Tuesday, January 2, 2018

Discovering K9 Search And Rescue Training For Pets

By Donna Schmidt


When it comes to dogs, there are a number of different breeds. Some breeds connect better to K9 search and rescue training than others. Breeds which often excel in this area include Golden Retrievers, Giant Schnauzers, Rottweilers, Doberman Pinchers, Labrador Retrievers and German Shepherds. At the same time, while this training is often used by first responders, pet owners of all breeds can often benefit from this training.

Even when it comes to family pets, dogs can often be life savers. For, if a dog owner and dog attends a SAR training program, the dog can learn how to locate family members and to alert when imminent dangers are present. For breeds that can learn to sniff, the dog could also be useful in locating a family member should one go missing.

While there are many courses, some are better than others. As such, when looking for a course in the local area, it is often suggested than individuals read a variety of reviews before selecting a trainer or program. In most cases, these course are going to run over a couple weeks and cost four to five hundred dollars on average in the United States.

For those looking to get a pet involved in actual search and rescue, it should be noted that the dog will be involved in rescuing people during natural disasters, man-made attacks, and are often used in missing person cases. In many cases, the animal can provide irreplaceable, life saving service of all kinds whether working with law enforcement or other first responders.

To become a search and rescue dog, the animal along with an owner, handler or trainer must attend the courses associated with certification. For, most often the individual is the one whom accompanies the dog on a mission. As such, the individual and animal must be able to pass a test involving intelligence, agility, stamina and determination.

K9s involved in this area often work to find people and provide aid in a number of dangerous situations. While the animals are often taught to alert people to imminent danger, the notifications do not always precede an incident. In these situations, the individual and animal must be able to start working immediately to locate and provide aid to those in need.

While most pets can be taught how to alert based on scent, there are three basic types when it comes to professional search and rescue dogs. These are, trailing, ground disturbance and air-scenting. As one might imagine, air-scenting is often related to natural disasters, ground disturbance when looking for areas where bodies or other items might be buried, and trailing when looking for missing individuals or other items.

Using these well developed scenting styles, the dogs are taught to use their noses to locate individuals in a variety of situations ranging from crime scenes and floods to earthquakes and airline crashes. As such, dogs need to be fully grown before obtaining certification. After which, most can excel in these and other search and rescue missions.




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