When kids and young adults are abusing drugs, it’s a challenge for parents to confront them about their problems. It’s much easier to deny the warning signs or to just wait for these young adults to seek out help; but, when kids are dying from drug overdoses, it’s reasonable for parents to worry and want to do more to prevent addiction from taking hold of their children.

In New Jersey and Ohio, a company called Sniff Dogs rents drug detection dogs to parents and employers to find any traces of illegal drugs like marijuana, cocaine, meth, heroin, and ecstasy. It’s one way for parents to find out if substances are present inside their home or if chemical residue from the drugs lingers on their child’s dirty laundry.

If the dogs find something or nothing at all, communication between the parent and child is priceless. Talking about drugs with kids or teens lays the foundation that they need to fend off the peer pressure or low self-esteem that can lead to drug abuse. If the child is already using or suffering from addiction, talking about the problem is the first step to getting help.

While drug sniffing dogs may be a discrete method for dealing with addiction at home for some families, it may not work well in all parent and child relationships. ABC News reported that some psychologists are highly critical of parents using drug dogs and other surveillance methods, because it implies a lack of trust on the parent’s behalf. Kids need to feel that they can go to their parents for help, but that is tough to accomplish without a mutual sense of trust and respect.

As a parent, would you consider using a service like this one to find out if your child is using drugs?

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