Why are search and rescue dogs so important?!

Dutiful, intuitive and with a balanced temperament. These are the main characteristics of the best rescue dogs. A large variety of dog breeds is specialized in searching and recovering survivors in various environments. Rescue teams rely on these special animals, since they can go where men can’t.

Search, rescue and lifeguard dogs are animals with great courage, high self-esteem and both physically and mentally strenght. Only if they meet certain requirements they are able to support human specialists.

The deployment of dogs in search and rescue operations is a key component, often, to save lives in the mountains, in hiking areas, in cases of disappearance of people, during natural disasters, mass accidents, in drug operations, in terrorist attacks and even in actions to combat poaching (even in territories in conditions of war).

Another specialization is that of cadaver dogs. They are used to explore large areas in search of remains (including blood, tissues, skeletons), for example around plane crash sites, or in confined spaces, to search for clues at the scene of a murder. Cadaver dogs manage to have 100 percent accuracy in discriminating between human and other animal remains.

There are two basic elements, the operators and the well-trained dogs. The starting point is their sense of smell. Despite the fact that the process is still under scientific investigation, dogs are known to have an extraordinary ability to sniff humans. The fact is that they manage to sniff us hundreds of meters away.

Based on their training and experience, dogs can be sniffing or research dogs. They can also be classified according to whether they are trained to discriminate specific odors, and therefore to look for a specific substance, or to follow whatever smell is subjected to them, for example after receiving a sample of that person’s odor. Dogs can be trained specifically for research between rubble, for research in water or between avalanches.

Rescue dogs in the mountains are avalanche dogs, specially trained to search for people lost under the snow. Although avalanche dogs were used even before the twentieth century, we can speak of training and activities organized since the thirties.

Today dogs are also used to search for people under the rubble caused by earthquakes or explosions. The dogs smell the people, then the firefighters and operators have to dig.

For rubble or avalanche dogs it is a game to find women, men, children still buried alive or, sometimes, unfortunately already dead. They learn to not be distracted by anything else, including the food they can find in homes or bags, or even other pets such as cats or birds: the goal is to find the human being. The mechanism is the result of months of training.

Avalanche rescue professionals, dogs are now more useful than any technology to track down the missing.

The common elements are many, among the various schools. The trainging begin as early as 10 weeks old puppies, then there is a year, a year and a half, of lessons together with the trainer, and finally five to ten years of service, depending on the jobs and of the characteristics of the dog.

The element of the game is widely recognized as fundamental. It starts with simple games for puppies, based on the reward mechanism, and continues with more complex challenges, outdoors, in more specialized games. The technique has always been used for retrieving and hunting dogs, but it is also effective for modern missions. Techniques based on predatory, flock and herd drives are also used.

Since the common goal of many of these missions is to find something, it is also very important to choose the way to communicate with the dog. The reward mechanisms, which maximize the appearance of the game and the reward, are very effective for the training of rescue dogs.

Here are two methods. One, teaches the trainer to recognize the dog’s non-verbal language when he found something. The other requires training the dog to implement an indication, some gesture – bark, run to the trainer, touch him – showing the outcome of the searches compulsively.

In both cases, the operator must have an ability to recognize every type of dog behavior for which he is responsible, every move, every sensation.

Not only the dog should love water, but to be considered suitable as lifeguard he must have a minimum weight of 20 kg. A physical conformation suitable for a possible transport is therefore necessary: the towing ability is one of the fundamental elements for lifeguard dogs.

These dogs must be strong and able to withstand the effort of dragging person in distress, to safety.

They also have a nice fur: especially in the Nordic regions, dogs chosen for rescue at sea must have ‘special’ coats. The equipment is not always sufficient to protect them from the very cold water (so as to prevent the rescue of human rescue workers), for this reason we rely on breeds like the Newfoundlands, which have a double layer of fur that prevents the water from reaching the skin and allows them to maintain a higher body temperature.

The nature of the dog is fundamental. If the dog does not like swimming and does not like to bathe, he will hardly become an experienced lifeguard dog. Usually, the dogs that are trained in this task, begin to learn the calls and to be subjected to rescue tests between one and two years of age when the body has stabilized and have shown a propensity for water sports or swimming.

The training of the rescue dog in the water is a long path, which necessarily embraces the work or passion of the owner (almost always lifeguards), because at the base there must be a very strong bond even off the beach and working hours. In the first two years the basic commands and the maneuvers to be performed in a group and alone are taught. In the following ones, the technique is refined to improve dog-man understanding and enhance action and attention skills.

As lifeguards and divers, dogs also need coveralls, shoes or life jackets, belts with any handles and floating harnesses equipped with reflectors for moments of poor visibility.