# Anyone ever done S & R work



## ormommy (Mar 30, 2015)

I'm just interested in stories. Our local volunteer dept. said it takes on average 2-3 years to train a dog in S&R tracking but that you had to do it yourself. Did you just expand off tracking classes?
And for anyone who has experienced this, how'd you deal with cadaver finding?


----------



## lauren17 (Apr 14, 2009)

I haven't done it myself but my previous boss did. I spent a lot of time hiding in a barrel! Its something I would love to do one day but just didn't have the time to put in it with my newest dog. Or maybe there is a lower level I could get involved in? I'd like to look into it more. My boss at the time had one in training still (I think she was 2 years old) that she was talking about making her a cadaver dog since she was slightly reserved with people. That was a cool dog though, soo much drive! Then she had one that got his Fema certification while I was there, and two certified (one went blind so he was being retired but still was really neat to watch him work) and one retired that was her 9/11 dog.


----------



## ireth0 (Feb 11, 2013)

Keechak here does SAR with one of her dogs, hopefully she'll chime in!

I know here you have to volunteer sans dog for a certain amount of time before you are cleared to do it with a dog, and I just don't have the physical stamina myself for what the job demands.


----------



## sassafras (Jun 22, 2010)

Keechak and Darkmoon both do SAR, you could PM them if they don't see this thread.


----------



## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

Here's a good blog post about SAR and what goes into the training. It's really a lifestyle.
http://teamunruly.com/?p=6366


----------



## ormommy (Mar 30, 2015)

ireth0 said:


> Keechak here does SAR with one of her dogs, hopefully she'll chime in!
> 
> I know here you have to volunteer sans dog for a certain amount of time before you are cleared to do it with a dog, and I just don't have the physical stamina myself for what the job demands.


Thanks, everyone. Yeah, I am physically disabled and while I could push it for a day, I could never do it carrying all that weight. Nor could I handle the searches for children.
I was just interested in it because someone mentioned someone in our ESS club was an SAR dog, but she doesn't attend much anymore, so I was curious.


----------



## Darkmoon (Mar 12, 2007)

Sorry, I rarely check this forum, just stumbled across it today.

Tracking/trailing is a lot of hard work. Next dog I get will be an Air Scent dog for sure. It really does take 2 to 3 years to train a good, consistent dog to do anything really. I watch people certify dogs that are only a year old and just shake my head. I'd never trust a dog that young to be consistent. 

I train tracking/trailing. I started off all on my own doing basic tracking like is taught for Schutzhund. I expanded it to Trailing, and we are still training constantly. There is so much more to it then even I ever thought. A lot of people (even myself) just think "I put my dog on a track, dog takes me to the person and it's that easy" I WISH! You have to watch your dog for even the slightest body changes which could mean a ton of different things from passing a turn, to someone turning back around and going back on their own path, to even someone dying before you find them. It's interesting work. 

I carry about 25 to 30 lbs of weight in my pack, most of it first aid, water, and food while out on searches. It's really rewarding work. I'm still new, never been on a recovery, but I'm sure it will be happening shortly. Cadaver (Human remains Detection (HRD) is what it is called now) is really interesting. There's nothing like standing in a place with a decomposing human uterus, femur bone, and a bloody shirt and questioning your sanity. Also it's a real fun ice breaker game to mention you have body parts in your freezer. 

It really is a life style. I'm kind of scared to add up how much time I've put into it this year. Thank goodness my Boyfriend is into this as well so spending Sunday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Sunday again out training then Monday on a call out is just normal to him. Yes that really is my schedule this week. Saturday I'm not with my team but I'm taking a class to understand wild ediables so if I ever get stuck out overnight, I can have a better chance finding food.


----------

