Airscent usually refers to search dogs that use airscenting techniques to search areas. Airscent dogs work with their nose in the air, will ignore ground scent and will follow and locate people by catching the “hot” scent of people on the wind. Airscenting techniques are very effective for covering large areas quickly and can produce high probabilities of detection if conditions are good for airscenting. Airscent dogs usually work off lead. Most are trained to find the victim, alert the handler when the victim is found and return the handler to the victim.  criminal justice NY

Cadaver dogs can locate entire bodies (including those buried or submerged), decomposed bodies, body fragments (including blood, tissue, hair, and bones) or skeletal remains. Cadaver dogs, also trained as water dogs, can be useful in drowning situations. criminal justice NY

Trailing dogs are trained to follow a specific human scent, which may or may not approximate the path the person took because of factors affecting the dispersal of scent such as wind and temperature. Trailing dogs will follow the route of scent deposited on the ground as a person moves through an area. A trained trailing dog can follow the steps of someone who passed several days earlier, discriminate between it and another’s trail, and follow it over hills and through marshland. Dogs Can even trail people in cars, from the scent that blows out of the window or through the vents of the car. criminal justice NY