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We get so many questions about Scent Detection Dogs from a huge range of people, so we thought that we would try and answer some of them for you here!
So why do we spend so much time, money and effort training these dogs? Well, because they are cute - obviously! No, no, just kidding - well I mean they are cute but that's not why we do what we do :)
Well trained Search and Rescue dogs are capable of doing the work of a team of approximately 40 trained search personnel. When human teams deploy, they utilise as much intel as they have available to narrow down their search area and then strategically cover every square metre of that area, often on foot, hoping to find something of use, a clue or the missing person.
Our dogs use the scent on the air to find the missing person. Using the scent in the air means that the dogs and handlers do not need to physically cover every square metre of the sector. Often, we as handlers can tell from the start of a sector (depending of size, wind strength, direction, time of day etc) if the missing person is in there - our dogs tell us from the start!
Not only that - when we are searching with our dogs they, on average, cover 2.5 times as much ground as we do as handlers! We walk in a straight line, acting as an anchor, whilst they pendulum off of us to locate scent - how cool is that!
'So you need a sock or something from the missing person right?' Not our dogs! As much as I love Criminal Minds and other crime docos we don't live in them :( Our dogs are trained in such a way that they will locate the scent in the sector, without the need for sniffing a dirty sock first! They will search for the strongest scent in the area and follow it straight in to that person. Worst case scenario, they find the wrong one (unlikely!). If they find the wrong person... oops, 'good dog, move on'. We simply acknowledge the effort and move on - they go straight back to work!
When can they be used? Pretty much whenever! Each time we get a call we, as handlers, we assess the weather and the area so we can judge if its appropriate for our individual dog. They all have a different set of strengths! The main reason we wouldn't send a dog is if it is absolutely blowing a gale! If the wind is to strong the scent on the air will be sent everywhere so the dogs will struggle to pick anything up. Obviously we assess risk as well... not about to send the dogs onto an active fire ground!
The sooner we can be engaged in a search effort the better! But better late than never!
Well that should just about wrap up the basics... keep an eye on our socials for up to date content ;)
Catch ya later!
RSD
#riverlandscentdogs #scentdetectiondog #searchandrescuedog #missingperson #searchdog #workingdog #volunteers
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