{
  "id": 6592591,
  "title": "Hungry scent detection dogs more likely to 'cry wolf'",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/10/hungry-scent-detection-dogs-more-likely-to-cry-wolf",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-10T13:40:01.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Phys.org",
    "slug": "phys-org",
    "url": "https://phys.org/news/2026-09-hungry-scent-dogs-cry-wolf.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Research shows that hungry scent detection dogs are more likely to make false alarms when working for treats. The study, led by University of Waikato and Adelaide University researchers, found that hungry dogs working for treats were more prone to falsely identifying non-target scents as the target. This happens because dogs become more motivated and biased toward finding the desired scent when they are hungry. The findings have implications for dogs working in critical environments, such as conservation, disease detection, explosives, and landmine detection, where accurate scent identification is crucial. The research, published in the Journal of Learning and Motivation, involved six dogs trained to detect a target mixture of four odors. Prior to the study, dogs were either fed or allowed to remain hungry before completing scent-detection sessions. The results showed that, despite maintaining an average accuracy rate of 90% in identifying the target scent, hungry dogs produced more false alarms compared to well-fed dogs. Associate Professor Tim Edwards from the University of Waikato explained that hunger changes the likelihood of a dog falsely identifying a target scent, rather than simply affecting their overall smelling ability. The study also revealed considerable individual variation among dogs, suggesting that factors like diet, training, reinforcement, and working conditions could impact scent detection performance. Researchers advise considering feeding strategies carefully when planning scent detection work, acknowledging that further research is needed to fully understand how these findings apply to real-world scenarios.",
  "summary": "Dogs trained in scent detection may be better at sniffing out the right smell after breakfast, with new research finding hungry dogs working for treats are more likely to falsely identify the wrong scent. The study, led by researchers from the University of Waikato and Adelaide University, explored how meal timing affected dogs' accuracy in detecting target scents.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}