Sunday, September 24, 2017

The Importance Of Canine SAR

By Amanda Powell


Looking for lost items or people in the bush can be difficult especially when covering a large area. Canine SAR is very helpful in such situation as it speeds up the process. Trained dogs with experienced handlers is the best as it supplements human resources. Below are a number of points on how these animals have been used ever since time.

There is training that the animals have to undergo before working. These dogs work by smelling scent emitted by humans. These particles are airborne and will be carried by wind through larger distances. They are trained to locate the scent to where it is coming from. They, therefore, can do this after a short while locating the missing individuals.

Through research, it has been found out that they are able to cover larger areas than human beings. They can cover an area meant for about fifty trained individuals. This makes the work quick, easy and cost saving in return. Placement, on the other hand, needs an understanding of what should be done together with the strength and shortcomings involved.

These kinds of dogs are able to assist at any time be it day or night. They are most useful during the night when the situation is critical such as an injured, missing person. Scent concentration is very high during the night given that the air is mostly still. These animals can see perfectly well during dark times and hear sounds from far away. They can go ahead with the search while the other personnel is preparing to go for the mission.

They are also best during bad weather. It does not matter whether it is windy, sunny or rainy. Although strong winds, snow, and heavy rains may destroy any traces, there is still scent emission. They will, therefore, follow this whether dead or alive to point out where the subject is. They can work under any given circumstance including rural farms, in or around houses, snowfield, and heavy bushes and so on.

These kinds of dogs will travel with any mode the same as humans. This can be on a boat, helicopter, snowmobile, light aircraft and other modes. Some are coached on how to land with a winch from a helicopter. They are also close to the handler as they will not be separated at any given time. The handlers prefer to pitch a tent when they cannot find accommodations that permit animals.

There are a number of characteristics that are looked into before a dog is taken for training. The first considerations is age as it needs to be fully grown, at least eighteen months old. The task to be done requires skills hence there are particular breeds chosen. This may be a German shepherd, Doberman, Rottweiler, giant schnauzers, golden retrievers and so on. They are best since they learn fast.

There exist three types of mission that the animal can do. This includes air scent, following ground disturbances and trailing. They, therefore, are important in assisting the law at crime scenes, earthquakes, weather-related disasters, drowning, collapsed buildings and so on. They are therefore excellent resources when it comes to helping humans in such situations.




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