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It is often asked, "Is there a breed that is best suited for search and rescue?" While there is not one specific breed that makes for the BEST search dog, it is true that some breeds are better than others. There are many factors to consider when choosing a search dog. One important factor is the size of the dog. Airscent dogs must often cover large areas. Needless to say, a small breed may have great difficulty with such a task. Likewise, when working the debris field of an avalanche, it would be quite difficult, if not impossible for a small dog to negotiate the area. A working dog need not necessarilly be a pure bred dog. There are however some big advantages. Working dogs get a lot of excercise and give their joints a pretty good work-out. Conscientious breeders of large dogs take great care in preventing litters with a genetic predisposition to hip and elbow problems. OFA certification in the parents of a puppy you are looking to get is very important. It is a tragedy to see much time and training put into a dog only to find out that at 3 years of age they have dysplastic hips and can no longer work. Anyone training a mixed breed K9 as a working dog can have the dog's hips x-rayed at 18 months by a vet to determine if your dog is likely to suffer from dysplasia.
Breeds that are generally recommended in the field of search and rescue include Labrador Retriever, German Shepherd, Belgian Malinois, Golden Retriever, and Bloodhound just to name a few.
I was once approached by a woman who wanted to train her 7 yr old, small, mixed breed dog for search and rescue. It is hard to tell someone that they don't have the right dog for the job, but the truth of the matter is that not all dogs are a good choice for search and rescue. There is a great deal of information available to assist people in choosing a good dog to train for search. Training a dog takes much time, a great deal of dedication and effort, and a lot of stick-to-itiveness. Why not stack the deck in your favor and start with the right ingredients. |
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