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Disaster search dog
training
Why does K-9
UK train dogs for search and rescue work?
Search Dogs are an essential
search tool in the disaster environment, because time is precious and a
key factor in the survivability of a trapped or missing person, search
dogs can cover a lot of ground, very quickly. One search dog can search
the same area as 20 or 25 people, and do it quicker. Also a dog can
search at night just as well as they can in the day because they are
using their noses to search and not their eyes.
Most lost people can call out
or shine a torch. If the lost person is not able to do this because
they are buried then it's much harder for people searching to find
them. It doesn't make any difference to a dog because the lost person
is still giving off scent.
There is nothing that has been
invented that can do a better or faster search then a trained search
dog.
What Breed of Dogs does
K-9 UK train?
No particular breed is or isn't
suitable. There are however certain characteristics that are required.
The physical size is a factor, and the smallest suitable would be a
Border collie and the largest would be a German shepherd. Too small,
and the rough terrain becomes a problem, and too large and the stamina
drops away. The breed we use is the Border Collies, and a German
shepherd.
The Border Collies are used for
disaster search work. And the German shepherd is used for cadaver work.
How are K-9 UK dogs
selected?
All dogs are the personal
property of the handler. The handler chooses a breed he or she likes
and then chooses the dog from the litter. However K-9 UK will inform
the handler that a Border Collies is best for disaster search work.
With some dogs, it's clear after short time training that they are not
suitable. This is normally obvious to the more experienced handlers,
and the dog's handler is advised to get another dog or to be prepared
for a long "learning experience" with no guarantee of success.
Which physical and
temperamental qualities is K-9 UK looking for in a future search
and rescue dog?
Physically, the dog must be
sound – that is without any defects or health problems.
Temperamentally, they must be
non-aggressive, have a high play drive, and have a desire to go to
humans. A dog that is timid or aggressive will not be suitable. And
will be removed from K-9 UK training program. They must be quite
independent and out going. They will be expected to work for extended
periods, with little or no interaction with the handler, so a
reasonable level of independence and self-motivation is required
what is the average age for a
dog to start the training?
K-9
UK would like to start the dog as young as possible. Training should
start as a young puppy at three months of age or so. Starting up to six
months of age is feasible, but much older than that and the success
rate starts to drop significantly. That is not to say it cannot be
done, but the chances of success are much higher when training is
started at an early age.
What a dog learns in its first
12 months of training will be learnt for the rest of its life.
(This view is of K-9 UK).
Who trains K-9 UK dogs?
All
the dogs belong to the "handler", and training is the responsibility of
the handler the handler does all the training. Most of the training has
to be done in the handler's own time. K-9 UK will organize regular
training sessions and at these sessions, the dog coordinator will guide
the dog handler in what too do to train the dog to do something in
particular, and how to sort out a training problem. This training is
carried out at various locations - (Dogs have better memories
then us and will remember where people have hidden in the past, and
check that spot out from memory, rather than using scent.) So it is
important to use different training locations.
How is the training done?
Well,
basic search and rescue dogs are trained almost the same way
however, the dog is at first
rewarded for going to people a very short distance away. By doing a
short run-away. The required elements (such as barking when the dog as
found a person) are added in one at a time, having been taught as
separate tasks, and the dog is praised for doing the right thing, and
only rarely chastised for doing the wrong thing. The difficulty of the
task is very slowly increased as the dog learns what is required, and
the handler must always be prepared to revert to something easier. If
one extra task is added into the search "sequence", then everything
else is reduced in difficulty. The dog needs to want to do this job, so
the training must be fun, fun, fun. And Patience, Patience,
Patience.
The dog will eventually be
expected to work very independently from the handler. And if the dog
isn't motivated to do the job, then the dog may not be suitable for the
task, or the training as gone wrong.If this happens take a few steps back with
the training.
It is in my opinion that most
new dog handler will try to run before they can walk with their dog
training and this can be a costly mistake, so please slown down and
have fun.
Call us
Tel Office: 01792 883395
Mobile: 07798 500390
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