There is a moment in most people’s lives when they are watching the news after a natural disaster occurs, and they stare in awe at the FEMA dogs working diligently to locate victims trapped within the devastation. Perhaps you have had the honor of watching a search dog navigate rubble, or track a missing child through the woods – or perhaps you are interested in having that experience.
SAR stands for ‘Search and Rescue’. Search dogs and their handlers provide an invaluable service to society. They volunteer their time to bring home the missing and provide closure to loved ones. Search and Rescue dog trainers are employed to train these incredible dogs (and their handlers) to do their jobs in the safest and most effective manner possible.
Although working as a SAR dog trainer is oftentimes a very rewarding profession, many people are uncertain about how to actually become a SAR dog trainer. If you are interested in learning how to train these valuable working dogs, then this article is for you!
What is a Search and Rescue dog?
A Search and Rescue dog (also known as a SAR dog, or search dog) is a dog specifically trained to locate missing people. Typically, these dogs work with SAR teams or law enforcement, and they are deployed with their handler when people go missing. Search and Rescue dogs work in a variety of specialized disciplines, including:
- Trailing: Trailing dogs track a single individual from point A to point B, without getting distracted by irrelevant odors. Trailing dogs are often used in urban environments, residential areas and in situations where there is a presumed last known victim location.
- Air Scenting: Air scenting dogs search large areas for any human scent without following a trail. Air scenting dogs can also be scent discriminatory, meaning that they are provided a scent article before searching a large area for a particular person.
- Human Remains Detection (HRD): HRD dogs look exclusively for human remains. HRD dogs can work on land, on the water (searching for target odor while in a boat), in forensics, or in disaster scenes.
- Urban: Urban disaster dogs are typically deployed with government units such as FEMA. These dogs can be live find air scenting dogs or HRD dogs. Urban disaster dogs typically work in the aftermath of natural disasters, acts of terrorism, or when accidents occur involving a large number of people.
Search and Rescue dogs must have an excellent work ethic, should be physically fit, environmentally stable, and comfortable doing their job in the most demanding of settings.
Why become a SAR dog trainer?
Although dogs have naturally incredible olfactory systems, they require a great deal of specialized training to help them become SAR dogs. Since most SAR K9 handlers are civilians, they often have little to no experience training working dogs. The path to training an effective SAR dog can be very confusing to people, and they often have no idea where to begin. This discourages many people who would otherwise love to be involved with SAR from actually doing it.
By becoming a Search and Rescue dog trainer, you can give people the opportunity to get involved in SAR and save lives who would perhaps never have done it otherwise. By training SAR dogs, you will be ensuring that more of these incredible animals are out there saving lives, closing missing person cases, and bringing closure to desperate families.
Not only will you be helping to ensure that the best possible dogs are out deploying in the field, but SAR dogs often live very enriched and high-quality lives. Many high-drive working breeds need a job, or a productive outlet for their motivations and energy, and search and rescue is oftentimes the perfect sort of role for these dogs. By becoming a SAR dog trainer, you will be making a significant, valuable difference.
SAR dogs are incredible dogs playing an important role in society, and by becoming a SAR dog trainer, you will have a hugely positive impact on these dogs, their handler, and the future of the people these teams help to locate.
Should you become a SAR dog trainer?
Training SAR dogs is difficult work. SAR dogs oftentimes train for months or even years before they can certify and deploy, and this training is intensive. SAR dogs almost always work outdoors, so their training also takes place in this setting. As a SAR dog trainer, you will be spending a great deal of time outside, in a variety of weather conditions, oftentimes working through difficult terrain. As a dog’s training progresses, training sessions take longer, and you must be comfortable being outside in these conditions while focusing on a dog’s behavior for a long period of time. This can be particularly draining in hotter, summer months.
Search and Rescue dog trainers must be very competent at reading dog body language during searches, and problem solving when things don’t go as planned. SAR dog trainers must understand how odor moves and changes as the environment changes. They should also understand missing person behavior so practice searches can be conducted realistically. SAR dog trainers must be patient, persistent and able to communicate effectively to their human clients. Luckily, most of these skills can be learned, but like all skills the process requires time and persistence.
Just like with any type of dog training, working with a SAR dog can generate moments of frustration and disappointment while also containing some of the most incredible, unforgettable and rewarding experiences you will ever have.
The training process for a Search and Rescue dog
Training a SAR dog is often a lengthy and arduous process. If a dog is starting as a puppy, you will focus a great deal on cultivating environmental stability through systematic exposure to various situations. You will also want to start developing confidence in searching and working independently without relying on human input. As the puppy gets older, you will begin working on physical conditioning, drive development, obedience and SAR specific training. SAR dogs don’t often require a great deal of obedience unless they are deploying for organizations such as FEMA; however, they always require a very reliable recall, and a sit/down-stay is often very useful as well.
The SAR training process will differ depending on which discipline the dog is being trained for. If the dog is training for a live find discipline, you will begin conducting fun and easy search exercises with a variety of subjects. If the dog will be training for HRD, you will begin imprinting them on target odor.
Once the dog has the basics, you will begin conducting more complex search problems with them. This must be accomplished systematically, and re-evaluated if the dog is not successful over a couple of trials. You will want to gradually expose the dog to more difficult problems, a variety of terrains, different temperatures, weather, and times of day. You will also want them to work in environments containing distractions, slowly making their search problems as realistic as possible.
Eventually, you will want to proof the dog off of irrelevant odors and other potential distractors. If you are working with a dog’s handler throughout the process, you will want to explain what you are seeing with the dog and how to read their body language cues during searches. You will always want to educate handlers on how they can read their dog to understand how odor is moving, how to handle effectively and what they should do/should avoid during searches.
At the end of the training process, a dog and their handler will be to the point where they can certify with the organization of their choice. After certification, they will officially be ready to deploy in real world settings. Even after certification, regular training should continue through practice searches to maintain the dog’s proficiency.
Becoming a Search and Rescue dog trainer
The first step to becoming a SAR dog trainer is obtaining the education necessary to effectively train SAR dogs. This should begin with a foundational understanding of how dogs learn, implementing both theory and hands-on training.
At the School for Dog Trainers, we offer six, eight and twelve week Search and Rescue Dog Trainer programs. These programs take you inside the mind of a dog to understand how they learn and the basics of dog behavior. From this point, the course covers all aspects of training SAR dogs, including trailing, urban and HRD dogs.
Once you have completed your education, there are several routes to becoming a professional SAR dog trainer. You can choose to work directly with SAR units, conduct seminars, train and sell dogs, offer long term board and trains, or conduct private lessons. There are options to start your own business or to find employment with a company who offers these services to the public. All of our programs at the School for Dog Trainers teach you the business fundamentals you’ll need to make your career training dogs a success.
Interested in learning how to train Search and Rescue dogs at the School for Dog Trainers? Call us today at (800) 726-7412 or email us at learntotraindogs@highlandcanine.com for more information.