So You Want To Be A SAR Dog Handler?

Search and rescue is a challenging and exciting activity. It is doubly rewarding to work with a talented dog and develop the intense bond that characterizes a successful dog and handler team. However, few people are prepared to make the commitment of time, energy, and money that is necessary for success. Search and rescue work is not a sport or a hobby--it is a lifestyle.

People from many backgrounds and occupations engage in canine search work. If you are a "dog person," you may have much to learn about survival and navigation in the outdoors, and you will be bowled over by the cost of proper equipment and clothing. If you are an outdoors person, perhaps with previous rescue experience, you must be willing to invest a great deal of time in learning about dog behavior and developing rapport with your animal. A search dog is not just another "search tool." She is your partner and will only work with you, never for you.

The American Rescue Dog Association (ARDA), a canine search organization, has written an excellent book called Search and Rescue Dogs: Training Methods , published by Howell. It is available on our Book Store page. Though this book sometimes seems to imply that only German Shepherds can do the searching, which is not the case you will find much that is valuable in this book. We recommend that you read it before calling any SAR Dog organization.

• Am I willing to spend approximately two years training at least twice a week before my dog and I are ready to participate in a search?
• Am I willing to continue training twice a week (several hours to a full day each time) indefinitely?
• Can I drive approximately 50 miles once a week for group training?
• Am I physically and mentally prepared to spend long hours out in New England's worst weather, often at night, searching through difficult terrain perhaps carrying victims out several miles on stretchers?
• Is my job flexible enough to allow me to leave for a search occasionally?
• Will I get up at 3:00 AM for a search?
• Can I afford several thousand dollars for search equipment, gas, training courses, etc.?
• Am I mentally prepared to discover a deceased victim?
• Am I prepared to reward my dog happily when she leads me to a deceased person?
• Am I willing to undergo medical training (wilderness first responder or EMT) and other specialized training for search work?
• Will I accept the judgment of a training officer concerning my own abilities and my dog's and take direction concerning training methods?
• Can I gracefully take orders from team leaders, search dog officers, and search managers, even when my opinions differ from theirs?
• Am I prepared to take responsibility for my own progress, and show initiative in developing my own skills?

• Is my dog of an appropriate breed and age?
• Does my dog have a rock solid temperament--outgoing, confident, calm and non-aggressive? (gets along with children? Other animals?)
• Is my dog in excellent health?
• Is my dog closely bonded to me (does she prefer my company to any other activity)?
• Is my dog a well-mannered, obedient dog?
• Am I willing to expose my dog to a certain level of shared risk?
• Am I willing to acquire a new dog specifically for search work and train for several years?
• Am I willing to keep and care for a new dog if they do not work out for SAR tasks?
• Am I the kind of dog trainer who is willing to give up control and trust my dog when she tells me something that I think is incorrect?

Many breeds and mixes are appropriate for the work, but small dogs (under about 40 lbs.), sight hounds, and giant breeds are usually inappropriate. Remember, the individual dog must have the determination and drive to search coupled with a completely stable and gentle temperament with both people and animals. This can be a rare combination and you must be realistic about your own dog.

Some of the most successful dog handlers begin training in canine search work before they have a dog.

If these questions haven't scared you off, and you are still interested in becoming a SAR Dog handler, please Contact SDNE.

And if you have been scared off from becoming a SAR Dog handler, but would like to be involved in another capacity, please Contact SDNE