How do Search and Rescue Dogs work?

It takes around 2 and a half years to fully train a search & rescue dog and Handlers will train their dogs around 3 times a week, in addition to any organised training.

The dog is taught to search for airborne human scent, follow the scent to its source and indicate to its handler, alerting the handler to the scent source and leading them to the casualty.

The handler learns to read the dog's body language, and how to work a search area, to give the dog and handler team the best chance of encountering and tracing any persons within the given area.

Becasue of dramatic contrasts in the Isle of Man, from rugged coastline through to our mountains, different terrain, such as forestry, beaches, cliffs, mountains and lowland rural areas are deliberately planned into the training to give the handlers and dogs as many different search experiences as possible.

In addition to the search training, the dogs are obedience trained and are tested for soundness with sheep and general livestock.

These pictures demonstrate Lola's find sequence. All training must be a fun game for the dog.

Lola on a strike, with the body in the foreground

Going into the body...

Back to tell Matt...

Barking at Matt

Back to the body again...

Leading Matt into the body

Lola is rewarded with a tug-of-war from the body.
Different search dogs have different rewards, as finding the body and bringing their handler back is a huge game to the search dogs. The treat at the end of this game has to be one of the best things in the world to the search dog.