Starting With the Basics

With a very young puppy, the first steps in raising a confident and successful working dog begin even before the actual search training starts.  Exposing a young puppy to new and unusual things is a very critical part of bringing up a well rounded search dog.  Dogs can react very negatively to situations when they are afraid and lack the skills to cope with new circumstances.  Working dogs in particular can often be placed in environments that can be very stressful.  Whether it be loud noises such as working around a helicopter, exposure to much larger animals in cases where horse teams are a part of a search, or rough terrain in which the dog is being asked to work, a dog that has not already been exposed to and trained in these environments can have a very difficult time adapting and working effectively. Sappho's training began at 7 weeks of age by exposing her to new and different things, in situations where she can praised heavily and reassured that all is ok.  Another key component to her training has been socialization.  Wait, let me say that again, SOCIALIZATION.  She has recieved a lot of exposure to other animals, kids, and crowds of people.  It is simply not ok for search and rescue dogs to be either animal or people aggressive.  Again, dogs can become aggressive when they are fearful.  Most dog aggression is the result of improper socialization as a puppy.  The importance of this component of training cannot be overstated.  Obviously it is much easier to bring a dog into a situation with other animals and people when the dog can be observant of a few basic manners.   Advanced obedience can be saved for when the dog is a bit older, but even a young puppy can be taught the art of sit, down, stay, and off.  While most people may not mind when a cute little puppy jumps up on them, that cute little puppy can get very big and certainly people are much less receptive to a 60-70 lb dog jumping on them.  Starting young with these rules can save a lot of headaches down the road.  I have found that Sappho becomes amazingly smart when there is food involved.  She has regular obedience sessions  and has been learning very quickly.  Be mindlful that puppies do have fairly short attention spans.  When starting out, make the lessons fairly short and lots of fun. All of these components lay the foundation for an excellent dog to train for search and rescue.

Here is Sappho doing a bit of agility training.  Treats put on each step is all the motivation she needs.  Be sure not to let a dog fall from an agility aparatus.  Fear should not be a part of the training equation.

Puppy Search 101