Detailed Information on Search & Rescue for Dogs

Type of Dog

• Normally, search and rescue dogs are the large, sporting and working breeds. It is not at all necessary for a SAR dog to be purebred, and many are mixes of the big breeds. In some instances, smaller breeds such as beagles, corgis, and terriers excel at SAR. When the need to get into tight spaces to search for victims of tornadoes, hurricanes, or other cave-in type disasters occur, these pint-sized canines fit the bill perfectly. Smaller breed SAR dogs are called into service less often than the larger breeds, however. SAR dogs are pets, not kept in kennels. They work with their owners exclusively so they have fine-tuned personal signals each understands completely.

Handlers

• Search and Rescue handlers are dedicated individuals who volunteer because they feel the job they do is valuable. They save lives. SAR dog handlers need to be available on a moment's notice, be ready to travel to the search scene, and work long, hard hours. The work is strenuous on both dog and handler. Both need to be in top physical and mental shape. Handlers must have the ability to carry a 50-pound pack up a steep mountainside.

Recruitment Ages

• All search and rescue dog handlers are over 18 years of age. Dogs need to be fully mature in order to handle the stress of jumping and climbing steep objects.

SAR Uses

• Anytime a person or an animal goes missing, search and rescue dogs offer a valuable solution. SAR dogs find missing people and pets much faster than the average human search team, and even faster than police and scent hound teams. SAR teams come into service during natural disasters, bombings, disappearances, lost children searches. Search and Rescue handlers join teams who have affiliations with government agencies as well as local and national fire departments.

Training

• Training starts with a complete obedience program. Dogs need to be reliable both on and off leash. After obedience training dogs move on to agility training to teach them to deal with obstacles they come upon in the course of their duties: climbing walls, crawling through underbrush, or tunnels, jumping trees or low walls, and swimming through rivers or lakes. Once through with the physical side of the training, dogs begin tracking training. They learn to identify individual scents in a variety of locations: inside objects like cars, rooms, boxes, in water and in open spaces.

  Dogs also learn to differentiate statuses and give a separate alert signal for each: alive, stressed/injured and dead.

Search Times

• Different situations mean times vary greatly. The average search goes on between one and ten hours. Search and rescue events occur regardless of weather conditions, so handlers and dogs need experience in working in the worst possible conditions.

Cost and Locations

• Because SAR is completely volunteer, dog handlers must pay all of their own expenses for training, dog harness, and identifying equipment as well as personal uniforms. Actual SAR operations compensate handlers for travel time, and depending on the organization may offer some form of per diem compensation. There are over 150 search and rescue organizations in North America