SEARCH & RESCUE K9 SELECTION TEST

Search and Rescue has an advantage over police service because the one drive which often separates a dog from doing PSD work is 'fight' drive and that is trait you do not want to find in a SAR dog. SAR dogs should be very socialable, high in 'hunt', and 'retrieval' instinct. This is assuming that PREY and AirScent instinct will be present in sufficient form.

Regardless of whether you use the test outlined here, we recommend you apply your test to evaluate the following.

Any time you test a prospective candidate, it should always be in unfamiliar or neutral territory, NEVER on its home truff or a public parks they frequently visit. Review the section on Body language to familiarize yourself with the various postures and positions you are evaluating.

Your testing area should be preselected. Avoid parks and areas where public dogs frequent. You are looking for an area which has tall grass or brushes, a small hill and green grass. You may need to go to more then one site because you need to find an obstacle course, such as what is found at a school playground.

You need to bring an umbrella, shaker can, ball, rubber hose, wooden dowel, clean rag, metal rod, empty plastic liter bottle, starter pistol or 22 cal. pistol and blanks.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN. Be sure that the dog is allowed at least 5 minutes to eliminate before beginning, water if necessary.

SOCIAL CONTACT. There should be no hestitation in the dogs willingness to be approached by a stranger or a child

The handler will have their dog onlead, a stranger walks briskly up to them and shakes the handler hand. Have a short conversation for a minute and then the stranger walks off, out of sight.

The handler will have their dog onlead and walking and they approach a teenager bouncing a basketball. They have a short conversation and then walk off.

UMBRELLA. Some dogs, even the ones who first look good, can't stand the umbrella

Stranger approaches dog and handler within 15' and opens the umbrella, when facing the dog and then drops it and walks away. The dog may be startled but should walk up to the umbrella on the ground.

RETRIEVAL

You will use the rubber hose, wooden dowel, plastic liter bottle, ball and metal rod (in that order). If the dog shows no or low interest after the first two items, note it is failed. Otherwise continue, they usually do not like metal so it is acceptable if they do not pick it up.

You will throw the items, one at a time, up a small hill. You want to see if the dog will bring the item back to you to be thrown again. If the dog takes it to the handler, thats fine, let him throw the items. It is not important who throws them, just that the dog retrieves them.

HUNT

The clean rag is weighted down in the middle with a rock. Throw the rag into the search area of tall grass. Work the dog into the wind to see how far away they will detect and locate the rag.

PREY

Attach a jute rag or old bath towel to a rope. The dog could be onlead. Swing the rope/rag overhead and then drop it to the ground, pulling it slowly back and forth. The dog should chase and grab the rag firmly, it may shake its head back and forth. Pull back on the rope to see the dogs interest in keeping the rag.

GUNSHOT

Using blank cartiage (it is your discretion if you use live ammo, following safety precaution and state/city/county laws) and a 22 cal. pistol, a person fires two rounds from a distance of 100 feet away.

FOOTING

You need a playground which has a swinging bridge, stairs and possibly a tunnel. The dog should be able to negate all three of these obstacles off-lead. The next obstacle may take some looking but you need to find a slick floor, like a gym floor for the dog to walk on. That's all the dog has to do is walk on it. Some dogs have a complete aversion to slick floors.

In the Brownell-Marsolias selection testing they include numerous other tests which you might consider. Although, in the PREY TEST, they suggest using the dogs favorite toy. A test is meant to guage the dog's inherit drives, using a favorite toy shows nothing, that is why the ball (most common dog toy) is listed next to last in the retrieval test and then only to guage if the dog is 'ball-crazy'.

WEBSITES TO VISIT

SUBJECT WEBSITE
SAR Selection Testing http://www.disasterdog.org/forms/training/dog_sreening.pdf
SAR K9 Selection http://www.comdens.com/SAR/choosing.html
Dr. P. Library http://www.uwsp.edu/psych/dog/lib-GenTrain.htm#test
SAR Selection http://www.avalanche.org/~doghouse/3%20SELECTING%20Dog/SELECTION-1.htm
Ontario SAR K9 Selection http://www.opp.ca/sardogs/english/evaluation.htm

 

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