Search & Rescue Dogs

Taz, my super-brain collie/labrador is 1.5 yrs old and Robin and I have been training her to search since I got her three months ago. She's picked things up stupidly quickly and is getting a bit too clever for her own good! We have just progressed onto doing mainly un-seen searches over a distance of about 400-500m with her. It takes her a minute or so to pick up the right scent on the ground, but as soon as she does, she's off like a rocket! The problem with this now is that if the search includes a couple of track junctions in between, I've no idea which way she's gone and have to wait until she's found and come back to get me before I can keep moving.
My question is: How can I slow her down, but not ruin her enthusiasm to find??!!

Is Robin using the same route as Taz? I.e. do you think that she is following ground sent in rather than using air scent? If so try getting Robin to come in to the search area using a different route so that she can not follow his ground sent. Maybe try using a different person than Robin as your MISPER.

Some of the dogs that I have helped train that have had a similar problem soon learnt to come back and start again from the begining as the handlers didn't walk any further than the first track junction or obstacle that the handler wanted searching until the dog had searched it. In addition the handlers took their dogs for a short walk prior to training as this seemed to help too.

You could try setting up an exercise near a corner in the track which is heavily bushy, have your Misper walk around the corner so the dog cannot see them and hide only 20m or so further on. As you send your dog off to search she will as you describe run fast away from you, however, she should quickly pick up the scent cone and locate the Misper. In time this should teach Taz that she should search close to you as well as further away.

Pete.

I always take Taz for a walk before we get down to the business of searching because she finds it hard to concentrate if she's got too much energy. I've used 3 other people as mispers so far. I try to get different people when I can, but it's not always easy, as it's usually me and Robin taking her out for walks. I think the main 'problem' is that she is using ground scent initially and then uses air scent to do the final bit. If Robin and I are walking together and then he goes off to hide, this is too easy for Taz, no matter how far he goes. It's also an advantage that where we go walking there are very few / no other fresh human smells around. In deepest darkest Mid Wales forestry, there's mainly just badgers and mice smells!
So do you think my best course of action is to set up an 'unseen' and walk in on a different route?

If you are up to the unseen stage then this could be a good idea. See how Taz searches with Robin a couple of hundred meters away. She may immediately work closer to you and concentrate more, if however she still runs off a long way then place the Mispers closer. This will make her concentrate on the entire search area and not think that the Misper is always going to be far away. I would doubt that any of these actions would be detremental to her enthusiasm, they would mearly make her concentrate on all the area between you and her, not just running as far as she can thinking the Misper is always far off.

Hope this helps.

Pete.

Claire wrote:So do you think my best course of action is to set up an 'unseen' and walk in on a different route?

I believe so yes. Its worth a try anyway.

How is her refind/Alert?

Pete,
It's not that she thinks the misper is far away; she knows the misper is far away! She picks up on their ground scent and she's off to find them. That's why she's off like a shot - because she's onto the scent. If I set up searches for her that are too close by or too easy, she doesn't do it properly because she looks at me as if to say 'Duh! You know they're in there, you can see them, why do you need me?!' !! Robin has said he observes her ground scenting until she picks up his air scent, and as soon as she's out of the scent cone she screeches the brakes on, and ususally leaves skid marks in the ground!

Daryl,
After Taz finds the misper she'll sprint back to me and 9 times out of 10 will alert properly. She then stays just ahead of me to lead me to the misper, and sometimes runs on ahead a little further just to check they're still in the same place. She's doing that really well.
Maybe I should tie some tyres around her waist to slow her down!

I think that I'm just going to have to start trying to find places where the misper can come in from another direction so she can't use ground scenting so much, which is easier said that done around here. The circular routes around here can be a few miles long!!

Try leaving the track searches for a while and move onto areas, they are essentially track searches in the method they are conducted just without the tracks. This way you should easily be able to have the Misper move into position without crossing the dogs path at any point.

Pete.

Do you mean get her to search a generally open area with a few dips to hide in or trees to hide amongst? If so I'm not entirely sure how to approach searching an area like that with a dog.

It dosen't necessarily need to be an 'open area', just a given area (wooded, open, both).

Get Robin to hide upwind from where you are starting from, making sure he came into the area upwind from you. Try to make sure that the ground is not contamnated with Robin's sent between you and him.

Then work Taz across the wind to allow her to pick up the scent cone. Don't allow Taz to see where he is hiding. Start of small, getting bigger.

Treat an area search just like the track searches that you have been doing, treat the down wind boundary as a track.

If you start with a shorter search and build it up, Taz will get the idea (and so will you! )