IN MOST MISSING PERSON CASES A TRAILING DOG SHOULD BE IMMEDIATELY CALLED OUT. THIS IS OFTEN THE FASTEST AND MOST EFFICIENT MEANS TO FIND A MISSING PERSON.
TYPES OF SAR DOGS (K9's)
The first and most important thing to know is that a dog is only as good as its handler. Second, not all SAR dogs are created equal. Third, the types, styles and amount of training vary greatly in the SAR dog world, which brings us back to points one and two....
TRAILING DOGS (Discriminate Scenting Dogs)
The trailing dog is often called a "tracking" dog, although "tracking" and "trailing" are not the same thing. The trailing dog is directed to find a specific person by following tiny particles of human tissue or skin cells cast off by the person. These heavier-than-air particles, which contain this person's scent, will normally be on the ground or nearby vegetation, so the trailing dog will frequently have its "nose the ground," unlike the air scent dog (it is not always this way though, some do work with their head up).
A Bloodhound was the original dog for scent discrimination, but many breeds have proven equally talented. Trailing dogs are usually worked in a harness, on a leash, and given an uncontaminated scent article (such as a piece of clothing, or a gauze pad that has been used to swab something that has been in contact with that person). The dog follows the scent of that specific person and no other. At times, the dog may track, following the person's footsteps, or trail, almost a cross being tracking and air scenting.
Field contamination (scent of others) should not affect his work. The trailing dog should be able to trail scents on virtually all services (grass, dirt, pavement, etc). If there is a good scent article and a point/place where the person was last seen (PLS for short), a trailing dog can be the fastest way to find the victim. Without the scent article and a PLS or idea of where the person has been, these dogs are not effective.
AIR SCENT OR AREA SEARCH DOGS
The air scent dog is the most frequently used for clearing a large area quickly. This dog is trained to cover or grid large geographic areas by sampling the air currents for traces of live human scent. This dog will not normally discriminate scents, so there is the possibility of a "false alarm" if other people (searchers, hikers, citizens, etc) are in the search area. There are some air scent dogs that are cross trained in discriminate scenting (finding a specific person). Air scent dogs work best in situations such as large parks or private lands that are closed at the time, or can be closed off, since the dog will find any human in the area. The success of an air scent dog will be affected by a number of factors, including wind conditions, air temperature, time of day, terrain, and presence or absence of contamination (auto exhaust, smoke, etc.). The best conditions for air scent dogs to work are early mornings or late afternoons on cool, cloudy days when there are light winds, but they can be worked effectively any time. Air scent dogs are often worked off leash (they can cover more ground quicker this way), but can be on leash as well, if trained on leash.
HUMAN REMAINS DETECTION (HRD FOR SHORT)
known often incorrectly as cadaver dogs
Human Remains Detection Dog: (HRD) This detection canine specializes in crime scenes, old cases, small scent sources, and residual scent left from decomposition either new or old. HRD dogs are trained to exclude fresh, live human scent, feces, urine, semen, and all animal scents. HRD dogs can detect minute trace scent and evidence from a minutes old death to years and decades old. Please note, HRD is the proper term. Historical HRD dogs are another shoot off from this and focus on very old, hundreds to thousands of year old remains.
WATER SEARCH DOG
A water search dog is trained to detect human scent that is in or under the water, focusing on the scent of the bodily gases that rise up. As a team, the handler and dog usually work in a boat or along the shoreline. Because of currents and general changes in the water, it can be hard to pinpoint the location of a body. To enhance the chance of location, a diver should be ready to search as soon as the dog indicates. Additional teams, unaware of the previous teams' findings, work independently to indicate a location. This allows team members to determine the most likely location of the body.
AVALANCHE DOG
They are used to detect human scent under the snow. A person can be buried up to 15 feet or more and the Avalanche Dog can locate them.
THE TRAINING
All of these disciplines are very specific and require an average of two years and a significant time commitment to train the dog and handler for mission readiness. Because of the time commitment for training in just one discipline most dogs “specialize”. It is possible though not all that common to “cross train” a dog for more than one discipline.
THE TESTING
The industry standard for testing and certification is through National Association for Search and Rescue or NASAR. This is a national organization and widely respected. NASAR certification has multiple levels, basically beginning, intermediate and advanced certifications.
THE PROBLEMS
There are many dogs who are out there and working and not certified through NASAR, this can be a major problem. Some have good training some do not. The problem arises when these dogs work a case and then an area is deemed “cleared” based on bad dogs.
Another growing concern is handlers who are “training for the test” and not for the real searches. The test is just a show of knowledge and ability but all too often it seems that people are spending so much time training under the parameters of the test that they are not training for real life situations. For example, in trailing, even the highest level of certification only requires a trail be a maximum of 30 hours old and at the lowest level no more than 4 hours old. The truth of the matter is that an awful lot of the time a person has been missing for more than 24 hours before the call is even made. Hardly ever are SAR dogs actually called out in the first few hours since the person was last seen. This is why there is a huge problem. The test has a dog training for a timeline that just doesn’t happen in the real world. A trail 3 to 7 days is much more likely, but is not tested for and therefore often not worked in training.
Conditions during training also play a major role in a dogs success. Temperature, weather and terrain are all factors. If a K9 and handler have not worked in snow, extreme temperatures (cold or hot), humidity, desert conditions, etc they will not be nearly as effective during a real search.
TYPES OF SAR DOGS (K9's)
The first and most important thing to know is that a dog is only as good as its handler. Second, not all SAR dogs are created equal. Third, the types, styles and amount of training vary greatly in the SAR dog world, which brings us back to points one and two....
TRAILING DOGS (Discriminate Scenting Dogs)
The trailing dog is often called a "tracking" dog, although "tracking" and "trailing" are not the same thing. The trailing dog is directed to find a specific person by following tiny particles of human tissue or skin cells cast off by the person. These heavier-than-air particles, which contain this person's scent, will normally be on the ground or nearby vegetation, so the trailing dog will frequently have its "nose the ground," unlike the air scent dog (it is not always this way though, some do work with their head up).
A Bloodhound was the original dog for scent discrimination, but many breeds have proven equally talented. Trailing dogs are usually worked in a harness, on a leash, and given an uncontaminated scent article (such as a piece of clothing, or a gauze pad that has been used to swab something that has been in contact with that person). The dog follows the scent of that specific person and no other. At times, the dog may track, following the person's footsteps, or trail, almost a cross being tracking and air scenting.
Field contamination (scent of others) should not affect his work. The trailing dog should be able to trail scents on virtually all services (grass, dirt, pavement, etc). If there is a good scent article and a point/place where the person was last seen (PLS for short), a trailing dog can be the fastest way to find the victim. Without the scent article and a PLS or idea of where the person has been, these dogs are not effective.
AIR SCENT OR AREA SEARCH DOGS
The air scent dog is the most frequently used for clearing a large area quickly. This dog is trained to cover or grid large geographic areas by sampling the air currents for traces of live human scent. This dog will not normally discriminate scents, so there is the possibility of a "false alarm" if other people (searchers, hikers, citizens, etc) are in the search area. There are some air scent dogs that are cross trained in discriminate scenting (finding a specific person). Air scent dogs work best in situations such as large parks or private lands that are closed at the time, or can be closed off, since the dog will find any human in the area. The success of an air scent dog will be affected by a number of factors, including wind conditions, air temperature, time of day, terrain, and presence or absence of contamination (auto exhaust, smoke, etc.). The best conditions for air scent dogs to work are early mornings or late afternoons on cool, cloudy days when there are light winds, but they can be worked effectively any time. Air scent dogs are often worked off leash (they can cover more ground quicker this way), but can be on leash as well, if trained on leash.
HUMAN REMAINS DETECTION (HRD FOR SHORT)
known often incorrectly as cadaver dogs
Human Remains Detection Dog: (HRD) This detection canine specializes in crime scenes, old cases, small scent sources, and residual scent left from decomposition either new or old. HRD dogs are trained to exclude fresh, live human scent, feces, urine, semen, and all animal scents. HRD dogs can detect minute trace scent and evidence from a minutes old death to years and decades old. Please note, HRD is the proper term. Historical HRD dogs are another shoot off from this and focus on very old, hundreds to thousands of year old remains.
WATER SEARCH DOG
A water search dog is trained to detect human scent that is in or under the water, focusing on the scent of the bodily gases that rise up. As a team, the handler and dog usually work in a boat or along the shoreline. Because of currents and general changes in the water, it can be hard to pinpoint the location of a body. To enhance the chance of location, a diver should be ready to search as soon as the dog indicates. Additional teams, unaware of the previous teams' findings, work independently to indicate a location. This allows team members to determine the most likely location of the body.
AVALANCHE DOG
They are used to detect human scent under the snow. A person can be buried up to 15 feet or more and the Avalanche Dog can locate them.
THE TRAINING
All of these disciplines are very specific and require an average of two years and a significant time commitment to train the dog and handler for mission readiness. Because of the time commitment for training in just one discipline most dogs “specialize”. It is possible though not all that common to “cross train” a dog for more than one discipline.
THE TESTING
The industry standard for testing and certification is through National Association for Search and Rescue or NASAR. This is a national organization and widely respected. NASAR certification has multiple levels, basically beginning, intermediate and advanced certifications.
THE PROBLEMS
There are many dogs who are out there and working and not certified through NASAR, this can be a major problem. Some have good training some do not. The problem arises when these dogs work a case and then an area is deemed “cleared” based on bad dogs.
Another growing concern is handlers who are “training for the test” and not for the real searches. The test is just a show of knowledge and ability but all too often it seems that people are spending so much time training under the parameters of the test that they are not training for real life situations. For example, in trailing, even the highest level of certification only requires a trail be a maximum of 30 hours old and at the lowest level no more than 4 hours old. The truth of the matter is that an awful lot of the time a person has been missing for more than 24 hours before the call is even made. Hardly ever are SAR dogs actually called out in the first few hours since the person was last seen. This is why there is a huge problem. The test has a dog training for a timeline that just doesn’t happen in the real world. A trail 3 to 7 days is much more likely, but is not tested for and therefore often not worked in training.
Conditions during training also play a major role in a dogs success. Temperature, weather and terrain are all factors. If a K9 and handler have not worked in snow, extreme temperatures (cold or hot), humidity, desert conditions, etc they will not be nearly as effective during a real search.