Dogs have a very special role in the world of Search and Rescue. Their amazing sense of smell, enhanced hearing, night vision, endurance and adaptability have continually proven to be invaluable in the effort to locate missing, lost or injured people.
Owing to their extraordinary abilities, dogs can often reduce the time spent searching, therefore increasing the chances that the missing person will be found alive. Experts estimate that a single dog team can be as effective as 20 to 30 trained human searchers in locating a missing person in a given period of time.
Search and Rescue dogs can be trained for:
- Tracking
- Trailing
- Air scenting
- Urban search
- Wilderness
- Land cadaver
- Water cadaver
Some dogs can be cross-trained in a number of these areas.