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003. Where to get started




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This article is from the Working Dogs FAQ, posted to rec.pets.dogs newsgroup. Maintained by Cindy Tittle Moore with numerous contributions by others.

003. Where to get started

It is best to affiliate with a reputable SAR organization. You may even wish to join the reserves unit with your local law enforcement -- this entitles you to insurance protection, for example. Be picky about finding a professional organization to join: there are many wannabe clubs out there that would really just get in the way of an actual SAR effort, and there is variability even with law-enforcement groups.

There are some national groups and many states have their own organizations (e.g., California's CARDA -- CAlifornia Rescue Dog Association, WOOF -- Wilderness Finders, Inc., SSD -- Sierra Search Dogs). An additional benefit is being able to learn from people who've been at this for a long time: no book or self-training will ever give you the valuable insights you can gain this way. These types of organization will have their own certification and testing processes. For example, WOOF requires dogs and handlers to be dual certified -- wilderness AND disaster SAR.

A professional organization should have law enforcement liasons (or even be part of the police force) as any search, even for a missing person, has the potential for turning into a hunt for a felon. Some organizations are put together from law enforcement reserve officers, sometimes active duty officers. Others simply work closely with local law enforcement. Some states have statewide SAR organizations, others operate on a per county basis. However SAR is set up in a state, cooperation for the protection of everyone is essential.

Any dog can detect scent. Some are individually better at it than others. Some breeds (especially the hounds) have been bred so that as a class, they contain many more talented individuals. A dog's conformation, structure and temperament will all affect its talent at tracking or trailing. But the breed doesn't really matter, except for serious and professional tracking. You can have fun with tracking on your own. All you have to do is train your dog to follow its nose. Some extremely practical information, whether or not you're serious about SAR, to get started with can be found in:

Button, Lue. _Practical Scent Dog Training_. Alpine Publications, Inc. 214 19th St. SE, Loveland, CO 80537. 1990. ISBN: 0-931866-47-2.

A step-by-step practical training guide for air scent, evidence search, disaster search and the AKC tracking test. Starts with young puppies. Well illustrated and methods extensively tested at Los Alamos' Mountain Canine Corps.

 

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