Dogs – a surveyors best friend ?

The US government recently spent 19 billion dollars on researching how to better detect bombs, at the end of this they concluded nothing beats a dog’s nose. How can this help you on a survey? At Enviro-Dogs we offer a dry rot detection dog service which are available for surveys around the UK.

How does it work?

The dogs work in the same way as a police search dog; they search purely for the odor or dry rot (Serpula lacrymans) in all its stages of growth. This means they are able to assist on surveys by effectively searching the areas that can’t be seen.
The dog’s work is completely non-destructive, there’s no need to drill holes or used other destructive surveying methods. When our dogs make a find they get as close as possible to the source of the scent and then stop, stare and point with their nose at the source of the scent. Once the discovery has been marked by the dog handler the dog gets its game with a ball as a reward.

A dry rot find made by search dog Jess. The now exposed hardboard floor coverings were glued down when she indicated. When exposed the white mycelium was exposed.

What are the benefits of using a dog to assist on a survey?

• Dogs can find dry rot without any visible presence.
• Furniture and floor coverings are not a barrier to the scent the dogs detect.
• Dogs can cover rooms accurately and quickly; the average room will take just a couple of minutes to search.
• The earlier dry rot is found the better the result for the client.
• The dogs can distinguish between dry rot and other less damaging fungus which may grow in buildings such as elf cup fungus (Peziza domiciliana).
• The dog’s search gives the customers extra piece of mind about a property.
• Offering the services of a dog on top of a traditional survey can make you more appealing to customers.

When are the dogs useful?

• Pre-purchase surveys
• Older properties where the risk of damp is so much higher.
• Properties in a state of disrepair.
• Buildings where the contents make accessing areas difficult.
• After flooding or other water related damage.
• Dilapidation surveys
• In building with known dry rot. The dogs can help identify the extent and any other areas that are yet to become visible.