Quick response to natural and man-made disasters can mean the difference between life and death for trapped victims. This is a step-by-step guide to training dogs to the FEMA level for this important work.
Professional search and rescue workers consider Susan Bulanda's Ready! Training the Search and Rescue Dog "the bible of Search and Rescue (SAR)," the most sought-after book of its kind detailing canine search and rescue. This second edition, expanded and revised with new color photography, provides readers with the necessary training methods for dogs in various SAR disciplines, including wilderness, evidence, cadaver, water, avalanche, and disaster searches. The author, an experienced SAR professional, details the goals, target skills, and potential problems at each training level of every SAR discipline.Ready! provides descriptions of every type of search, including specific training methods to accomplish each SAR discipline. Professional and volunteer SAR workers will profit from the Bulandas' expertise on training the dog to alert, managing the search mission, choosing and socializing a SAR dog, and how to train dogs for specific commands (such as bar, turn around, go to an object, check, slow, crawl through and others). Readers curious about the fascinating work of the SAR canine will enjoy the general chapters about the history of SAR, an explanation of how dogs use scent to locate people or objects, and the functions of the SAR dog.This highly specialized training manual offers precise direction for SAR workers for every possible kind of mission, identifying the goals, target skills, methods and problem solving for each type of search. Color photographs and line drawings help to elucidate difficult concepts explained in the text. A resources section and index conclude this 254-page volume.
In "Search and Rescue Dogs: Traning Methods," the ARDA teaches everyone what it takes to make a true canine hero. With emphasis on handler and unit training, the principles of obedience as well as handler readiness and equipment are explored. Of particular value is the detailed information on conditioning and first aid for search dogs. The chapters on organizing and carrying out a search will be of great interest to anyone who may wonder how a dog's mind works and to what extent it can be trained. "Search and Rescue Dogs," in the authoritative voice of ARDA, explores the ultimate experience of the interdependence of Man and Dog.
Hundreds of tips are revealed to help handlers train the Search and Rescue dog. This instructional guide describes the skills needed to lay a solid foundation for successfully training the SAR dog. The reader will examine disciplines such as Wilderness Air Scent, Human Remains Detection (both land and water), First Responder Dogs, Disaster, and Trailing dogs. Learn the skills needed to prepare physically, mentally, and intellectually for SAR operations. Enjoy meeting REAL SAR dogs in over 50 photos. Discover the industry standard for documentation including training logs, evaluations, and certifications. Sample forms for each are included. Explore Sympathetic Alerts, Human Response Alerts and handler Cues to understand why dogs behave as they do. Gain a basic knowledge of Scent Theory and learn how it impacts dog performance. Ethics and professionalism are stressed as SAR dog handlers from across the nation reveal their wisdom through TIPS and BEST PRACTICES.
A “haunting meditation on trust, hope and love” by a woman who adopts and trains a Golden Retriever puppy to become a search-and-rescue dog (People). In the wake of the Oklahoma City bombing, Susannah Charleson’s attention was caught by a newspaper photograph of a canine handler, his exhausted face buried in the fur of his search-and-rescue dog. Susannah, a dog lover and pilot with search experience herself, was so moved by the image that she decided to volunteer with a local canine team, plunging herself into an astonishing new world. While the team worked long hours for nonexistent pay and often heart-wrenching results, Charleson discovered the joy of working in partnership with a canine friend and the satisfaction of using their combined skills to help her fellow human beings. Once she qualified to train a dog of her own, Charleson adopted Puzzle—a smart, spirited Golden Retriever puppy who exhibited unique aptitudes as a working dog, but was a bit less interested in the role of compliant house pet. Scent of the Missing is the story of Charleson’s adventures with Puzzle as they search for a lost teen; an Alzheimer’s patient wandering in the cold; and signs of the crew amid the debris of the space shuttle Columbia disaster—all while unraveling the mystery of the bond between humans and dogs. “A riveting view of both the human animal bond and the training of search and rescue dogs. All dog lovers and people interested in training service dogs should read this book.” —Temple Grandin, author of Animals Make Us Human
Lola was a buckshot-riddled stray, lost on a Memphis highway. Cody was rejected from seven different homes. Ace had been sprayed with mace and left for dead on a train track. They were deemed unadoptable. Untrainable. Unsalvageable. These would become the same dogs America relied on when its worst disasters hit. In 1995, Wilma Melville volunteered as a canine search-and-rescue (SAR) handler with her Black Labrador Murphy in the aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing. At the time, there were only fifteen FEMA certified SAR dogs in the United States. Believing in the value of these remarkable animals to help save lives, Wilma knew many more were needed in the event of future major disasters. She made a vow to help 168 dogs receive search-and-rescue training in her lifetime—one for every Oklahoma City victim. Wilma singlehandedly established the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation (SDF) to meet this challenge. The first canine candidates—Ana, Dusty, and Harley—were a trio of golden retrievers with behavioral problems so severe the dogs were considered irredeemable and unadoptable. But with patience, discipline, and love applied during training, they proved to have the ability, agility, and stamina to graduate as SARs. Paired with a trio of firefighters, they were among the first responders searching the ruins of the World Trade Center following 9/11—setting the standard for the more than 168 of the SDF’s search-and-rescue dogs that followed. Beautiful and heart-wrenching, Hero Dogs is the story of one woman’s dream brought to fruition by dedicated volunteers and firefighters—and the bonds they forged with the incredible rescued-turned-rescuer dogs to create one of America’s most vital resources in disaster response.
What is a Family Disaster Dog? It is Your Dog trained to Find and Rescue You! The Family Disaster Dog Book shows you how easy a pet dog of any age, size or breed can be your very own Search and Rescue Dog!Dogs do these skills every day without us noticing. Teaching your family dog to come to your aid during an emergency is not as difficult as one might think.This book shows you how Any size dog from the little Chihuahua to the Great Dane can help its owner survive..and they find you every day already when they want to play or eat so why not learn what else they can do to help you ! One of our biggest fears and chores during a disaster is losing or finding a loved one and every dog has the ability to find its family members or friends. We, as dog owners, only need to learn how to use the natural ability of the dog to the full advantage during emergencies. These fun and easy lessons are tailored for the family to learn rescue skills in the comfort of the home during daily activities by former Search Dog Instructor Amber Higgins who spent over a decade breeding and training AKC Bloodhounds for nationwide Search and Rescue FEMA volunteer work along with German Shepherd Dogs. This updated 2nd edition of The Family Disaster Dogs book includes more short easy to do at-home lessons that are fun games for the whole family to learn how-to: Ask any dog to find family members and friends who are lost or missing !Learn how your dog can be a messenger dog !How any size dog can carry extra supplies if you have to evacuate.Learn how to pack and use a Dog Bug-out Bag with 3 days of survival supplies for you and your dog.Teach your dog to alert you to danger and warning sirens with these easy at home lessons.If you are trapped in an earthquake, your dog can find you, dig you out or bring you first aid until rescuers arrive !Send your dog for help or to your partner or child on command, it's easy to do with this book. Teach your dog to bring you items by name and much more !Teach the whole family how to use the family dog as their own search and rescue dog in tornado, floods, earthquakes and to find lost loved ones !Don't have a dog then this book is a great gift for a friend or neighbor who has a dog and they can come to your rescue too !Use this book to Form a neighborhood Family Disaster Dog group at church or clubs to help neighbors until emergency response arrives ! Coming soon "My Puppy Can Find Me" children's picture books by Amber Higgins for young children to learn what to do if they are every lost.
This book on the training of scenting dogs explains the composition of scent, how it works in the dog's nose, and what affects scent. It contains chapters on the sense of smell, anatomy and physiology, the human as scent source, the transmission of scent and factors that influence the working with scenting dogs.
Dog Heroes of September 11th -- A Tribute to America's Search and Rescue Dogs, now in its Tenth Anniversary second edition, is the first and only major publication to salute the canines that served our nation in the recovery missions following the terrorists' strikes on America. In his foreword to this edition, former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani says, "No American could be unmoved by the stories and images of these dogs and their handlers....Their journeys, as told in these pages, reinforce our resolve to persevere, rebuild and keep our nation safe and strong." A testament to man's best friend and his most critical role in American history, Dog Heroes of September 11th pays tribute to 79 canine heroes and their handlers, retelling their heart-stirring stories and photographically capturing many defining moments of the days that followed September 11, 2001. This oversized gift book features over 400 color photographs, many never seen except in this publication. Nona Kilgore Bauer, who has won multiple awards for her books on dogs, interviewed each of the handlers who participated in the recovery efforts at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, Shanksville, Penn., and the Fresh Kills landfill, the site to which remains from the fallen towers were transported, and lovingly retells their stories of heroism and bravery. In its first edition (released in 2006), Dog Heroes of September 11th won numerous awards, including book of the year from the Dog Writers Association of America, Book-of-the-Month Club, and the Independent Book Publishers Association. The second edition, expanded with over 100 new pages and over 150 new full-color photographs, presents chapters on military working dogs in Iraq and Afghanistan, the therapy dogs who worked at Ground Zero, the SDF's new National Training Center, and post-9/11 rescue missions at home and abroad. A special section, written by selected 9/11 handlers, pays tributes to their canine partners who passed away after their recovery missions. In addition to paying tribute to the dog-and-handler teams that were deployed after the attacks, this I-5 Press book supports the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation (SDF) in its mission to produce certified search and rescue teams to protect our whole nation. A portion of the proceeds of Dog Heroes of September 11th benefits the SDF.
Training that works by harnessing your dog’s instincts. Learn how to: Stimulate your dog’s natural hunting drive for effective SAR training. Start your dog’s training program with an easy, three-step process. Develop skills in a variety of search operations, including wilderness, avalanche and disaster scenarios. Dr. Resi Gerritsen and Ruud Haak have trained search and rescue dogs for more than 30 years and have taken part in rescue operations around the world. They serve as training directors and international judges for the International Red Cross Federation, the United Nations, the International Rescue Dog Organization and the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI). Based on their decades of study and experience, their innovative SAR training method is rooted in a firm, scientific understanding of K9 instincts. Step-by-step instructions, dozens of illustrations and photographs from the field establish a professional K9 SAR program to benefit both beginners and experts. Get a free ebook through the Shelfie app with the purchase of a print copy.