How to Select and Screen a SAR Dog

SAR (Search and Rescue) dog teams are invaluable. They provide a wide range of services (and some teams specialize) such as: tracking, finding survivors in disaster areas (after earthquakes), spotting human remains or going places where it's not safe or viable for a human. Most local law enforcement agencies outsource or contract their SAR functions to teams locally. Before you and your dog can actually train to provide SAR services, you need to pick the right dog. This article will give you advice on choosing an appropriate SAR candidate.

Instructions

1. A Puppy or a Juvenile? Which age dog do you start with--there are major pros and cons to either choice.

   For a puppy, you can start training earlier. You can have more control over socialization (which is critical for an SAR dog--you need a dog that deals well with loud noises, isn't distracted by game or animals, isn't put off by strangers or isn't reactive to other dogs). Additionally, you have more opportunity to work on building drive (which is critical for an SAR dog). The dog will be ready at a younger age to do SAR work (although it will take more total training time than a juvenile or young adult dog). But there are downsides to going with a puppy as your SAR option. Puppy screening tests have a very low prediction of success--you may pick a puppy, invest a year of training only to find out that your now adult dog is a fine pet but a wash-out as an SAR candidate.

   As for a juvenile or young adult dog, it's easier to screen for physical issues that don't show up at the puppy stage that might preclude a dog from doing SAR. The total amount of training time for a young adult dog will usually be shorter. And what you see is what you get--the dog's emotional makeup is very strongly imprinted at this point so you can do a better job predicting success as an SAR candidate. One of the downsides of going with a young adult is that, unless you've known the candidate since the puppy stage, there is a lot of developmental work around socialization, drive and motivation that you had no control over (and thus may need to do recovery work on).

2. What Breed? Every SAR handler has a favorite breed of dog and it's usually the one that they're handling or currently own. But the truth is that there are a wide range of SAR dogs (including some mixed breed dogs) that excel at this challenging activity.

   The most common breeds in the SAR field are: Belgian Malinois, Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherd Dogs, Border Collies, Golden Retrievers, Bloodhounds and Rottweilers. But the truth is that as SAR needs increasingly specialize, you also see smaller breeds (that are comfortable going to ground or going into narrow pipes or crevices humans can't squeeze into), or dogs better suited for hot climates that don't overheat as quickly.

   It is important to not let your favoritism for a particular breed (say, you're fond of Labs) dictate your choice here. A dog that a police department would use mostly for tracking would be a beagle, bloodhound, some terriers, or most field breeds are likely to be good possibilities. Additionally, there is no breed of dog that is always perfect for SAR work. Some bigger, heavier coated dogs are quick to overheat in warm August work that takes all day. Other breeds may find it hard to ignore rats or crows feeding on food and trash exposed in a natural disaster.

   While you should not automatically exclude a dog because of it's breed (nor does the breed automatically mean a dog will be good at SAR work), here are a number of basic traits that most SAR dogs possess: enough of a coat to be comfortable outside in most weather and/or rain, strong drive (so it isn't easily distracted), biddability (not independent but looks for direction and takes orders well), endurance (most dogs will sleep or rest up to 14 hours a day but a good SAR dog will need to be on the go for long periods of time, especially in a disaster zone), good reaction to strangers, no reactivity to other dogs (there will almost always be other SAR dogs onsite and in a disaster zone likely exposure to feral dogs), and especially good nerve strength (to tune out loud noises like gunshots, loudspeakers, earth moving equipment or surprises).

3. Meet Initial Screening Criteria. An SAR candidate must meet several different criteria to be eligible for training (and then certification--depending upon the training standards to be met):
   --at least 12 months old
   --good physical condition
   --able to function and test in an unfamiliar area (the screen test for any reliable SAR training will usually take place in a strange environment as a way of testing how the dog responds in a unfamiliar place)

   The trainers will typically be testing the SAR candidate dog on a couple of areas:
   --drive (How focused is the dog? Is it willing to run through a wall to complete a command? Does it completely ignore distractions when pursuing it's mission?) Usually testers look at a variety of measures such as play drive, prey drive, toy possession and hunt drive.
   --nerve strength (How is the dog around strangers? Can the dog rest in unfamiliar and jarring surroundings? Do sudden noises and loud sounds make the dog insecure? What produces anxiety in the dog?) For instance, how comfortable is the dog on an unstable platform (like a teeter-totter)?
   --sociability (How is the dog around other dogs? Around other people? Other animals?)

Resources

• FEMA's information on SAR Dog Training