Search and rescue dogs provide a vital service to humans in times of crisis. They can track scents of humans from great distances. In her book Canine Behavior, veterinarian Bonnie Beaver points out that dogs have 220 million olfactory receptor cells, while humans have only 6 million, giving dogs substantially stronger and more sensitive noses than people. Search and rescue training leverages dogs' impressive sense of smell to hone in a human's distinctive scent in a search operation. This training frequently requires cooperation of large groups of dogs and people, so enrolling your dog in a class is the best way to ensure proper training. However, there are several exercises you can do outside of class to foster learning.
Step 1
Select a healthy dog from a breeder or rescue group. It is easier to train a puppy to become a search and rescue dog because puppies are more easily socialized and learn more quickly than adults. However, an adult dog can learn to become a search and rescue dog; the process of training may take longer. Many trainers select dogs known for their scent and tracking skills, such as basset hounds, bloodhounds and German shepherds; but any dog with a properly functioning sense of smell can become a search and rescue dog.
Step 2
Socialize your dog to a variety of people and settings. Search and rescue dogs must be well-socialized and friendly, and must not be fearful. Puppies are easiest to socialize before they are 16 weeks old. Take your dog to parks, stores, friends' houses and other locations, and encourage people to interact with your dog. Help your dog develop positive associations with people and new environments by clicking a training clicker and giving your dog a treat for each new interaction.
Step 3
Encourage your dog to develop positive associations with finding people by hiding in the house. For the first few days of this exercise, call your dog. When he finds you, click the training clicker and give him a treat. When your dog is reliably finding you, then begin walking away from your dog and hiding. When he finds you, give him a treat. Repeat this exercise three to five times each day for several weeks. Do not begin practicing scent tracking until your dog is strongly motivated to find people.
Step 4
Move outside to play the game of hide-and-seek. Enlist the help of another person to stay with your dog while you hide. When you have hidden, have the other person allow your dog to sniff a piece of your clothing, then say, "Find!" Your dog will not understand the find command at first but will be motivated to look for you because of your previous hide-and-seek exercises. When your dog finds you, click the training clicker and give him a treat. Begin with small distances of 10 to 12 feet and gradually increase the distance over several weeks. When your dog begins responding to the "find" command and finding you every time, begin practicing with other people.
Step 5
Repeat the find exercise with other people. Start with people your dog knows well and ask your dog to find them using the steps in Step 4, making sure to use a piece of fabric the person has worn. Repeat several times a day for at least a month. When your dog is reliably finding friends, begin using strangers or people your dog does not know well. You may need to use volunteers from your dog's search and rescue class for this portion of the training.
Step 6
Continue practicing the "find" exercise every time you get a chance. Ask your dog, for example, to find a specific hidden food by giving your dog a whiff from a bowl and then saying, "Find!" The more frequently you practice this exercise, the more skilled your dog will be at search and rescue.
Sales Page: http://ouo.io/CF5S8u
Download: http://ouo.io/AplwQR (100% OFF)
Select a healthy dog from a breeder or rescue group. It is easier to train a puppy to become a search and rescue dog because puppies are more easily socialized and
How to Retrain a Rescue Dog | Dog Care - The Daily Puppy
Training; How to Retrain a Rescue Dog; Search Dogcare. Popular Training Searches. © 2016 The Daily Puppy. Home ; Grown Up ;
Canine Fact Sheet - National Association For Search And Rescue
HOME > Specialty Fields > Canine Search and Rescue > Canine Fact Sheet Most handlers prefer to begin training a young puppy. However, an older dog may be suitable
Geeks On Pets: How to Train a Search and Rescue Dog
How to Train a Search and Rescue Dog. On Pets >> Dogs >> Dog Training >> How to Train a Search and Rescue Dog. people prefer to start training with a puppy,
SAR-Dog - Search
Selecting a search and rescue dog, questions about choosing a search dog and handler training. Should I start with a puppy or an adult dog? How do I train my
The Daily Puppy - Official Site
Submit your puppy to be the daily puppy, create profiles for you and your dogs and share your puppy pictures with other dog Popular Puppy Picture Search. Basset
How Are Bloodhound Dogs Used to Find ... - The Daily Puppy
How Are Bloodhound Dogs Used to Find Missing People? Increase the distractions in your dog's search. The Daily Puppy: How to Train Bloodhounds to Find and
Search and Rescue Training | Training Cesar's Way
Obedience Training; Search and Rescue Training; Puppy Basics; This Course uses search and rescue training Your dog will learn how to focus on a search during
Training a Search and Rescue dog from puppy - YouTube
Watch him grow and train to be a search & rescue dog! Skip navigation Training a Search and Rescue dog from puppy Autumn Manka; How to Play with a Working
Training the Search and Rescue Dog/Candidate Selection ...
Training the Search and Rescue Dog/Candidate Selection. Ideally we want to choose the dog or puppy that will chase a moving Training the Search and Rescue Dog;