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Every day people go missing. In cities, towns and suburbs, mentally impaired children and adults walk away from their homes, schools, and care facilities. In the wilderness, hikers and hunters get injured or lost, and children get separated from their families or group while on hikes or camping trips. People of all ages drown while recreating around water. Winter storms strand drivers and avalanches occur at ski resorts. Disasters like earthquakes, hurricanes, floods and explosions trap people in their homes or under rubble and debris. Children are abducted and adults go missing under suspicious circumstances. In every case, volunteer Search & Rescue dog teams are valuable resources in locating these missing people.
SAR dogs work in a variety of disciplines. The most common SAR disciplines are Trailing, Air Scent, Avalanche, Disaster, Human Remains Detection, and Water. The Weimaraner is particularly well suited to Search & Rescue work because of its breeding as a versatile hunting dog. SAR training builds on a dog’s innate desire to hunt, chase and capture prey. A search dog also needs athleticism, desire to please and work with its handler, and an even temperament; all found in a well-bred Weimaraner.
SAR dogs are trained and handled by their owners. Anyone interested in becoming a SAR K-9 handler, should join a SAR unit BEFORE getting a dog. SAR dog candidates should be evaluated carefully and selected by experienced trainers of working dogs. SAR handlers volunteer their time to training and missions, and pay for their own equipment, training, and expenses. SAR work requires a huge time commitment to on-going training and being available to respond on actual searches. The handler must train extensively in a variety of basic subjects related to SAR such as wilderness First Aid, survival techniques, wilderness navigation, map and compass, hazmat, crime scene, and helicopter operations, to name a few. The handler must also be in very good physical condition as searches can cover large areas of difficult terrain, and extend over multiple days.
In the US, Search & Rescue operations are the responsibility of the county Sheriff’s Office. SAR K-9 units are usually organized by county, operating with the permission, and at the request of, the local Sheriff’s Office. As of 2010, there are no nation-wide standards, and very few state-wide standards for volunteer SAR dogs. The local Sheriff’s Office has ultimate authority over which volunteer K-9 Units it will utilize, if any, and what their standards and certification requirements must be. This means that there can be a great difference in training and capabilities from one K-9 Unit to the next. Every K-9 Unit should have access to a Master Trainer recognized by a national association--a professional who has trained many working K-9’s and their handlers. There are several national associations providing testing and certification for civilian volunteer SAR handlers, such as NAPWDA (North American Police Work Dog Association), IPWDA (International Police Work Dog Association), USPCA (United States Police Canine Association), and NASAR (National Association for Search & Rescue).
Universal to every type of SAR K-9 work, is that the most critical skill a handler must develop, is the ability to “read” their dog’s body language—changes in head position, ears, tail, breathing, and movement. The handler’s job is to cover their search area effectively so that the dog has every opportunity to pick up a target scent if it is there. In order to be successful, the handler must recognize subtle changes in their dog’s behavior while it is working, know what the changes mean, and react to them to accordingly, all the while taking the terrain, vegetation, wind and weather into consideration. It is common for the initial training of handler and dog to take up to two years prior to certification and deployment on actual searches.
Trailing is similar to AKC Tracking and is probably the most difficult SAR discipline. Trailing dogs are “scent specific”, meaning they can isolate and follow the scent of a specific individual. The dog works in a harness and long lead, and is given a scent article from the missing subject to sniff. The dog then checks an area for the path of the subject and if it finds it, follows the forward progression of the path until reaching the subject. SAR Trailing dogs are most effective in the first 24 hours of a search, but depending on weather conditions, terrain, and vegetation can be effective beyond that. They are used in wilderness, rural, suburban, and urban settings with urban being the most difficult.
Air Scent teams are most useful in wilderness settings where a large area must be searched for a subject assumed to be alive or very recently deceased. The dog works off-lead away from the handler, much like a bird dog works, only in this case the dog is checking for the scent of a human. When the dog locates a human subject (usually out of the handler’s sight) it returns to the handler and performs a trained response indicating it has made a “find”. The dog then leads the handler to the subject. Some air scent dogs are trained to find ANY human in their search area, while others are trained to “scent discriminate” and search only for the specific scent of the missing person.
Air Scent teams tend to be deployed in the most remote wilderness areas on searches and be dropped into or removed from the area by helicopter. Handlers wear either a 24 or 48-hour packs and are prepared to stay out overnight.
Avalanche search is a specialized type of air scent search. Avalanche dogs work a snowfield rapidly, searching for “pools” of human scent rising up through the snow pack. When the pinpoints the source of the scent, it “alerts” by starting to dig. The handler calls in searchers with probes to start probing the area. Since time is of the essence, the dog team moves on, continuing to work the rest of the snow field. If the probers get a strike, they call in shovelers to dig down for the subject.
Avalanche handlers need additional training in Avalanche awareness and carry specialized equipment such as a probe, shovel, avalanche beacon and snow shoes. It’s helpful if the handler can ski with their dog, ride chairlifts, snow machines, sleds, and toboggans for getting to and from the avalanche field.
Disaster search is another specialized type of air scent search. In the US, there are fewer than 250 FEMA certified disaster search dogs. These dogs belong to “Urban Search and Rescue” teams or “Task Forces” strategically located across the country to respond on short notice in the US and around the world. Disaster dogs primarily work on rubble piles resulting from collapsed buildings looking for live humans trapped in the debris. Speed and accuracy is critical. The handler controls and directs the dog to search the rubble pile from a distance using voice/hand signals. When the dog pinpoints live human scent, it alerts by repeatedly barking for a sustained period, as it is often out of sight of the hander. The location is marked, and specialists come in to try to locate and dig out the human, while the dog team moves on to search another area.
Handlers and dogs have to be comfortable working in difficult and potentially dangerous conditions coupled with a high degree of stress. Specialized agility training is a key component as is obedience, control and ability to respond to verbal/visual directions.
Human Remains Detection dogs are trained to locate the odors given off by a decomposing human body from the time of death and for years beyond when only bones remain. HRD teams are used primarily in criminal cases where a homicide is suspected, but are also used in suspected suicides, drowning, and missing person searches. HRD dogs work off or on-lead depending on the area being searched. The dog gives a passive “trained response” such as a “sit”, “down” or “bark” when it has pinpointed the odor of human remains. HRD dogs search outdoor areas, buildings and vehicles for sources on the surface, hanging/elevated, and buried.
HRD dogs are trained using actual human remains—tissue, fluids, bones etc., so the handler must be knowledgeable and comfortable handling and storing their sources. Handlers should have specialized training in topics such as, legal issues pertaining to HRD dogs, the process and stages of human decomposition, anatomy, recognition of human versus animal bones, crime scene procedures and preservation, clandestine burials, and scavenger habits, to name a few.
Water search dogs work from a boat when possible, or from shore to locate drowning victims in either salt or freshwater ponds, lakes, rivers, bays and open water. Even under water, the human body gives off odor-producing chemicals that rise in the water, float on the surface, and become air born. Through training the handler learns to recognize their dog’s “natural alert” (signature behaviors) when encountering human scent rising through the water. By plotting where the dog does and does not have scent, while taking wind, current, and depth into consideration, the handler pinpoints a location for divers to begin their search.
Water search dogs and handlers must be comfortable riding and working in a variety of watercraft. Handlers must have additional training in boat operations, water safety, swift water, working with divers, and water dynamics.
Joan S Beilfuss
North Cascade K-9
Skagit County WA
www.traxweimaraners.com