They're not all good dogs: TSA prefers to use floppy-eared bomb hounds

Expect to see more floppy-eared good boys at your local airport in 2019.

In an effort to put passengers at ease, the Transportation Security Administration says it is deploying more floppy-eared dogs to detect explosives in airports. Their pointy-eared brethren, apparently, tend to make us more nervous.

“We find the passenger acceptance of floppy-ear dogs is just better,” TSA Administrator David Pekoske told the Washington Examiner. He added that a pup with downward-facing dog ears is "just a little bit less of a concern. Doesn’t scare children."

According to the Los Angeles Times, the TSA trains a total of seven breeds. Two have pointy ears: German shepherds and Belgian Malinois. The five TSA-approved dog breeds with floppy ears are Labrador retrievers, German shorthaired pointers, wirehaired pointers, Vizslas, and golden retrievers.

We reached out to the TSA to ask if there was any actual difference in a floppy-eared dog's temperament, or whether any studies addressed the question of which kind of canine people are more comfortable with. The agency replied that it could not respond due to the partial government shutdown.

We'll have to wait to find out whether they are, in fact, all good dogs.