Our K9 Teams in Training
Embedded Files
THANK YOU, NATIONAL DISASTER SEARCH DOG FOUNDATION!!
Two of our K9 team members received grants from the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation to attend a Trailing K9 Seminar with Deb Hurlburt with Idaho Search and Rescue Dogs, Inc., in May of this year. The K9 teams, Kristi and Finlae, and Trish and Secret, received training in both wilderness and urban environments.
Kristi and Trish are K9 handlers with our Sacramento County Sheriff's Search and Rescue Team. Our team is all volunteer, and the training that the K9 teams pursue is at their own expense. These K9 teams were fortunate enough to receive grants to cover tuition expenses for a trailing seminar that provided training in both wilderness and urban environments. The experience was invaluable for both teams, strengthening their partnerships with their K9s, as well as enhancing the skills needed to serve our community, searching for missing people. The kinds of trails the teams worked included busy urban environments with traffic, pedestrians, and other distractions to work through.
Team Secret and Team Finlae also worked on wilderness trailing scenarios to grow their skills. Team Secret got to work an overnight aged trail that ended in a "pick up" scenario, where the missing person had been picked up and given a ride. Secret, a McNab, determined the direction of travel and trailed the missing person to the intersection, where the person had gotten a ride, which meant the trail ended. Secret gave indications that there was no longer scent to follow - a valuable tool for real-world searches.
Team Finlae was challenged to trail a missing fisherman who had been fishing while walking in a creek. Finlae, also a McNab, confidently scented off the fisherman's boots, walked into the water, correctly determined the direction of travel, and trailed to the missing fisherman.
This was an incredible educational experience for these K9 teams. The Search Dog Foundation knows what it takes to help teams grow and become the best they can be, and we are so appreciative that they offer these grants to K9 teams all over, giving them access to training resources they might not otherwise be able to get.
Find out more at National Disaster Search Dog Foundation
Report abuse