Scent detection is the practice of training dogs to identify and alert to specific target odors, making use of their extraordinary olfactory capabilities. Dogs have up to 300 million scent receptors compared to humans' 6 million, making them exceptionally effective at this work. Dogs are trained to recognize particular scent signatures and indicate when they've found them, typically through a specific trained behavior like sitting, scratching, or lying down. The training uses positive reinforcement, rewarding the dog when they correctly identify the target scent while ignoring non-target odors. Effective scent detection requires consistency, precision in training methodology, proper reward systems, and regular maintenance training to keep skills sharp. The handler must also learn to read their dog's subtle behavioral cues indicating detection.