Are you considering search and rescue dog training? Awesome! It’s an amazing experience, and your path will vary depending on your state and the volunteer program in your area. My experience in how training/testings/callouts work are specific to Alaska, but I can still walk you through the basics of K9 search and rescue dog training regardless of where you live.
I’ll never forget how utterly clueless I was when I showed up at my first-ever k9 search and rescue dog training group. I knew I needed a job for my (at the time) 8-week-old Belgian Malinois, who was already more dog than I’d ever imagined.
I was sent a contact through my dog’s breeder. After a few phone calls, they invited us out to take part in one of their search and rescue trainings.
When I arrived (sans puppy, typical when going to your first search and rescue dog training), a few members asked different questions about my goals.
What discipline are you interested in? Have you started building drive for a toy? Are you interested in crosstraining?
I had no idea how to respond because I couldn’t even figure out what they were asking me.
I stumbled through and started frantically googling the terms they’d used when I returned to my car. So for those curious about how to get involved in search and rescue dog training, or just interested in K9 search and rescue, I hope the info below can fill in some of the blanks.
If a bunch of words isn't your thing, scroll to the bottom of this post for a quick example of my dog performing a human remains detection search and rescue problem.
Hopefully, this will help you head into your first training a little more aware and a lot less nervous than my initial experience.
What are the different disciplines involved in search and rescue dog training?
Let's start by addressing what may seem obvious, but I was clueless about when I first started. In search and rescue dog training, there are different types of SAR that a K9 and handler can choose to train, and these are referred to as disciplines.
Air scent/Wilderness search dog is a type of search and rescue dog training where the canine works off-leash using scent on the air currents to find a subject. An air-scent dog can either be searching for any human scent in the area or be scent specific (meaning they’re looking for only one person’s scent). For this type of search dog, think of a hiker who didn’t return to camp in time. No one is really sure where they left from or what direction they went, so a dog that can cover a lot of ground quickly would be ideal. If a wilderness dog is scent-specific, it'll be given something that belongs to the lost person so the K9 can identify who they're looking for. If the working dog isn't scent-specific, then they're looking for any human scent.
A trailing search dog is the discipline of search and rescue where the dog is scent specific and kept on a leash. Typically handlers use something long and durable, like this all-weather trailing leash. A trailing dog will begin a search problem by being presented with an item of the lost person’s and will then work on lead to follow the trail left by the person. Usually, trailing search dogs keep their noses lower to the ground when working. Unlike air-scent dogs (who are gridding through areas as they use air currents to work), trailing dogs follow a similar path that their subject takes. That being said, if an air-scent dog uses a trail to get to their subject during search and rescue dog training, that’s fine. And if a trailing dog air scents their subject, that’s also fine. A dog can use any tool in their mental toolbox to get to the end goal: find the person or cadaver. A trailing dog is great in situations where someone can pinpoint where a person left from. So, if you know your child wandered out the front door and walked down the street, but then never got to their destination, a trailing dog would be ideal because you can start them at the last known location and work the dog through in a busier area.
An avalanche search and rescue/recovery dog is used to help find people caught and buried in avalanches. The area they're searching is called a debris field. This is more often search and recovery versus search and rescue dog training, because it’s infrequent that an avalanche victim is found alive due to the time it takes to get a K9 team on site. Avalanche search dogs look for any human scent under the layers of snow and are not scent specific.
Human remains detection/cadaver dog is a type of search and rescue dog training where a dog is taught to find human remains both on land and in water. Human remains all smell the same once decomposition starts, so it’s not necessary for a dog to know whose remains they’re looking for. These dogs are trained using various materials (blood, placenta, teeth, bones, and so on) to learn the smell of cadavers at different decomposition levels. Human remains detection dogs can work either on or off leash depending on the preference of the dog handler. Off-leash can be more productive if the search area is more wilderness than urban. And if a K9 team is working on a small area that requires more meticulous focus, like searching the exterior of a car, or an area where there's a strong possibility of road traffic, working on a leash can be safer.
A disaster search and rescue dog is used to work through debris left by manmade or natural disasters. Disaster search and rescue dog training requires familiarizing your K9 with all sorts of terrain, from burn scars left by fires to the wreckage left by hurricanes. Disaster dogs need to be able to get through areas that may be unsafe, so being agile is essential with this type of search dog.
Now that you know the main disciplines of search and rescue dog training, let’s dig into some of the terminologies that you may be unfamiliar with if you’re new to the working dog world.
An article is an item that is presented to a search dog in which they can identify the scent of the missing person. It’s also okay if there is another scent present (for example, if a mom hands a canine search and rescue team their lost son's glove) as long as the person who belongs to that other scent is present when the dog starts to work. That way, the dog can immediately rule out that person and focus on the scent that belongs to the missing subject.
The term source is used when referring to human remains. When you're working with a human remains detection dog, the source can be blood, placenta, clothing that has human decomp matter on it... it can be dirt left over from a site in which a dead body was found that still holds the cadaver scent, and so on.
When a dog is looking for a living person, they’re looking for a subject.
Cross-training is the term used when a person trains in more than one discipline at once. Some dogs do well with this, while others prefer to focus on only one discipline. I’ve known dogs who make absolutely amazing trailing dogs, but get them near human remains, and they want nothing to do with it. With search and rescue dog training, it’s common to start your dog on numerous disciplines and see which they take to. However, some search groups prefer everyone to focus on only a single discipline. Our team never had any restrictions on cross-training, and Kinley wanted to do as many as possible, although Avalance was always her favorite. Something about running wild through the snow really gets dogs going.
What is a certified search and rescue dog? Search and rescue dog training ideally involves you and your dog getting certified.This term is used when a dog is tested on a certain discipline and then passes the test. Which means they can get called out to actual searches! Each search and rescue dog training group handles certifying differently. Some do it in-house (meaning they’ve developed standards that they test their members with), and some use national evaluators to set and conduct the tests for dogs. The National Association of Search and Rescue and the National Search Dog Alliance are examples of organizations offering testing and evaluation. You can choose to go to one of their testing locations, or your search team can bring an evaluator to your area who will then set up and perform the testing.
How will your dog communicate that they've found the missing person or human remains?
When a search dog finds what they're looking for, the K9 will then present the handler with a trained alert. My dog’s alert is a refind, meaning she finds whatever it is I want, then (because she always works off lead) comes back to find me, barks at me to tell me she’s found her source or subject, then takes me to it.
Types of Alerts Used in Search and Rescue Dog Rraining
Refind alert: This is really beneficial if you have a wilderness dog working large areas because once they find their source or subject, they’ll come back to you, offer a bark (or they can jump up at you, something to distinguish they’ve found what they’re looking for vs. just checking in). Then once they have your attention, they’ll take you to the subject or source.
Bark and hold: If your search and rescue dog is trained to do a bark and hold, the working K9 will locate the source or subject, then start barking while remaining in place. This is great for a search dog who doesn’t range too far from its handler if working wilderness search and rescue. This is also good for avalanche SAR, human remains detection, and trailing.
Sit/Down: Both of these alerts mean that the search dog finds the subject and source, and then either sits or downs and remains in that position until the handler releases or rewards them. These search and rescue dog alerts are most beneficial when the dog is in sight of the handler. They’re great for trailing (because the dog is always leashed to the handler) or human remains detection if the dog doesn’t range out of sight. The sit/down can also be used for avalanche and disaster work. Again, it all depends on how far the canine ranges away from the handler while working.
Why does a dog like to do search and rescue dog training?
Before understanding how a working dog operates, many of us assume there’s something about these dogs that makes them want to help people.
In reality, it's all about training a dog who has the genetics and drive to work and wants to earn a reward. Some dogs are looking for any job to do at all times (like Kinley), and other dogs enjoy the act of following their nose.
A working dog enjoys the bond and training with their handler, and a lot also get pretty excited about the praise a team will give them for a job well done. Not to make all of our working dogs sound like egotistical little monsters who like to be the center of attention...but...if the shoe fits?
Jokes aside, a working dog is trained in a specific way to enjoy that work and the reward more than anything else. Even within the realm of working dogs, some like to work more than others. A lot of it comes down to a dog's genetics and the training they receive. A big part of what dogs work for is their reward item. When starting your volunteer career in search and rescue dog training, you’ll learn whether your dog has toy drive (they’d rather chase the ball or tug on the rope than eat a snack) or food drive (yummy treat, please!) and use that drive to help train.
If they’re toy driven, you’ll choose a reward toy. My dog always favored this tug toy for her reward. A reward toy should only be used when you're playing and interacting with your dog. This way, you can build drive for that toy (make it seem more special and exciting).
If your dog is food driven, you should figure out what they love more than any other snack in the world, and use that as their reward when doing search and rescue dog training, and only offer that as a high-value training reward. Don't give it to them for easy tasks, like sitting in the kitchen. Their reward treat needs to be kept extra special so that they're more excited to work for it.
How do you get started with search and rescue dog training?
If you’re considering getting into search and rescue dog training, locate a group in your area. And if you’re unsure of how to do so, send me a message! I’m happy to help connect you to the correct resources. Once you have a local group to work with, you’ll be able to see if the time commitment is something you can take on. And, if you decide that you don't want to pursue search and rescue dog training, you can always offer to help out as a subject. A search team loves when they have a new person to hide from their dogs!
If you decide you want to raise a working dog but don't already have a pup, it’s time to investigate the best way to select a puppy for search and rescue dog training!
I hope this intro can help you head into your first search and rescue dog training experience a little more prepared than I was. And if you're still confused about some of the steps or terminology I covered above, please don't hesitate to leave a comment below! Before you go, check out this short video of Kinley working on a cadaver search and rescue dog training problem. This should help solidify some of the terms we just went over! In this video, you'll see her locate the cadaver source, offer her alert, and end by being rewarded like the crazy little Belgian Malinous she is!
Happy training, and give your BestK9 a cuddle from us!
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