You ’ ve found the house of your dreams – but you want to make sure the costly nightmare of dry rot isn ’ t lurking under the carpets and skirting boards . The solution ? Call in the dogs ! The appropriately named Mark Doggett has trained his two animals to sniff out the destructive fungus in old houses where it can hide in places a person would miss . Mr Doggett gave up a ten-year career in construction after hitting on the idea to set up a business using the animals ’ sense of smell , which is said to be up to a million times better than that of humans . Skilled : Meg and Jess , pictured with Mark Doggett , were trained for six months to sniff out dry rot . On the case : Four-year-old Border collie Meg gets down to work sniffing out the destructive fungus . When they find dry rot they stop , stare at it and point with their nose , only moving from the affected area when Mr Doggett gives them a special signal . After six months of training , four-year-old border collie Meg and 22-month-old English springer spaniel Jess went to work . When they find dry rot they stop , stare at it and point with their nose , only moving from the affected area when Mr Doggett gives them a special signal . The businessman , 30 , from Wolverhampton , whose company is called Enviro-Dogs , said : ‘ We ’ re unique in offering a dry rot detection service using dogs to the public . The dogs can go out to domestic properties or surveyors can hire us as part of their report . Dry rot is wood decay caused by the fungus Serpula lacrymans that digests the parts of the wood which give it strength . By the time there are visible signs , serious damage will have been done . It begins as a microscopic spore but the final stage is a fruiting body which pumps out new spores . Once airborne they can damage all parts of a property , penetrating brickwork and concrete floors seeking a wood source . If not treated , it can destroy a building . “ It ’ s not really work for the dogs – they see it as the best game in the world and they enjoy it because it ’ s working on their natural instincts . The dogs are so effective because they can detect dry rot at much earlier stages . ‘ In hidden places dry rot can grow for years without anyone noticing it . It can be hard to find but the dogs can detect it through carpet and wall panelling . ‘ It takes a couple of minutes for the dog to search a room . People are slightly dubious when they first hear about us but after seeing what we can do they ’ re amazed. ’ Prices start at £200 for a call-out and the business has been so successful Mr Doggett plans to expand it by training the dogs to hunt out bed bugs for hotels and hospitals . The businessman , 30 , from Wolverhampton , whose company is called Enviro-Dogs , said : ‘ We ’ re unique in offering a dry rot detection service using dogs to the public . ' By the time there are visible signs of dry rot , serious damage will have been done . To call out Mr Doggett and his pair of sniffer dogs to hunt for dry rot cost £200 . Mr Doggett now plans to train his dogs to sniff out bed bugs for hospitals and hotels .
Doggett has trained his two dogs to sniff out the destructive fungus . His Border collie and English springer spaniel had six months training . When they find dry rot they stop , stare at it and point with their nose .