|
Search and Rescue Dogs
Search and rescue dogs are working dogs that help to
find and save victims in a variety of situations, be
they lost in the wilderness or trapped under the rubble
of a disaster. Dogs are an excellent choice for this
task due to their powerful sense of smell, exceptional
hearing, and ability to follow instructions, making
them an instrumental force in saving hundreds of human
lives.
Though dogs in general are well-suited to the responsibilities
of search and rescue, some breeds are more suited to
it than others. Search and rescue dogs must be agile,
healthy, motivated, friendly, able to stay on task,
and responsive to orders. While these may seem like
common traits of dogs, the combination of all of them
can be a rare one, limiting the abilities of many dogs
to succeed in search and rescue.
Given the great variety of disasters that may emerge,
there are a number of different specialties in which
search and rescue dogs work. These include tracking,
air scent, trailing, and water rescue dogs.
Tracking
Tracking dogs search for people by following scents.
They accomplish this by walking on-lead with their noses
to the ground, following a trail but heeding orders
if instructed to turn back or change their course. While
the ability to navigate a variety of types of terrain
is valuable in tracking dogs, there are generally two
types with different areas of specialization: wilderness
search dogs and urban search dogs.
In order for dogs to begin tracking, they must have
an uncontaminated odor sample from the person for whom
they are searching, which is typically found in an article
of clothing from that person. The search and rescue
dog must also have a starting point, which tends to
be the location at which the person in question was
last seen, and is therefore known as the “point last
seen."
Air Scent
Air scent dogs are often used to find victims in the
rubble left behind by avalanches, urban disasters, or
mud slides. Air scent dogs do this by tracking any human
scent in an effort to find victims, and therefore search
the air for scents, working upwind, rather than trailing
specific odors on the ground. They are specifically
trained to recognize diffused odors and track them to
their points of origin.
Search areas are divided into grids. When air scent
dogs are working, it is typically ideal to vacate as
many people as possible from the search area, as air
scent dogs may mistakenly track and follow the scents
of non-victims, wasting critical time.
Trailing
Trailing dogs employ a mixture of the techniques used
by tracking and air scent dogs. They may work on- or
off-lead and may follow scents on the ground or airborne
odors. While trailing dogs follow specific scents, they
may leave their trails to investigate any areas of concentrated
odor in order to aid their efforts to find the designated
person.
Water Rescue
Water rescues are most commonly associated with Newfoundlands,
and not without reason; with their character combined
with their build, webbed toes, and water-resistant coats,
the Newfoundland breed is a popular choice for water
rescues. Water rescue dogs, predominantly Newfoundlands,
are used to guard many beaches and look out for human
swimmers who may begin drowning, diving in and bringing
them to safety should such a problem arise.
Search and rescue work can be both physically exhausting
and emotionally difficult for handlers and their dogs,
who will often sense their handlers' emotions in the
event of a loss. Though losses are difficult to deal
with, the great benefit of search and rescue work and
the number of lives it saves keeps these dogs and their
handlers at their very important job.
Dog Gifts
|
Dog Gifts
