Dog Community

SAR here we come!!

Posted : 8/6/2008 10:02:59 PM

Z passed her Search and Rescue (SAR) eval today, despite the 101 degree temps (we were outside for about 45 mins).

She's not stellar in terms of toy drive with other people yet, but she works nicely for food and they think she should do well with some work with others using her tuggy and/or a ball. On the "search" test she did nicely, especially given the heat - she looked for her ball for a good 10 mins before she wandered over to get water and flop on the grass, which apparently is a good start.

Our homework is to build drive to the victim using "runaways" and "pop ups"; runaways are just that: the dog is restrained while the victim hides and then is released when they are raring to go, pop ups are similar except the person goes out of sight to hide and then "pops up" every so often so the dog gets glimpses of them.

Z's not to come to the next few practices until we get some more of the above training under our belt at home, but then she'll start training for real with the club. :D :D :D

I'm soooooooo proud of my little girl, especially because she'll be the smallest dog and the only mixed breed on the team!

polarexpress

Posted : 8/7/2008 6:08:41 AM

Hooray! That is great! You should be proud of both of YOU---and being the smallest dog may come in handy. I take it this will be SAR in the woods/rural areas as opposed to urban SAR???

Best wishes to you both and thanks for doing this----SAR teams are such an amazing, life-saving resource.

THANKS!

Jewlieee

Posted : 8/7/2008 7:14:01 AM

That is so awesome. Please keep us updated on your progress. I am very interested in this!

gradyupmybutt

Posted : 8/7/2008 7:52:22 AM

Yav Z!! You show them that size does not matter & mutts rule! I'm so proud of you & your mama! You go girl!!!!

BEVOLASVEGAS

Posted : 8/7/2008 8:27:24 AM

Yay to go Z!

Erin, keep us updated. I'm very interested to know more about SAR.

kpwlee

Posted : 8/7/2008 8:58:34 AM

That's awesome! Great job Z!

I am really struggling to find a SAR course here - Bugsy's favorite game is 'find it' - it can be you, food, a toy, a sock, etc inside and out.

Please keep us informed as to how this works!

janobonano

Posted : 8/7/2008 9:02:26 AM

That's great! Rupert & I have been doing SAR training for a while.

Jewlieee

Posted : 8/7/2008 9:05:09 AM

I'd love to hear about your experiences with it Janice

BannedBreed Lover

Posted : 8/7/2008 10:15:45 AM

Way to go Z!

Congratulations on passing her evaluation! I've always been interested in SAR, so please keep us all updated on her progress!

stardog85

Posted : 8/7/2008 11:06:27 PM

Thanks guys! We're pretty psyched still. :) Glad we're sharing the ranks with such prestigious fellas as Rupert! ;) Perhaps Bugsy can join us one day - our team is in Upstate SC and I know there are some in NC as well.

We'll be training for wilderness search primarily, with some urban search training thrown in most likely as the team does work with local law enforcement.

I went ahead and set up a blog for everyone who wants to keep track of our progress. Addy is www.zthesardog.blogspot.com .