ABOUT US

Meet the Dogs

BO

New Project

Bo was trained by IronHeart High Performance Working Dogs and has been a member of DBD since 2011.  Bo love’s his job and is all business when he is working.  Bo has been our logo and superstar from the beginning. Bo has been  NESDCA Certified
since2012.

BG

Gogg

BG was trained by IronHeart High Performance Working Dogs and has been a member of DBD since 2015.  BG is a sweet and methodical 13-inch beagle. BG has been NESDCA Certified
since 2016.

Bindi

Dog

Bindi was trained by IronHeart High Performance Working Dogs and joined DBD in 2021. Bindi is a high-energy beagle with a nose that never stops. DBD is looking forward to getting Bindi NESDCA Certified
in 2022.

BLEU

New Project (1)

Bleu was trained by IronHeart High Performance Working Dogs and joined the team based in Madison, WI in 2021.  Bleu is a 15-inch beagle and has an amazing drive. We look forward to getting Bleu NESDCA Certified
in 2022.

Dog Training & Certification

Ironheart High-Performance Working Dogs

Prior to joining DBD, all of our dogs were trained at Ironheart. During these months, the dogs were introduced to the scent of bedbugs and trained to provide an appropriate alert when bedbugs are detected. Much of this time is spent differentiating the pheromones given off by live bedbugs and their eggs from other associated scents (e.g., fecal spots, dead bedbugs). All of DBD’s dogs are food rewarded and their alert is a 3-step process ending in them sitting and waiting to receive food.

NESDCA

The National Entomological Scent Detection Canine Association is the gold standard in the industry. To maintain certification each detection team must recertify annually. While the industry does not require certification, DBD is dedicated to providing the very best, most accurate, service to our clients.

Our services and inspectors

Visual Inspections

While beagles are, for multiple reasons, the perfect breed for bedbug detection, there are places a beagle nose can’t go. So, when the handlers aren’t working with a canine, they are providing a thorough visual inspection. Focusing on areas inaccessible to a canine and looking for other signs of bedbugs. Additionally, all canine alerts are visually confirmed to determine the extent of infestation.

Canine Handlers

The main job of our handlers is to give their canines the opportunity to successfully inspect an area of interest. Secondarily, our handlers must be vigilant to the canine’s body language. A change in body language is the first step of the canine’s 3-step alert. This signals the handler to give the canine more freedom to explore the immediate area. The second step is an increased level of focused deep sniffs. The third step is the canine sitting in front of the target and waiting to be rewarded. This is why NESDCA certifies a canine & handler as a team.

Education

DBD’s co-owner, Denise Patton, has a Master’s Degree in Entomology from the University of Nebraska, and her full-time job is as the Entomologist for the City of Sioux Falls. She also has a commercial chemical applicator’s license. This makes her an incredible resource to our clients. Additionally, she has created educational presentations for organizations (e.g., hotels, property managers, hospitals, eldercare facilities) to help their employees understand what they can do to manage the threat of bedbugs.

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