Dogs

Posts Tagged ‘Rescue dogs’

Police dogs are important members of the force. Their acute sense of smell is used to detect human scent and to follow a trail for long distances. The police force benefits from their natural predatory aggression and instinct to guard and protect by training them to apprehend suspects once they have been tracked down. They are taught how to avoid injury by taking hold of the weapon-bearing arm of a suspect. Many police officers have a police dog to thank for saving them from injury or death.

RESCUE DOGS

Dogs are used for search and rescue in natural disasters such as earthquakes and avalanches where people may be trapped beneath snow or rubble and are undetectable to rescuers on the surface.

Having an acute sense of hearing and smell, dogs can detect trapped people and will alert searchers to their presence. These dogs also need a high play drive to remain motivated to perform this work. They are taught scent discrimination and they learn how to fetch and locate a handler buried in snow or under debris. When they locate the person, they receive an ecstatic greeting from their owner and lots of praise.

These dogs have to learn to ride on snowmobiles and need to become familiarized with being dropped down or winched up by helicopters. It is a lot to ask of them, but they do it well and willingly.

FARM DOGS

Working dogs on farms are important extensions of their owners. Sheep dogs are invaluable in finding individual sheep, bringing them together and driving flocks.

During the training process their natural instincts to round up and drive prey animals are exploited but they are selectively bred and trained so that the predatory aspect of this behaviour is not carried through to an overt attack.

Dogs can move large numbers of sheep over long distances and rough terrain. The task would take people far longer and could even prove impossible. These dogs, however, have an amazing ability to weigh up a situation and to predict an outcome.

While working on a sheep farm as a student I was sent to bring a flock of sheep down to the yards with a young dog which was in training. The sheep were difficult to move and kept breaking away and running back up the hill. Jack, an experienced dog belonging to the farmer, suddenly ran towards me, rounded up the mob and took them through to the yards. There was no one else around. He had summed up the situation and acted to remedy the problem.