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Southeast Sask. Search and Rescue is to have a professional canine unit

The Southeast Saskatchewan Search and Rescue (SESK SAR) chapter keeps getting stronger.

The Southeast Saskatchewan Search and Rescue (SESK SAR) chapter keeps getting stronger.

Basic training was postponed in early 2020 due to the pandemic, but the organization still found a way for development and took a step in a new direction, announcing the establishment of a civilian search canine unit. The training will start in May.

Medicine Hat's Dan Vas, who is a part of the Canadian Search Dog Association (CSDA), has been a dog handler for 20 years, and he also belongs to a Southeast Alberta SAR chapter. He will be working with canine handler teams in the Estevan area on and off for about two years. After the civilian search canine training course, the dogs will be able to try going through RCMP examination and certification.

"The RCMP has released the requirements to certify a civilian search and rescue dog, so what happens is you get your dog trained to the level that … can be tested. There are several levels of testing that you have to go through to get your dog certified," said SESK SAR president Katia Bigney.

The Mercury talked to Vas about what's required from dogs and handlers, the training course organized by SESK SAR and also about how it will help Sask. SAR chapters in their mission.

Vas pointed out that to start the training dog needs to have basic obedience skills and it's always better to start training a dog as young as possible, potentially as early as eight weeks of age. However, it will take more than just skills and training.

"First of all, a dog has to be able to work in both hot and cold climates … Then, you want a dog that can navigate through all types of terrain, not every area is going to be flat Prairie land … That takes certain breeds out of the picture … Typically we are looking for retrievers, shepherds, border collies, any dog that can handle the terrain and weather," Vas explained.

Not only does a dog need to have physical characteristics, but it also has to be a fit for the job.

"You need a dog that wants to work … You want a dog that's known for its scenting abilities and good nose, and at the same time willing to please the handler."

Vas went on to explain that good search dogs should have a particular level of natural curiosity in them. They also can't be blindly obedient, as that would prevent them from understanding search skills. But learning each other's language is a team effort, in which a dog has to have a natural interest in doing search work and learn how to explain to the handler what's going on, while the handler has to understand what exactly the dog is up to. 

"What you want is intelligent disobedience. What that is, is the dog is working, and when you call the dog back, you want it to stop and look at you and say, 'I'm working here.' And you have to be able to read the dog's body language. This is a big part of the training. The dog has to be able to read the human, and the human has to be able to read the dog," Vas explained.

"Not all dogs are meant to be search dogs, and it's not a slight against the dog. It's like not everyone is going to become a doctor, or a professional athlete, or have a beautiful voice. Some dogs just don't have it, and we have to respect it."

The training will also require handlers to have a certain level of fitness to be able to keep up with their dogs, plus they will need proper footwear and other gear and equipment.

"Depending on the weather, terrain, temperature, etc., the dog and humans may be limited to how long they can work. Conditioning is important for both human and dog," Vas said.

The training that the SAR dogs and their handlers will be going through will be similar to law enforcement canine training, except for the aggression part, which is excluded from the civilian course. Potential SAR dogs will learn how to track, locate articles in a ditch, laneways or alleys, and detect the scent of articles as well as humans in open areas. Once the dogs are a bit more mature and established, they will also be trained to locate evidence, except for narcotics.

The dog nose is so much more powerful, which makes a properly trained dog a great companion and tool in search and rescue operations.

Once the dogs are ready they will attempt at getting certified through RCMP as civilian SAR canine units. Vas pointed out that it would take about two years to get a dog trained, but it depends on how dedicated the handler is and how much time they have.

"What we minimally expect them to do is at least two to three nights of training for about hour-hour and a half, at least, a night. And of course Saturdays and Sundays you are expected to do training on your own time, lots of homework and you'd better practise," Vas said, adding that three of his dogs were trained by 15 months of age, but he was working with them every night to achieve those results.

The initial training will take place in the Estevan area. The obstacle course will be built by May, when Vas is planning to come down to start the course if the health measures allow. The hope is to have training sessions organized every two months, and handlers will be practising with their dogs in between meetings.

The training is open to all Saskatchewan search and rescue members. If someone is interested in going through the training but is not a member yet, they can join their local SAR chapter. To have a dog certified, a handler has to be SAR member for at least two years, which will be about the time needed to get the animal ready for testing. To able to go on a search, members will also have to take a 40-hour basic searcher training course, which will be organized once the COVID-19 related restrictions are eased or lifted.

Up to six canine-handler teams can partake in a training session at a time, but if there is more interest in the province, there will be more training groups organized in the future and the location will be established accordingly.