Support APOPO's Minefield Survey HeroDOGs

Thank you for supporting APOPO’s HeroDOGs. In a world where conflict continues to affect communities, your support makes a positive impact by helping our HeroDOG teams identify hazardous areas so demining teams can focus their work where it is most needed, contributing to the steady progress of humanitarian demining efforts.

In this update, we share the latest news from our HeroDOG teams, including recent work in Ukraine and Cambodia, as well as how the dogs continue to train and prepare for operations.

HeroDOGs in Ukraine

In Ukraine, with your support, the HeroDOGs have been identifying hazardous areas so they can be safely prioritized for follow-up clearance.

Survey work plays a crucial role in humanitarian demining. By accurately detecting the presence or absence of explosives, the HeroDOG teams define safe boundaries, reduce unnecessary clearance, and focus resources where they are most urgently needed. This makes the overall demining process faster, safer, and more efficient.

Nick Guest, APOPO Ukraine Program Manager: “Ukraine’s challenge is not only clearing mines, but releasing land safely and at the speed communities need. Technical Survey Dogs help confirm where contamination is present – and just as importantly, where it is not – so land can be returned sooner and clearance resources focused where they matter most.”

APOPO is also continuing to invest in the training of Ukrainian staff. Since December, members of APOPO’s Ukraine team have been taking part in intensive training at APOPO’s Global Dog Training Center in Cambodia, delivered in cooperation with the Cambodian Mine Action Center. The program includes safeguarding, first aid, and manual demining instruction, helping strengthen the team’s operational and safety skills.

This training is supported by the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and delivered in partnership with MAG (Mines Advisory Group).

During the winter months in Ukraine, extremely low temperatures make fieldwork difficult. Cold conditions can affect scent detection and reduce the dogs’ stamina, so operations pause until conditions improve. Operations pause during this period and are expected to resume in the coming weeks as spring approaches and conditions improve.

During stand down periods, we focus on physical conditioning of the HeroDOGs and having fun, including long walks that maintain strength, endurance, and overall fitness.

Alongside this, the dogs continue light scent-detection exercises, including sniffing training near a brick wall where small quantities of explosive scent are hidden. These sessions are designed to keep the dogs’ detection skills sharp while keeping training relaxed and low intensity.

The winter stand-down period also gives the HeroDOGs time to rest and spend relaxed time with their handlers before operations resume in the spring.

HeroDOGs in Cambodia

In Cambodia, APOPO’s teams continue to support efforts to remove landmines and other explosive remnants left behind by decades of conflict. As operations move further inland from the Thai border, teams are helping make land safer for local communities and for the protection of important cultural heritage sites.

Temple environments such as Koh Ker present particular challenges. Uneven ground, dense vegetation, collapsed structures, and sensitive archaeological features make mechanical clearance difficult or impossible. Technical survey dogs like APOPO’s HeroDOGs are therefore a valuable asset. They are trained to work confidently across difficult terrain, adapting to slopes, rubble, and irregular surfaces while maintaining precise detection standards.

APOPO’s dogs are currently trained at APOPO’s Global Dog Training Center in Cambodia, led by Jenny Rodríguez. Earlier this year, Jenny’s work was highlighted in a Women in STEM feature on APOPO’s website, recognizing her role in maintaining the high standards of training and animal welfare that support our detection dog programs.

FAQ: How do the HeroDOGs detect landmines without being at risk?

A dog’s nose encounters the scent of explosives before the rest of its body reaches the source, giving it a natural safety advantage during detection work. Training builds on this ability in a very controlled way.

When a HeroDOG detects the scent of explosives, they are trained to sit immediately, keeping their body well clear of the target. This means a HeroDOG will typically sit around one meter away, with his nose pointed directly toward the hidden explosive. This clear, consistent signal allows handlers to mark the location accurately without any contact with the device itself.

Safety is paramount in all APOPO operations. APOPO maintains strict safety protocols in all operations, and no detection animal — dog or rat — has ever been injured or killed during mine detection work. This is something we take extremely seriously. Dogs are only deployed to operational minefields after rigorous training and testing. Before working in the field, they must successfully pass national accreditation tests that require 100% accuracy. Áll of APOPO’s training and deployment procedures are carefully designed to keep animals and handlers safe while maintaining precise detection standards.

We hope you found your latest update informative and if you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out to me at emma.mortiboy@apopo.org, and I will be happy to help! In the meantime, thank you for your continued support of our incredible HeroDOGs. With your generosity, we are removing the threat of injury or death to thousands living in fear of these remnants of war. Thank you.