We were fortunate to have canine handlers and trainers Teresa MacPherson and Deborah Burnett return to the NTC on March 7 and 8 to instruct another incredible workshop! For the first time since 2018, SDF offered a two-day course for Human Remains Detection (HRD) working canines. Though SDF continues to train canines in the Live-Find discipline, the need for well-trained and deployable HRD search teams is as high as ever.
At the beginning of March, SDF welcomed teams from Alabama, California and Florida to the NTC for this exciting course! The first step in each workshop is for Teresa and Deborah to assess the current skills of each participating canine. Once they know what level the dogs are at, they are able to build the course around the specific needs of each canine team. It’s important that the dogs and handlers be challenged but that they are able to learn in a positive and productive way. This particular workshop had a number of young dogs who still had a lot to learn.
For two full days, the trainers were challenged to break down the building blocks and help each dog better understand their new job, and teach the handlers how to help the dogs find their way. One by one, the canines had their “light bulb” moments and gained a clearer understanding of what was being asked of them.
Once the trainers and handlers were able to clearly communicate with the dogs, disaster search scenarios were created to give the teams a more real world deployment experience. Much of the NTC was utilized, including both rubble piles and the train wreck, in order to test the search teams’ skills. It was a lot of work but, as always, very enjoyable! If you’re passionate about working with dogs, a weekend at the NTC is a great way to spend your time.
There are currently 75 HRD canines certified by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and ready to go out the door at a moment’s notice. FEMA is in the process of further developing the HRD certification regulations, which are expected to roll out later this year. In preparation, a Mock-Certification Evaluation to the new standard was offered on March 9th to any of the teams who wanted to assess their current skillset. Most of the teams were still too much in the infancy of their training but a couple did participate in the mock evaluation and did very well!
SDF will offer this workshop and Mock-Certification Evaluation again on November 13-15, 2020. Details can be found on SDF’s website at www.searchdogfoundation.org/workshops.
