ABOVE: Miller gives Abbey a drink of water. amounts of the assigned detection material, such as dynamite. The course includes various containers and environmental elements a dog might encounter. The dogs must walk on high planks and see-through grated steps, for example. The dogs must sniff file cabinets, lockers, stacked plastic drums, wooden enclosures, a car, a sofa, a truck bed, high grass, cement pipes, mailboxes and wooden cable spools. After Miller's detection dogs can handle his backyard course, he takes them to warehouses, factories and railyards. He may take them at noon or at 3 a.m. "A dog has to be ready to work at any hour, in any environment, without distraction," Miller said. Standard-Examiner "Lives may depend on it." Shedding aggression Miller also works with family pets, whose future lifestyles depend on learning not to be aggressive. "I've got one almost ready to go back home," Miller said. "Sometimes people think it's cute when a puppy nips at their heels, but they don't realize the dog is going to grow and the aggression is going to escalate." Owners make the mistake of thinking man's best friend thinks like a human. People try to bribe and argue their pets out of bad behavior, but dogs need focused training and commands they can understand, applied consistently. That's what Murfee is getting, and the pup that was almost road kill is thriving. And, it turns out, Murfee was born to greatness. McWhorter was working with Murfee once when a cowboy came by, and the dog went wild at seeing the man. Seems the man bred purebred Australian shepherds and was out of town nearly a year ago when a purebred pup, already promised to a buyer, escaped from its enclosure. The man had feared the worst and was happy Murfee had found a good life with new owners. "So my mutt's a purebred," McWhorter said. "I'm so happy I got to keep him. I love this dog." Agility-bound