Understanding Rescue Dog Training

Rescue dog training takes at least a year to complete and not every dog has what it takes to make it. That is not to say the dogs who do not complete rescue training are not wonderful companions, they just do not have some of the temperament and developed skills to succeed in stressful, possibly dangerous situations.

The goal of rescue dog training is to teach the dogs how to find and rescue trapped people. Sometimes the situation is plane or train wreck and other times it could be someone lost in the forest or mountains. Dogs are much more mobile and have a keen sense of smell which makes them obvious choices for the work.

Dogs that could excel at this type of training include those who enjoy humans and their company in addition to having the confidence and calm temperament in a variety of environments and situations. These animals that go through rescue training feel rewarded when they find the humans they are seeking.

There are several basic stages to rescue dog training you should be aware of before seeking out the same for your dog. First of all, basic obedience training is first and even if your dog ultimately doesn’t make it through the entire training course, they will benefit from this. Obedience training helps the owner or handler gain control over the dog.  This helps greatly with the second step of training which is exposing the dog to a variety of situations and people to see how they will react to them as well as obedience commands. Sometimes, the training involved in the second stage mimics possible rescue situations and tests the dog’s ability to focus on searching rather than the distracting environment around him

The last phase of rescue dog training involves actual searching. Of course, this part starts off small with using toys and hiding them and gradually segues into finding humans. As the training progresses, new people are introduced into the training as a way to broaden the dog’s horizons, getting them accustomed to searching for more than just their handler, owner or other close human.

Eventually dogs that make it this far in rescue dog training are put into actual training scenarios to test their mettle. Overall, it will take a year at least to train a dog to become secure and confident enough to handle tough rescue situations but the rewards are well worth the efforts. Because the training is so specialized, it requires special trainers usually affiliated with the police or search and rescue teams to handle the job.