.
The 18 arm carousel uses the same scent pots and lids as the 12 arm NATO carousel and they are all interchangeable.
The 18 arm carousel has been adopted by the UKBA and is used to training search dogs in ports and airports.