Two Of The Most Important Search And Rescue Dog Training Techniques

Two Of The Most Important Search And Rescue Dog Training Techniques

 Whether you’re planning to have them become a professional search and rescue dog or not, there are certain search and rescue dog training techniques that you’ll want to teach your dog.  You never know when a skill like this could come in handy.  Whatever the case may be, there are important search and rescue dog training techniques that need to be included.  There are a few search and rescue dog training tips that work especially well and which you can feel comfortable starting off with.

 A search and rescue dog must pertain a few important personality traits including calmness, strength and adaptability.  Large breed dogs are always best for search and rescue, because of course a Chihuahua is not going to be exactly helpful when you’re trying to find someone and have them rescued.  It’s important if you want to get your dog into search and rescue dog training that you decide which area of search and rescue you want them to focus on.  They may either focus on a particular area of search and rescue or have several skills.

 There are air scent dogs that are able to track people by sniffing the air, trailing dogs that track people on land, water search dogs that work along the shore and in the water, and also the cadaver dogs which find the remains of human bodies.  These dogs search for people hidden and trapped under piles of snow as a result of an avalanche.  One of the best search and rescue dog training techniques is to hold the dog on a leash and have someone else walk ahead of the dog by a few feet holding a treat or toy.  The best search and rescue dog training technique to start with is to hold the dog and have someone else stand a few feet away with a treat or toy.

 The dog should immediately go after the object and bring it back to you.  This can be especially challenging when you’re using treats because at first most dogs are going to chow it down before you can stop them.  Once you do and give them a command such as “find”, they should run towards the object at a fast speed, grab it and return it to you.  Another technique that works well is to first have the dog smell a sock or piece of clothing, then take the dog away and hide that object somewhere relatively far away.

 Thirty to forty feet should be enough and then get the dog out and tell them to seek.  This is someone who has experience training dogs and who will get you the results you want for a price.  There are some fantastic dog trainers that specialize in search and rescue.  If you’re having troubles working with your dog on this you can always hire a professional trainer to help out.