Intro to search and Rescue Dogs
My journey into dogs with jobs continues. Today, we’re tagging along with Susan read and her pet dog Zori to learn about search and rescue dogs.
Do you know a pet dog with an interesting job? Leave a comment or contact me at homeon129acres@hotmail.com, and they may be featured in an upcoming post.
Here in Ontario, search and rescue is handled by civilian teams. Susan and Zori are volunteers who are called upon by police agencies to find missing people.
What is the best breed for search and rescue?
Zori is a Belgian Malinois, a breed commonly used for search and rescue.
Most search and rescue dogs are herding breeds, like Malinois and German Shepherds. Although, other breeds such as Labrador Retrievers and bloodhounds also excel at search and rescue.
Beyond the breed, there are certain qualities that make a pet dog a good candidate for search and rescue.
Susan describes search and rescue dogs as:
sur de soi
amical
and outgoing
“These dogs need to be able to cover all kinds of terrain and have the stamina to manage distance and the time needed to complete a task,” she says. “Work ethic is essential in rescue work as is a pet dog who is focused and able to work through distractions. Prey and hunt drive and play drive are essential.”
Training a pet dog for search and rescue
Play is at the root of search and rescue training.
“Usually, training starts as a game played with puppies, starting with basic reward-based training, and expanding outward to “games” with a lot more certain job skills,” says Susan.
In Ontario, search and rescue dogs are owned and trained by civilian handlers. Preparing a pet dog for search and rescue certification can take between a year and a half to two years.
“In the beginning stages of the dog’s training, we work at getting the pet dog to understand that finding human odour and committing to this odour will bring a reward. Ideally, working with a pet dog with tremendous toy drive helps to accomplish this much quicker and a lot more easily,” says Susan.
The odour that the dogs track comes from skin cells. These cells, called rafts, are shed regularly from our bodies. The bacteria on our skin produce gases that can be detected—and followed—by dogs.
Dogs are trained to alert their handler that they have located human odour. As training progresses, the dogs are presented with different challenges. For example, the bacteria on our skin can be affected by factors such as temperature, humidity, light.
Therefore, handlers will gradually increase the level of difficulty, introduce challenges in terrain or include a lot more distractions in their training programs.
Socialization for search dogs
Along with specialized training, socializing is crucial in helping a pet dog to become a successful search and rescue dog.
Susan explains, “These dogs need to be socialized early on in age, but keeping in mind concern periods. emphasis with socializing needs to be placed on quality and not quantity. Pup classes leading into obedience classes, fungility leading to agility, and exciting check outs to stores, parks, etc. are a must. The crucial thing is to solidify manners, crucial skills and self control.”
Zori vaulting off of Susan’s back to get over a fence
Susan prefers to work Zori off-lead so that her movements are not restricted. “I will slow her down and can, unintentionally, stop her from exploring or investigating something,” she explains. “If the area is safe for her to work loose, Zori is able to be much a lot more efficient.”
Search and rescue dogs are usually trained to find living people, although some dogs are cross trained for both live and cadaver. Human remains detection dogs, or search and recovery dogs, are imprinted with human cadaver odour, rather than skin cells from live humans.
Becoming a search and rescue dog
Once a pet dog has completed its training, it can be certified. search and rescue teams are certified annually by the Ontario Provincial police (OPP).
Certification evaluates dogs in four areas: obedience, agility, search and tracking. For in-depth criteria in each of these elements, check out the Ontario search and Rescue Volunteer association (OSARVA) web site.
Susan explains, “The test involves tracking where the pet dog locates the freshest human odour on the ground. The pet dog need to also air scent where they pick up scent carried in air currents and seek out its origin.”
Requirements for people to do search and rescue
Beyond the dogs, the handlers need to meet certaen normes aussi. Ils doivent être membre d’une équipe OSARVA et doivent être un chercheur de terrain certifié.
Certification en recherche – qui doit être renouvelée chaque année – influent des compétences en cartographie et en navigation à la boussole, détection d’indices, modèles de recherche, équipement personnel, conditions environnementales et compréhension de la chaîne de commandement et de systèmes de communication utilisés par les intervenants d’urgence. De plus, la plupart des équipes exigent que les membres aient les premiers soins et la RCR.
La recherche et le sauvetage sont un mode de vie pour Susan et Zori, ainsi que pour les autres bénévoles de l’Ontario. Les chiens et les gestionnaires sont également attachés à leur travail.
Avez-vous des bénévoles SAR où vous vivez?
Qu’est-ce qui vous impressionne le plus chez ces chiens?
Julia Preston est une blogueuse à la maison sur 129 acres où elle écrit sur ses aventures de vie country et de rénovation de bricolage. Elle et sa famille vivent dans une ferme de 129 acres en Ontario, au Canada. Suivez Julia sur Instagram ici.
Related Posts on Dogs with Jobs:
Chiens de traîneau – formation et soins
Guide des informations sur les chiens de compagnie
Chiens gardiens du bétail
Que fait un chien de compagnie de thérapie?