Hungry Dogs Are Worse at Their Jobs

A new study shows that scent-detection dogs are more likely to make mistakes and give false alarms when they haven't eaten.

We all get a little grumpy and lose focus when we are hungry. It turns out, dogs are the same way. A new study shows that dogs trained to sniff out specific scents, like those working at airports or for police, do a worse job when they are hungry. When these dogs have an empty stomach, they are more likely to make mistakes. They often give what is called a "false alarm." This means they tell their handlers they smell something important when there really isn't anything there at all. Researchers found that this happens because a hungry dog is easily distracted. They are so busy looking for …