Virginia Search and Rescue Dog Association
A member of the American Rescue Dog Association
K9 Training
This section can offer some insight into the level of training that handlers commit to in order to get a search and rescue K9 to operational status. Canines need many skills to qualify as a search and rescue dog. This training includes:
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Indication and Alert
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Obedience
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Agility
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Conditioning and fitness
Indication / Alert
The K9's indication is one of the most important aspects of training a search and rescue dog. While some organizations or jurisdictions may use the term alert instead of indication, the VDEM accepted terminology are as follows.
Change of Behavior (CoB)
An observable change in behavior when a dog encounters an anomalous odor that is above baseline or unusual for the environment.
Index
A recall-refind dog performing an enthusiastic bark indication to her handler.
A recall-refind dog using a bringsel indication.
A stay-and-bark HR dog's bark indication at an elevated source.
Alert Ⓐ
When the dog's behavior becomes consistent with a contingency that the dog has contacted in the past, the change of behavior rises to the level of alert behavior. In other words, alert behavior is observed when the dog detects an odor that they have a training and reinforcement history with.
Indication Ⓘ
Alert behavior continues until the dog can't get closer to the source of the odor, or until they have contacted their trained target odor. The indication is also referred to as their Trained Final Response (TFR). This is the response the dog is trained to use to tell the handler that they have found or "contacted" their trained target odor. A dog should not indicate until they find the "answer" to the problem, where they either have the most amount of odor possible, or they have located the source of the odor.
Indication Types
The trained final response comes in two flavors: passive and active. Dogs can be trained using a combination of both. A dog can have a passive indication (final behavior) and a very active alert (interest), such as digging or bouncing between source and handler, before offering a final and steady sit at the source.
An Active Indication is something that is high energy and high emotion, yet very focused. Some examples are:
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Stay and Bark
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Scratching or digging
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Bringsels
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"Recall-Refind" with a bark, tug, jump, etc.
A Passive Indication is something calm and quiet that usually does not disturb the source. They also are stay-at-source indications as recall-refind can introduce more disturbances. Some examples are:
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Poke and hold
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Sit or down-stay
An HR dog in a down-stay
indication.
An HR dog down-stay indication
and nose poke.
Examples?
The Paycheck
Each dog is unique in its temperament and experiences. That means that the highest value reward will be somewhat unique to each dog. One of the first activities the team does with a new dog is some low-stress preference testing. In the image below you can see a collection of toys from different team members used for preference testing a new/young dog. The goal is to find out what kind of toys the dog wants to interact with, and sometimes more importantly, what the dog's play style is. Some dogs prefer interactive play styles and some prefer to simply possess their toy.
A "toy pool" put together by a few team members to preference test a young dog.
Some toy rewards:
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Tugs
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Tennis balls or balls on strings
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Frisbees
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Fetch with a toy
A canine playing tug-of-war with a subject on a rubble pile.
A K9 playing 2 toy fetch with
An
Food Rewards
Some dogs are either more motivated by food, or simply just aren't toy motivated. In these instances, it's not uncommon for handlers to use a high-value food as a reward for the dog instead.
Obedience
Another highly important skill for handlers and canines is obedience. By focusing on obedience we ensure safety for the dog, handler, and public during all activities. All K9s need to pass a Behavior, Obedience, and Agility (BOA) test before they are permitted to work off-leash, test and certify, or participate in public events. Handlers and their K9s are expected to demonstrate control and neutrality throughout the duration of the BOA test.
The BOA test includes skills like:
- Walking on a loose leash.
- Maneuvering or idling in close quarters with other dogs.
- Maneuvering through groups of people.
- Five minute long down-stay.
- Emergency stop.
Agility and Fitness
Canines have to meet a handful of agility requirements to ensure they are fit for the demands of this high-intensity work. Agility is one of the three sections of the state's BOA testing that all dogs must complete to be allowed off-leash in public areas. Proper fitness and conditioning can prevent work-related injuries, like musculoskeletal injuries and heat stroke. The team provides its handlers with the necessary training to ensure their K9 meets agility and fitness standards.
Dogs must be able to negotiate obstacles such as:
- Jumping onto a surface at least 3 ft off the ground
- Negotiating a series of unstable surfaces
- Walking across a narrow plank
- Walking across a horizontal ladder
- Going through a tunnel they cannot see the end of
All dogs on the team are expected to be in good physical condition to prevent injuries and ensure they have a long and productive working life. Physically fit dogs can work longer and more efficiently at their jobs. Ideal body condition will vary by breed, but a good metric to use is the Body Condition Score (BCS) for Dogs. There are also a myriad of health conditions associated with obesity in dogs, including arthritis, diabetes, and certain cancers. You can find out some more information about fitness and conditioning here.
