Teaching a dog search and rescue skills can be incredibly rewarding. You never know when a skill like this could come in handy. Search and rescue dog training techniques can certainly be more challenging to teach your dog than more basic skills. The first step is to work on your dog’s personality and make sure they have all the basic characteristics that make a good search and rescue dog.
A search and rescue dog must pertain a few important personality traits including calmness, strength and adaptability. They need to be even-tempered and learn how to stay calm even in the most stressful situations. Especially if they’re taking on this job professionally, when they have people yelling and screaming at them to go find someone in a winter storm they need to know not to let their nerves and anxiety get the best of them. Or you could choose to have them work on all areas of search and rescue.
There are the air scent dogs which track people down by sniffing the air, trailing dogs that work on land, water search dogs that work along and in the water, cadaver dogs that find human remains and also the avalanche search and rescue dogs. Then there are trailing dogs which track on land, water dogs that work along the shore and in water, and also cadaver dogs which find the remains of human bodies in different locations. 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. As you’re holding the dog you want to give the dog a command such as “find” and then let them go.
Make sure that the dog’s not struggling or trying to force their way out of your grip and towards the object. Instead they should be calm and waiting for you to release them. Another helpful search and rescue dog training technique is to take a sock or other undergarment and let the dog smell it. This technique can certainly take a bit of time to work on but with practice the dog will learn to understand.
Any owner who wants to teach their dog search and rescue dog training but save themselves some hassle can always hire on a professional trainer. It can take a dog two years and even longer to gain the skills of a reliable search and rescue dog. There are some fantastic dog trainers that specialize in search and rescue. Whether you hire a trainer or take the task on yourself, search and rescue dog training is an incredible skill to teach to your dog.