2015-07-15 Vol 9 No 7 - National Search Dog Alliance

SAR Dog News
July 2015
Published by the National Search Dog Alliance
Vol. 9, No. 7
The Voice of K-9 Search and Rescue @ n-sda.org
Founding members: K-9 Thor, Eileen M. Nobles, Susan Bulanda, K-9 Roo, Leslie Godchaux, Brian R. Hendrickson,
Continental Kennel Club, Inc., K-9 River, K-9 Persha, Jan Thompson, K-9 Cali, Peggy Ann Buchman, K-9 Geist
CONTENTS
Article
page
2015 BOD Meeting Dates
Larry Welker (1949 -2015)
Hero Dog Contest Winner
Message from the President
Water Test pass
PODCASTS
DID YOU KNOW?
Meet NSDA Directors
Mounted/ K-9 Border Patrol team
Book Review
Board of Directors
Do Pseudoscents Work
BORSTAR team locates
“The Puppy Knew”
Upcoming NSDA & Other Agency Tests
Kibbles and Bits
Bruga” Peabody
Last Howl
Training, Seminars & Conferences
1
1
3
3
3
4
4
5
6
7
7
8
10
11
12
13
15
16
17
We Will Remember
Major Lawrence (Larry) Welker
USMC (ret) 21 years
1949 – 2015
A caring person and a good human being
Larry and his first airscent K-9, River
8
2015 BOARD MEETING DATES
August 6
September 3
October 1
Contact Secretary, Julie Gibson ([email protected]) for the
call in number for the meetings.
Bucky says
A dog in a kennel barks at his
fleas; a dog searching does
not notice them.
2007 Founding Member of NSDA
Peer Review Team for the NSDA Area
Standard
Water Recovery Standard Committee
member
Network Committee Chair: He
developed and served as the
moderator for the NSDA Podcast
programs on team training that aired
live monthly on the internet.
NSDA Board of Directors 2009 - 2012
NSDA President
Dog News, July 2015
Page 2
Larry was a NASAR SARTECH™ II and both of his Labrador Retrievers became NASAR
SARTECH™III Wilderness Canines.
Larry became involved in K-9 SAR in
1999. He held many titles. Among a
few were:
AARS (Alabama Association of
Rescue Squads member
Amateur Radio Operator, K9LEW
AKC Canine Good Citizen Evaluator
NASDA (North Alabama Search Dog
Association): Treasurer
CSAR (Canine Search and Recovery
organization): Board member
& Interim Treasurer
HEMSI (Huntsville Emergency
Medical Services, Inc.)
He was proud of being a U.S. Marine. He was also an Eagle Scout and Troop Committee
Chairman of Boy Scout Troop 221 in Salem, Alabama. He was an avid outdoorsman.
Donations to Samaritan Fund in
Memory of Larry, River & Cotton
would be appreciated.
c/o Town & Country Animal
Hospital
1642 Jefferson St,
South Athens, AL. 35611
Larry is survived by his wife,
Brenda and his two daughters,
Gayle and Kathleen plus his sister
and brother, nieces and nephews.
Dog News, July 2015
American Humane
Association
HERO DOG CONTEST
WE HAVE A WINNER !
Search and Rescue Category
GLORY, owned by Landa Caldion, will go on
to the grand finals in Hollywood and NSDA
should receive a $2,500. donation.
Go to: www.herodogawards.org to see
finalists in other categories. Thank you to
everyone who participated.
Glory is an eight year old Bloodhound who
has been trained and certified to track lost
pets. During her long and successful career,
she has helped bring closure to hundreds of
families.
Water HRD Pass
Rena Ferguson and Kai pass Water HRD in
Cody, Wyoming with K.T. Irwin, Evaluator.
Page 3
A Message from the President
Congratulations to Landa Coldiron and her
bloodhound, Glory, as finalists in the Search
and Rescue division of the Hero Dog Award
contest! We are happy to be her charity
partner and wish Landa and Glory continued
success.
At the July NSDA Board of Directors meeting,
the BOD passed the following proposal: “If a
re-test can be done within the same
testing period and the evaluators approve
this immediate re-test, then an additional
testing fee will not be collected.” Last
year, over 100 K9 teams received NSDA
tests. We have a goal of administering 150
tests for 2016. Our evaluator list is growing
and NSDA is reaching more states. If you
know someone who is interested in becoming
an NSDA Principal or Apprentice Evaluator,
tell him/her to take a look at our application
and apply.
In the near future, Wade Boyd will be adding
study
guides and
more
educational
information on our website. The podcasts
can be heard whenever you want to tune in
and Eva Briggs is doing a great job with
supplying programs.
Enjoy your summer!
Susan Fleming
Dog News, July 2015
NSDA PODCASTS
Episode 32 of the Search Dog Podcast for
July 15 2015 is an interview with Sonny
Portacio about geocaching. On episode 31,
the speaker and I briefly mentioned
geocaching as a fun way to develop
proficiency navigating with your GPS receiver.
This podcast expands that idea. The speaker,
Sonny, hosts a weekly podcast called
Podcacher (www.podcacher.com). Episode
31 provides an intro to geocaching. Listen to
the podcast for a chance to win a travel bug.
The winner of last month's Teddy the Dog
gear was Noreen Scelzo.
You can listen (and subscribe) to the Search
Dog Podcast through iTunes, and also find
the
podcast
on
Podbean
at
sardoc.podbean.com Please send questions,
feedback, and suggestions to [email protected].
PS Although the podcast is published to
coincide with the newsletter, if anyone wants
to enter the giveaway, they have two weeks
to do so. If you have a way to encourage folks
to subscribe, they will get the podcast as soon
as its published. And the podcast will stay up
indefinitely.
Page 4
DID YOU KNOW ?
NSDA now has over 40 evaluators. We offer
certifications in:
Area
Land HRD
Area Search with both Live HR
Water HRD
Trailing, Levels I, II and III
Avalanche
Disaster First Responder
Gun Source Residue (coming soon)
DID YOU KNOW ?
ASTM, the organization that has written over
13,000 international standards for products,
industry and safety has recently written
guidelines for Area Search dogs. . . and used
NSDA’s Acreage Adjustment Chart . . . to
determine the amount of acres you should
have to search in a certain amount of time
under specific conditions.
DID YOU KNOW ?
DID YOU KNOW ?
I recently heard the rumor being spread by a
team that NSDA never amounted to anything,
that we were defunct and forget about testing
with us. Are you aware that NSDA has now
grown to have members in 43 states?
You should be suspicious of people who don’t
like dogs. You should trust a dog that doesn’t
like a person.
Dog News, July 2015
Page 5
MEET THREE NEW BOARD
DIRECTORS
Bridget Jackson is the President of Little
Egypt Search and Rescue in Missouri and is
employed by the Missouri Department of
Conservation.
Heather Seudcamp is Secretary of the
Kentucky Search Dog Association and serves
and evaluator/ instructor for IDHS. She is
employed in the insurance industry as a
Commercial Litigation Specialist.
Jen Skeldon is our 10th Board Director this
year. Our Board provides for nine voting
members and up to five non-voting members.
Jen manages an office staff of 10 for an
interagency federal project and ran a
successful dog training business.
FOR MORE COMPLETE BIOS SEE OUR
WEB PAGE UNDER “ABOUT US”
www.n-sda.org
SAR Dog News, July 2015
Page 6
Special Operations Group Canine Unit Deploys a Horse/Canine Team
A dog. A horse.
Without these animals, U.S. Customs and Border Protection would be working a lot harder to catch
the bad guys.
A dog’s keen olfactory sense can identify banned insects and plants, illegal drugs and people.
Horses offer mobility and speed in tough terrain.
So what happens when they work together? Just ask Agent Felipe Vasquez.
After being deployed to the rugged mesquite-and-sage-brush hills of southern Texas for 15 days,
Vasquez nabbed an astonishing 103 illegal aliens near McAllen. He expects to have the most
productive summer of his career.
“You don’t waste as much energy. You don’t
get exhausted,” said Vasquez about his 10hour shifts riding his horse, Bob, mostly at
night.
Vasquez, Bob, and his dog, Joe, make up a
special horse search-and-rescue canine team,
as it’s called. Because Vasquez is also a
canine handler, he understands both animals
well. The team extends the reach of CBP law
enforcement into areas unfit for vehicles or
even someone on foot.
And for now, it’s the only such team in the
Border Patrol.
Horse, dog and agent are assigned to a
special operations group in the Border Patrol
focusing on search, trauma and rescue
events. Because the dog freely follows the
horse and rider, it’s carefully screened and
trained for the job. “Extremely specialized,” is
how canine instructor Agent Robert Noziska
describes the animal, in this case a black
Labrador retriever.
“They have to encounter people without showing aggression,” he said. “They have to work without
a leash and maintain a high Typically, the dog will pick up a human scent in the distance or spot
someone hiding in the bushes. The dog will then return to the agent and sit, the signal that
someone is lurking nearby, Noziska explained.
“The people this team has caught, nobody else found,” he said.
SAR Dog News, July 2015
Page 7
There’s a 12-week search-and-rescue academy for dog handlers and then a six-week horse patrol
course. Then, before the animals can be considered a team, it may take up to two weeks on the
job to make sure the horse and dog are compatible, said Noziska.
Meanwhile, Agent Vasquez continues to have a productive season.
Bob and Joe were part of a larger horse patrol that seized over 430 pounds of marijuana and the
transport vehicle in May. They nabbed the huge stash near the bank of the Rio Grande after
tracking a group of smugglers who brought the weed into the United States from Mexico.
Noziska sees the program expanding. He says protected areas, heavily wooded land or
mountainous, steep terrain are ideal for horses and dogs. “Working this type of team along both
the southern or northern border will serve as a force multiplier,” he added.
Book Review
by Susan Bulanda
Opinions expressed in this column are those of
the author and not necessarily those of the
National Search Dog Alliance
How to Train a Human Remains Detection
Dog by Christy Judah and Tracy Sargent.
ISBN:9781505875843, $38.95 (Amazon) self
published, 313 pgs.
Christy Judah has previously self-published
books that have been fair and contributed to
the training of a SAR dog. However I
agonized over her latest book that is
touted as the end all and do all of HRD
training. After studying the book I contacted
two other experienced SAR people, (one a
national expert in HRD) to discuss the book
with them. We all came to the same
conclusion that we cannot recommend this
book as a valid training manual for
HRD. While there are some valid points in
the book, by and large the training steps
andoverall content are not conducive to
training an HRD dog.
In addition, the quality of print is poor, in
some cases looks like an old dot matrix
printer. All the photos are in black and white
making it difficult to see the object of the
photo - so much so that arrows had to be
added to point out what you are supposed
to see.
Please understand that I like Christy and
have given her other books favorable
reviews, but ethically I owe it to the SAR
community to be honest in my opinion and
what I report.
Board of Directors— Susan Fleming, President, Pennsylvania suefleming@n-­‐sda.org Terry Crooks, Vice-­‐President, Montan tcrooks@n-­‐sda.org Julie Gibson, Secretary, Idaho jgibson@n-­‐sda.org Sherry Scruggs, Treasurer, Georgia sscruggs@n-­‐sda.org Robert Noziska, New Mexico rnoziska@n-­‐sda.org Heather Proper VanValkenberg Pennsylvania [email protected] Heather Suedcamp, Kentucky [email protected] Bridget Jackson, Missouri [email protected] Kathleen Kelsey, Missouri [email protected] Jen Skeldon, Idaho [email protected] SAR Dog News, July 2015
Do Pseudoscents Work?
Disclaimer: We are not connected with Sigma
Chemical Company. We buy our
Pseudoscents at list price like everyone else.
Andy was paid a small amount for writing the
Protocols for Using Pseudoscents and was
given chemicals to evaluate, but that was
several years ago.
Composition: That is a company secret as
they developed the formula and don't want
others to copy it. However, they analyzed the
chemicals of decomposition and formulated
something similar. It isn't as wide a spectrum
as actual decomposition, but it does work,
based on experience with hundreds of dogs.
Our background: Andy Rebmann, CT State
Trooper, had a bloodhound that was afraid of
bodies. He would not close in on a body. So
when Clem wouldn't finish a trail, Andy would
bring out his air scenting dog.
Andy started thinking about what was going
on and training his GSD for body work using
the chemicals Cadaverine and Putracine.
They are very toxic and dangerous and
require all sorts of care to use, but he did get
his dog trained. This was in the late 70's.
From then until his retirement over 10
years ago, Andy trained cadaver dogs for
himself, conducted cadaver dog training
classes for police departments, and went on
thousands of searches.
He has hundreds of finds, both live and dead.
(Right now he's working on a data base of
searches - only up to 500+) He also helped
Sigma's Pat Carr develop the Pseudoscents.
(for free)
When Andy retired he started teaching
cadaver classes to volunteers. We started
teaching classes together in 1993. During that
time we've had 500+ cadaver students. We
see many of them in several classes over the
years.
Page 8
Now with this long preamble over, what's the
opinion of Pseudoscents?
Pseudoscents WORK.
1. We imprint the Pseudoscent by having the
dogs go down a line of concrete blocks, one
of which has the scent on a gauze pad. This
is done many times until the dog knows that's
what he's looking for.
You can get more specific instructions by
asking for the Pseudoscent Protocols from
Sigma Chemical. They do not automatically
send them - or even tell you they exist when
you order the chemicals!
2. Because the chemical spectrum is not as
wide as with actual decomposition, the dogs
must be formally introduced to the chemical.
Before Andy moved out here, I used the
chemicals and had some difficulties with dogs
recognizing them. Andy told me to introduce
the dogs to them before setting up a search
problem. It worked. I think this may be why
some other handlers are having trouble with
their dogs indicating on Pseudoscent.
3. Dogs that have been trained using the
Pseudoscents ONLY have gone out and
made finds! Two examples: Matt Zarrella
([email protected]), RI State Trooper
trained his dogs only on Pseudodrowned. He
had many water finds with both dogs with no
problems.
Tom Berezowski – Japan ([email protected]). In
Japan it is illegal to have human remains. So
when we teach we use Pseudocorpse,
Pseudodistressed and Pseudodrowned.
On Tom's first search he had a water find.
Subsequently his dog found a suicide. He
responded to the Taiwan earthquake where
Chewy found many
4. We don't used Pseudoscents exclusively in
our cadaver classes (except in Japan), but
they're easy to use, so we start with them.
SAR Dog News, July 2015
Problems with Pseudoscents:
Dogs won't indicate them. This is because the
dog has not been introduced to the scent and
rewarded before having to do a search
problem.
Dogs that have been trained on the "real
stuff" won't alert on Pseudoscents.
That's true because real decomposition is a
much wider
spectrum of scent. However, introducing
these dogs to Pseudoscents and then doing a
search problem solves this problem.
Why use Pseudoscents at all? We use them
because:
Advantages of Pseudoscents:
1. Easy to use - I can take the vials anywhere
with
me.
When
Sue
Williams
([email protected]) and I went to Hawaii for a
search, I took several vials with me and a
couple of scent tubes. We worked on
speculative searches for 6 days. To keep the
dogs' interest up we planted tubes and then
really rewarded them when they found them.
It worked beautifully and was so SIMPLE.
2. P.C. - When you work a cadaver dog, you
get used to getting samples, storing all sorts
of material, etc. You forget what the general
public's reaction is to human remains. When
I'm asked what I use for training materials, I
can say chemicals. If pushed, I'll add soil and
blood. In Hawaii I did a demonstration for the
TV cameras of opening a vial of
Pseudoscent, putting it in a scent tube, hiding
the tube and having the dog find it. It worked
great and satisfied everyone's questions.
Page 9
3. In some countries (Japan) and in some
states (CA) it is illegal to possess human
remains. When we are doing large training
sessions where the media may be present or
travel to a different country, we follow the
laws.
(In a state on the east coast of the US, a
search dog handler demanded to a human
remains to train his dog. A congressman
saw this, was horrified, and got a bill passed
making it illegal to possess human remains.
If you're going to use remains, don't talk
about it to the media, and don't put it in your
standard and then publish the standard on
your web pages.)
4. For disaster work, we conceal
Pseudocorpse and Pseudo distressed in a
rubble pile. We make sure that the dog alerts
on the "live person" scent first. The handler
doesn't know which is which, so cannot
inadvertently cue the dog.
5. Based on our experiences with over 500
dogs, Pseudoscents WORK. (One handler
was convinced that her dog would not alert on
Pseudoscent. We set up a problem for the
dogs with a dummy in camouflage hanging
from a tree. It had 1ml of Pseudo II on a
gauze pad stuffed in its body. The dummy
could not be seen from the trail. There was a
nice breeze carrying from the dummy to the
trail. Every dog in the class - 10 - picked up
the scent and went in on it and alerted before
the handler saw the dummy.)
Buying Pseudoscents:
aldrich.com.
c. 2000 Marcia Koenig
http://www.sigma-
SAR Dog News, July 2015
Page 10
Special Operations Group BORSTAR Canine Unit Locates
Missing Spring Breaker
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection Border
Patrol human remains detection team got a
chance to validate prior training when it
helped search for and locate the body of a
man who disappeared in March while on
spring break near South Padre Island, Texas.
Border Patrol Agents Jorge Maldonado,
Jason Hughes and Matthew Solosabal
volunteered to assist the South Padre Island
Police Department (SPIPD) in its search for
the man, Jordan Britten, who had been
missing for almost a week, but whom they
found dead in marshland near South Padre
Island.
The canine team, comprised of canines and
agent handlers, is part of the Border Patrol’s
special operations group, the Border Patrol
Search, Trauma, and Rescue Unit.
The handlers and their canines – Dar-A, Topp
and Britt-A – cleared a marshland located on
the south side of the Schlitterbahn Beach
Waterpark parking area once they determined
that the area would yield the highest
probability of locating the missing man, based
on the information provided by the SPIPD.
The search area contained thick vegetation
and waist-deep water that required the
handlers to trudge through with their canine
partners. After approximately an hour and a
half of searching, the canine team located a
body in the marshland. The agents
immediately notified SPIPD and soon after
officials confirmed it was Britten.
The BORSTAR unit that helped in the
recovery
reached
an
unprecedented
milestone with its certification in September
following a 10-week HRD course. The
certifications were issued by the CBP canine
program, North American Police Work Dog
Association, and the National Search Dog
Alliance.
SAR Dog News, July 2015
Page 11
The handlers’ HRD course included land,
water, and buried exercises, as well as
numerous
classroom
discussions
and
lectures. During training, the handlers learned
how to determine a search area based on the
information
provided
by
witnesses,
informants, or other investigators. These
discussions and lectures proved invaluable to
the search in March, as they were
instrumental in locating Britten’s body, CBP
officials said.
____________________________________
THE PUPPY KNEW
The puppy looked up As the lady came through the door In his six weeks of life He’d never seen her before In the last few days He’d seen many people come and go Why they took away his brothers and sisters He’d never know He remembered having six now there were four Would he be the next to go through that door? The lady knelt down and put out her hand She had chosen this pup For reasons only she’d understand She picked the pup up And looked in his eyes And knew her new companion Would be very wise The puppy looked in the lady’s eyes They looked very kind Somehow the puppy knew She had a purpose in mind The lady took him home and the puppy grew A friendship formed and the puppy knew Two years later on a cold wet night Woman and dog were nearing a site The woman didn’t know But the dog knew for sure This was the little girl For he’d been tracking her The little girl had been alone In a dark scary place But not anymore As the dog licked her face The little girl knew she’d be going home She would be warm and not alone The woman said “good boy, good find!” And this was the purpose she had in mind A poem by Debbie Hochhalter SAR Dog News, July 2015
Page 12
UPCOMING NSDA TESTS
Visit www.n-sda.org for prerequisites and standards.
July 17, 18 & 19
Land HRD
Water HRD
CODY, WYOMING
K.T. Irwin at:
[email protected]
September 11,12,13
TITUSVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA
Trailing
Heather Proper-VanValkenberg
Area
[email protected]
Land HRD, if requested
Water HRD, if requested
September 20
Land HRD
KENT, WASHINGTON
October 9, 10, 11
Area
Trailing
Land HRD
Water HRD
LUPTON, MICHIGAN
Heather Jo Cutting
[email protected]
Victoria Thompson
[email protected]
UPCOMING OTHER AGENCY TESTS
September 14
IPWDA
COLUMBIA FALLS, MONTANA
Kim Gilmore
September 19 - 20
CAMP ATTERBURY, EDINBURGH, INDIANA Lillian Hardy
[email protected]
K-9 Credentialing Test
812-526-0013 or e-mail [email protected]
Does your agency or team have an upcoming test? Send your information to
[email protected]
SAR Dog News, July 2015
Page 13
KIBBLES & BITS
by Susan Bulanda
To my Loyal readers – Do you have any subjects that you would like me to
cover? Send them to me at [email protected] with K & B in the subject line.
Dog Breeds for SAR
In the March K&B I promised to review some of the breeds of dogs that I
have found to make great SAR dogs or that I feel have potential to be
good SAR dogs.
This month we will review the four Belgian
breeds, the Groenendael also known as the
Belgian Shepherd or Belgian Sheepdog; the
Belgian Tervuren; the Belgian Laekenois
and the Belgian Malinois. All of the Belgian
breeds are a nice size, about 24 – 26 inches
and fairly light in build, making them agile as
well as easy to transport. Their coats vary but
all are able to withstand most weather
conditions since they have a nice undercoat.
The four breeds were established around the
late 1800’s. Until 1899 all four of the Belgian
breeds were considered the same except for
the hair varieties and judged in the same
class. All colors were allowed for each variety
as well. By 1900 a distinction was made for
each variety and each became its own breed.
By 1903 both the Groenendael and Malinois
were used by the police departments in
Belgium and by 1908 were used by the New
York police dept.
It is important to note that both World Wars
almost eliminated the Belgian breeds and it
took special breeding programs to reestablish the breeds. However, as usually
happens, the dogs today are not the same as
they originally were. As I mentioned in past
issues of K & B, some are bred for
conformation shows and lose their original
working ability.
The Groenendael has a long, straight, full
black coat with a collarette or a ruff around
the neck. The fine coat needs regular
attention since it has a tendency to mat and
will pick up and hold debris in the field. Of the
four Belgian breeds, the Groenendael is the
most sensitive and can be very aware of their
handler’s
moods.
However,
their
sensitiveness can hinder them if they become
frightened by something since they may take
longer to recover from it. They are not a hard
dog like some other breeds and require
positive training methods. Harsh methods
can cause the dog to shut down. They
typically do not do well with Schutzhund,
police work or bite work. They are very
intelligent and I have liked working with them.
In one case a handler kept missing his
Groenendael’s signals and after a few training
sessions, the dog became very frustrated and
charged his handler, hitting him full in the
groin. Needless to say the handler never
missed a signal again.
The Groenendael is an intelligent dog willing
to work for and please his handler. They
show enthusiasm for the jobs they are trained
for and need a job to do in order to be happy.
Overall they are a well balanced breed with a
high drive, yet can be contented to sleep in
on an occasional nasty day. They are very
devoted to their family and can be protective.
The most common health issues are: elbow
dysplasia;
epilepsy;
hip
dysplasia;
hypothyroidism and progressive retinal
atrophy.
SAR Dog News, July 2015
The Belgian Tervuren is similar to the
Groenendael in size and density of coat. They
too have a collarette or a ruff around the neck
and the hair is fine, needing regular attention
since it has a tendency to mat and will pick up
and hold debris in the field. Their coat is a
fawn to russet with a grey to black overlay;
they have a black mask and can have some
white, usually on the chest. They are not as
sensitive as the Groenendael taking more
things in stride. The ones I have worked with
were intelligent, eager and loved to work.
They are very trainable, show confidence and
are agile. They do best with positive training
methods and do not take kindly to harsh
treatment which can shut them down. They
typically do not do well with Schutzhund,
police work or bite work. Terv’s are very loyal
to the family and can be protective. They
need early socialization to be a good pet and
SAR dog. The ones I have worked with fit the
description of the breed. I found them to be a
bit more active or busy than the Groenendael.
The most common health issues are:
allergies;
cataracts;
elbow
dysplasia;
epilepsy; hip dysplasia; hypothyroidism and
progressive retinal atrophy.
The Belgian Malinois is typically a rich fawn
to mahogany color with a black mask and
overlay. Only the fawn with a black overlay
can have white markings, usually on the
chest. Their coats are double but they have a
shorter coat then the Groenendael and Terv.
The outer coat is short, dense and hard while
the under coat is woolly, making them hardy
as a SAR dog. Their coats are much easier to
maintain and they do not tend to pick up and
hold debris in the field and do not mat.
Unlike the Groenendael and Tervuren, the
Malinois is a hard dog and has been
successful in Schutzhund and police work, so
much so that many departments prefer them
to German Shepherds. The Malinois is also a
sensitive dog and puppies must be properly
socialized to become a good working dog.
Like the other Belgian breeds, they are active
Page 14
and like to work. However, they seem to have
a higher energy level than the Groenendael
and Tervuren, making them difficult for the
novice dog owner to raise and train properly.
The ones I have worked with fit the
description of the breed and some novice
handlers did have trouble getting the results
that they wanted. These dogs need a firm but
gentle training style. They have the agility,
stamina, attitude, size and coat to make a
good SAR dog if properly raised and trained.
The most common health issues are: elbow
dysplasia; epilepsy; hip dysplasia; and
progressive retinal atrophy.
The Belgian Laekenois is so rare that I have
never personally seen or worked with one
Most people know what each of the Belgian
breeds looks like except the Laekenois, so
here is a picture of one. There are no
breeders in the United States that I know of.
They can have some white or grey. The
breed is closer in personality to the Malinois
than the Groenendael or Tervuren, being a
harder or sharp dog. As such they need
proper socialization and training. This breed
did serve in WWI and WWII successfully,
however, lost favor and popularity after the
wars. At that time they were known to be very
courageous, sharp and tough. Because they
are not popular, they do not have as many
SAR Dog News, July 2015
health issues as the other Belgian breeds.
The main issues are: allergies; epilepsy; and
hip dysplasia. Some are still used in parts of
Europe.
Again, the similarities in the four breeds fact
that they were at one time the same breed
Page 15
with different coat types. As each coat type
became its own breed, the gene pool was
limited thus concentrating the health issues
common to each breed and enhancing the
personality differences associated with each
coat type.
"Bruga" 271/2 inches tall 100 lbs. CD, AD, TT, KH, CGC, LavHI, SH1, SCHI, AG 1, AGII, SAR
DOG, Wildeness, Avalanche, Disaster, Water and Evidence Dog.
One of the first search dogs certified by California Rescue Dog Association. Owner Bev Peabody
SAR Dog News, July 2015
THE LAST HOWL
By Sue Wolff
Opinions expressed in this column are those of the
author and not necessarily those
of the National Search Dog
Alliance.
When one of my former team
members came up with snake
proofing, I was skeptical. Why
and what was it? Having recently watched
my GSD try to get a black snake (fortunately
non-poisonous) to play, I realized the
importance of this practice…training to teach
the canine to avoid snakes of all kinds.
Dogs like to play with things that move
and/or make noise. Snakes slither and hiss
so they qualify on both counts -- thus the
temptation for a canine.
The snake proofing that I was privy to was
done by a veterinarian in South Florida. He
would catch poisonous snakes, defang them
and bring them in plastic transport crates to
the snake proofing session. He brought a
rattlesnake and a water moccasin on this
occasion.
The dog to be snake proofed was fitted with
an electronic collar (use of this is a whole
other topic which I will not go into here)
before the snake was released into the close
cut grass. When the dog was walked on
leash near the snake by its handler, the dog
was zapped when it showed interest in the
reptile. If the dog went back to the snake, it
was zapped again, only this time at a higher
setting. I watched a 100 lb. GSD come at
least a foot off the ground when it stuck its
nose into the coiled snake and was zapped.
The vet used the collar’s control so the dog
would not associate the pain with the
Page 16
handler.
The handler in turn was to
“comfort” the dog i.e. “Oh my goodness.
What happened? Are you alright?”
As the veterinarian told us, after this, expect
your dog to jump at the sight of the garden
hose or any other object that resembled a
snake…and he was right. It was funny seeing
your dog walking calmly, pass the coiled
garden hose and jump the proverbial ten
feet.
However, once you thought about it, you
were glad that the dog did that. Even if the
snake your dog approaches is non-poisonous,
it can still be harmful to your K-9. The most
likely place your canine will be struck is the
nose and that will be a puncture wound
which is the hardest to treat on dog or
human. Or the snake may hit the dog’s eye
which could result in permanent blindness.
Is all this worth it? Bottom line is YES.
If you don’t have access to anyone who does
snake proofing, you can do small things to
insure yours and your dog’s safety. Snakes
are usually more scared of you than you are
of them. Most will move away when they
hear something coming. In snake infested
areas, make noise when you walk in order to
scare the viper away. Usually your dog
crashing through underbrush will be enough
but it never hurts to do both.
Having good verbal control of your canine
and a strong recall are essential at all times
but especially important in emergency
situations such as confrontation with a snake.
While you may not always have your dog in
sight when searching, if you do come upon
your dog facing off with a viper, you can
issue commands that may save the dog’s
life…and yours.
TRAINING, SEMINARS & CONFERENCES
REACH OVER 1,300 SAR K-9 HANDLERS. LIST YOUR
TRAININGS, SEMINARS AND CONFERENCES IN THE
SAR DOG NEWS
Contact Editor Norma Snelling at [email protected]
Training, Seminars & Conferences
JULY 2015
24 – 26
Beginning/Introduction to Canine Water Search, Western Montana
For information: Deb Termenstein at [email protected]
25 – 26
Intermediate Air Scenting Techniques for K-9s, Camp Atterbury, Edinburgh, Indiana.
For information call Lillian Hardy at 812-526-0013 or e-mail [email protected]
AUGUST 2015
1
Crime Scene Operations – Blood Borne Pathogens, Camp Atterbury, Edinburgh,
Indiana. For information call Lillian Hardy at 812-526-0013 or e-mail
[email protected]
2
K-9 Pretest, Camp Atterbury, Edinburgh, Indiana. For more information call Lillian
Hardy at 812-526-0013 or e-mail [email protected]
7-9
Advanced Topics in Canine Water Search, Western Montana. For information:
Deb Tirmenstein at: [email protected]
29 – 30
Advanced Land Cadaver Techniques for K-9s, Camp Atterbury, Edinburgh, Indiana.
For information call Lillian Hardy at 812-526-0013 or e-mail [email protected]
SEPTEMBER 2015
7 – 11
Civil War cemeteries, Keysville, Virginia. Lisa Higgins - Land HRD.
For information: Joe Canfield, 434-568-0531 cell, 434-736-9338 home.
11 - 13
Intermediate Canine Water Search, Western Montana
For information: Deb Tirmenstein at: [email protected]
Training, Seminars & Conferences, Continued
SEPTEMBER, cont.
17 - 20,
North American Search Dog Network (NASDN) Fall Seminar, Camp Kitaki,
Louisville, NE. For information and registration: www.nasdn.org
18 – 20
Water Recovery Semnar, Black Roc Park, Lake Buchanon, Texas
For information – [email protected]
27 – October 2, Appomattox, Virginia. Beginning and Advanced Trailing/Tracking, HRD
(Land and Water) and Air Scent. Web site www.olddominionsar.com/ or call
Ronnie 336-0744-5246 or Tim/Suzy 615-452-9116
OCTOBER 2015
4–9
CSAR 2015 Seminar, Camp ASCCA, Jacksons Gap, Alabama
Area, Trailing, HRD Land and HRD Water.
For information: www.nasdak9.og/CSAR2015 or www.CSAR.ORG
9 - 11
Canine Water Search, Level TBA, Western Montana
For information: Deb Tirmenstein at [email protected]
10
Skills Day, Camp Atterbury, Edinburgh, Indiana. For more information call Lillian
Hardy at 812-526-0013 or e-mail [email protected]
30 – Nov 1
FACTS Workshop, Whole body, off lead search scenarios. Texas State University,
San Marcos, TX. For information – [email protected]
NOVEMBER 2015
6- 8,
HRD, Air Scent & Trailing Workshops. Camp Lakeview, Brown County, Indiana.
North Star International K9 Training Association For information: Maryln Allen
Adams www.nsk9ta.com