Jackal-husky hybrids.

May 16 — Russian scientists have let the wild dogs out by mating jackals with domesticated dogs to create a canine with a heightened sense of smell that can sniff out bombs, drugs and other threats to flight safety.

Twenty-five of the jackal dog hybrids are now on the job at Sheremetevo Airport in Moscow. Not yet considered to be an official breed, the animals currently are referred to as "Sulimov's dogs."

Klim Sulimov, senior research assistant at the D.S. Likhachev Scientific Research Institute for Cultural Heritage and Environmental Protection in Russia, decided to create the unique hybrid because, in the course of domestication, most dogs out of the wild have lost some of their sense of smell.

According to an Informnauka (Informscience) Agency press release, the jackals were bred with reindeer herding huskies. The result of this coupling was then bred again with huskies, to create a dog that is one-quarter jackal.

Arctic huskies were chosen because, unlike jackals, they do well in cold weather and have a more pleasant, trainable temperament. Also, Northern dogs, like reindeer herding huskies, have a keener sense of smell than most other domesticated canines.

This is because substances become nonvolatile, meaning less smelly, under low temperatures.

In addition to improved detection of odors, Sulimov believes his dogs have other advantages over traditional airport security canines, such as German shepherds.

"(The) hybrids are small in size and can get into narrow slits and other (hard-to-reach) sites in the airplane fuselage to, for example, search for explosive substances," Sulimov told Discovery News through Informnauka interpreter and press officer Nadejda Markina. "They (also) make it clear that they are tired and need to rest (so we can) change to another dog."

He explained that a unique characteristic of the hybrid is that it possesses a coiled tail, a feature inherited from the husky. When the dog becomes tired, the tail drops down, signaling it needs a break, which usually is every 20-30 minutes.

Sulimov indicated that the dogs are a success at the airport. He even said they have helped to catch some airport thieves, who broke open some baggage and wiped off their fingerprints.

The super-sniffing dogs, however, could detect the scent of the men that remained.

Stanly Coren, professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia and author of the book The Intelligence of Dogs, believes that, outside of such wild hybrids, thirteen breeds are best for security work. The top five are the bull mastiff, Doberman pinscher, rottweiler, Komondor and puli.