For Boston: Search and Rescue Training

[anniewang83]

Hi everyone,

I am so saddened by what's happening in Boston and my heart goes out to the victims, the families, the first responders, law enforcement etc. I was left wondering if there's anything that I or Amber can do to help in the future. After speaking to Dr. Otto at the Penn Vet Working Dog Center (where Kai the SAR DS trains), she told me that Amber has a lot of potential in Search and Rescue. I later found out that Amber has a mal littermate that is a SAR Dog in Maryland. In fact 85% of FEMA's SAR dog handlers are civilian volunteers.

I feel that SAR would be a good way to consolidate all the training that we've done so far: nosework, obedience and service dog. I started Amber on Schutzhund tracking a month ago (e.g. scent pads, article searches) and I've just started doing runaway searches with her. Amber's got a great nose and she's very environmentally sound (will walk over or under pretty much anything and not scared of noises). The long term goal is to get FEMA certified as an urban search and rescue dog.

I'm reaching out to the forum to get your advice:
what's the best training plan? are there existing training plans that I can use? are there books/resources I should read about training a SAR dog? how long does it take? Any other advice?

Amber and I want to contribute back to society. In the post-Hurricane Sandy, post-Sandy Hook, post-9-11 world, doing search and rescue may be our calling. We would really appreciate any help or support from the DS community!

Annie & Amber

P.S. friend me on Facebook if you want to see photos/videos of her training and stay up to date on our progress: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=613970

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[Dutchringgirl]

I would think that contacting a SAR group in or around Boston would be good. Thalie is a therapy dog and as soon as Newtown happened the local therapy group started rerouting the locals, and we went to the local schools the help. Contact any groups in the area and let them know you are interested in helping.

[leih merigian]

Annie,

That's a laudable goal. I was very interested in SAR at one time, until I faced up to the reality that my broken down body wasn't up to it physically. But, I did a lot of research about it for a year or so...

Definitely hook up with a local group, if they'll let you join. Depending on the group and how they work, you often have to learn the support jobs before they'll let you work with your dog on searches. That's OK, as it takes a couple of years to become trained and certified and ready to actually work searches, and the more you know, the better. Also, they have to be sure of your degree of commitment. Working in support roles demonstrates that, as well as allowing you to develop rounded out skills.

Also, know that you are on call 24/7, endlessly. You need to be ready to drop your life and respond, for as long as it takes, wherever you're called to go.

So, don't develop any bad habits on your own . Find your local groups, go and meet them, see if any are a good fit and if they'll let your join in their training, etc. You may want to visit Dogwise and see if there are any first hand accounts from people who have done this a lot, to get a good, honest picture of what the commitments mean, etc.

[centrop67]

Just saw this in my news feed -->

Comfort in the form of five tail-wagging, furry-faced golden retrievers has been dispatched to aid those reeling from the Boston marathon bombing.
...
"The dogs have reassured people following crises like shootings and natural disasters, and they regularly visit nursing homes. Tim Hetzner, the team leader for the Lutheran Church Charities K-9 Comfort Dogs, said he got the idea after seeing how well students responded to therapy dogs in the wake of a 2008 school shooting at Northern Illinois University."
...

Link --> http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news ... t-newtown/

I know it's not SAR, but it's a nice example of what you're aiming for.

[feraloup]

Good on you! The whole Boston thing hit close to home, as I went to college a little south of there, and have spent a loooot of time in Boston, as well as have several old friends living in and around there. My "home-away-from-home" for over a decade was an apartment on Coolidge St. whre a friend of mine lived and I had my own key. I didn't even have to give notice, anytime I was in the area, my dogs and I were welcome there whenever I was visiting friends, in town for a wedding or a martial arts seminar, just needed to be away from my own space for a mini-vacation, etc... I was thinking it'd be a cool goal to work toward with Moko, even before the recent events, but I don't know if he's cut out for it, temperament-wise. (Time will tell, I actually have made some positive progress with his social issues that I'll talk about later in its own thread but my break at work is almost over...) If not something in my own immediate future, I will gladly become your biggest cheerleader and live vicariously through you! Please do keep us posted as you explore the possibilities with Amber!

[anniewang83]

Thank you so much for all your responses and your support!

If Amber wasn't so wary of strangers and other dogs, she could have been a therapy dog.

But I think she has great athleticism and she loves nosework so I think she would enjoy being a SAR more. I'm always working on desensitizing her to new things (people, dogs, noises, environments) and there's been huge improvement. At 10 months she would pee herself at the sight of a human, but now at 15 months, she can accompany me and walk through a crowded market and obey my commands.

I will be looking up local SAR groups and finding out more about training from them. I'm also going to go back to the Penn Vet Working Dog Center to see if I can volunteer there to learn their training methods.

Will keep you all posted!