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msar-riders - Re: [MSAR] Trailing dog confused(?) by MSAR team

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Subject: Mounted search and rescue

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  • From: "Jorene Downs" <Jorene@CEOates.com>
  • To: "Mounted search and rescue" <msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [MSAR] Trailing dog confused(?) by MSAR team
  • Date: Mon, 16 May 2005 13:06:26 -0700

A dog shouldn't have any problem distinguishing between horse and human scent. Pulling the trailing dog off was handler error. The handler didn't trust his/her trailing dog and apparently doesn't understand how to use trailing dogs around horses and other humans.

However, if an Area / Air Scenting Dog is only trained to alert on "human in the area" without being specific with scent discrimination for the missing person, positioning humans / riders upwind will have that dog confused with multiple human scents and nothing to distinguish (and alert on) the missing if also upwind. Trailing dogs are trained to scent discriminate but will often also air scent, so in general it is safer to position other human searchers - including riders - downwind from the working dog.

Joint training with MSAR and SAR Dogs is very advantageous so all with animals understand how to best work with the other. It is also very advantageous - if not imperative - for MSAR riders to learn about air scenting since the horse/mule naturally performs this and can also be trained to alert with scent discrimination. http://airscentinghorse.com/

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Jorene Downs
Tulare SAR - Hasty Team ICP Team
www.ceoates.com/sar
Tulare-Kings CERT
www.tk-cert.org

----- Original Message -----
[Busy day. Here is another situation from someone who wishes
to be Anonymous. -Una]
I soon
realized the mistake, stopped, turned and asked the trailing
dog handler if they wanted me to stay put or return to not mess
up the dog. The handler did not answer, but then pulled the
dog from our direction, thinking the dog was trying to follow
our horses. The dog then went the opposite way, on a long goose
chase. The handler later said horses should never be allowed
to go ahead of any dog. This I think is wrong; a trailing dog
should be able to distinguish horse scent from human.





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