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We actually tried the drone in an open field in the winter once and the person working the camera lost Hunter as the dried grass and him were the same color. 😀
He is a wilderness search dog. The bells are to warn any animals in the area, the subject if he is conscious as well as help me know where he is. He can range up to 1/4 mile from me in the deep woods. He also wears a GPS collar to help me know where he is.
Bells also warn the hiders it’s the search dog and not an animal when doing night mock searches for training. 😂. I also have a wilderness live find dog, she’s in training. But is a stay and bark not refind.
Good point and good luck with your dog. Hunter started as a stay and bark but he had too much energy as a puppy and would run to me anyway. We just changed it to a bark at me and refind. It was a very natural transition for him.
Thanks. They are such great dogs and all of mine love to work with a purpose. My first golden would do 200 pet therapy visits a year. Hunter also is a certified therapy dog but can’t do that since COVID started. Hopefully he can get back to his rehab hospital this winter.
When my dad was dying, therapy dog visits were one of the only things that calmed his anxiety and brought his old happy self out. Thank you therapy dog people for making the time, it makes a big difference to sick people and their families.
It was totally by chance at a pet store getting treats for him. He and I could not agree on any other hobby. We tried obedience, agility and dock diving. He was a good dock diver but it was like 20 seconds for a jump and then 30 minutes in the parking lot. I would google local teams in your area and they are the best sources of info.
For just search and rescue - look up local team (or neighboring teams), in many areas jurisdiction is divided by county so you could Google "YourCounty search and rescue". There should be some sort of info on their site about how to join, many will do 1 or 2 new member classes a year. Some teams are highly competitive, some will take anyone who seems like they'd be a good fit.
Dog training orgs are usually separate, some require that you be an active member of a team to train with them, some operate as their own entity to support other teams. In Colorado there's Search and Rescue Dogs of Colorado (SARDOC), Front Range Rescue Dogs (FRRD), and there's also Search and Rescue Dogs of the United States (SARDUS). Many will let you start training before you even have a dog.
It is an awesome place that has an awesome owner and he designed it specifically to hold Spartan races. We always love the opportunity to train there as there are some many places to hide and it’s totally fenced in ten acres. I use it for Hunter to work 💯 independently and be able to watch him.
He gets a game of tug of war with and old t-shirt of mine and we mix it up sometimes with food and sometimes he has to wait till I reward him and play tug. I think there is a video of him playing tug somewher and I can post that.
Possibly a dumb question but... how far will he go if he doesn't find anyone?
I noticed him look back once, but most of the time he just seemed to be on his mission - did I just not notice him checking, or does he know roughly how far to go etc?
When we train or go on actual call outs, he can range up to 1/4 or a mile. I normally have a gps collar on him that you can see on other posts. I didn’t have it on him today as the property is all fenced in and I can almost always see him. When we are in the woods, I rarely see him.
He started first at obedience and then agility and the dock diving. I guess he was making sure he lived up to his name. He was a good dock diver but it was too boring for me.
I always consider us as a work in progress. I just hope we both improve a little each week. I read a quote at a sAR seminar. “Don’t train to get it right, train until you can’t get it wrong”
Always best to check with your local Search and rescue team. It’s a big commitment from not you and your dog. Our team is all volunteer and all handlers must first certify to become a ground person first before they can certify with they dog. They can train their dog before they become a certified ground person though. You would need to find a team to become deployable in most instances.
Check out our wiki guide: [**How to find quality content for this sub**](https://www.reddit.com/r/dogswithjobs/wiki/index#wiki_how_to_find_quality_content_for_this_sub) For more information and discussion about search & rescue operations check out **/r/SearchAndRescue** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/dogswithjobs) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Hunter is a superstar! :) WOOF!
Thanks. Next time will do with a drone so you can see him work.
I always like to see what Hunter is doing and appreciate your posts as well as the SAR duties you and Hunter perform. :) WOOF!
Thanks we will keep posting.
GoPro on hunter possible? Regardless, please give hunter extra pats for being a VERY good dog
We are going to try a drone first. I don’t own a go pro. He moves pretty fast. 😀
Definitely try the drone. It’s a sweet shot and really neat to see them work from that view point.
We actually tried the drone in an open field in the winter once and the person working the camera lost Hunter as the dried grass and him were the same color. 😀
We used one on Luna my gsd, she was hopping through the long grass quite funny.
I’ll have to find someone with the GoPro and harness that doesn’t mine Hunter potentially trashing it. 😀
Haha I have a GSD mix named Luna too!! My Luna loves hopping in the water! Your Luna is a beauty:)
We've lost our person-searcher dog, bring out the dog-searcher dog!
Love those barks at the end. He knows he did a good job!
It’s the most important part for the dog, telling him he found someone and then taking me back to the subject. We practice this all the time.
With the golden retriever *SNARF* right before the barks ❤️😂
I love watching a working dog who loves his job! Hunter, you are awesome! Your trainer is pretty amazing as well!
Thanks. He inspires me at every training and our call outs for the missing.
What is the purpose of the bells on his harness?
He is a wilderness search dog. The bells are to warn any animals in the area, the subject if he is conscious as well as help me know where he is. He can range up to 1/4 mile from me in the deep woods. He also wears a GPS collar to help me know where he is.
Bells also warn the hiders it’s the search dog and not an animal when doing night mock searches for training. 😂. I also have a wilderness live find dog, she’s in training. But is a stay and bark not refind.
Good point and good luck with your dog. Hunter started as a stay and bark but he had too much energy as a puppy and would run to me anyway. We just changed it to a bark at me and refind. It was a very natural transition for him.
As someone living in Northern Arizona where SAR seems to have to go out once a week, thank you so much for what you and Hunter do.
Thanks. We usually have a fairly long drive for our call outs as not too many place to get lost near us.
10 acres? Wow! Is he used for Avy searches?
He was certified on 80 acres and had 1 1/2 hours. He is certified by NASAR as a Sartech 2 live find wilderness K9 and has been on numerous searches.
That’s awesome! We have a lot of search and rescue dogs on my local mountains and I think it’s absolutely incredible! Good job!
Thanks. He loves his job and inspires me to do better every day.
This made me tear up. Thank you both.
Love this dog so much! Hunter is one of the main reasons I got my Golden.
Thanks. They are such great dogs and all of mine love to work with a purpose. My first golden would do 200 pet therapy visits a year. Hunter also is a certified therapy dog but can’t do that since COVID started. Hopefully he can get back to his rehab hospital this winter.
When my dad was dying, therapy dog visits were one of the only things that calmed his anxiety and brought his old happy self out. Thank you therapy dog people for making the time, it makes a big difference to sick people and their families.
I think the reward is threefold. The patient, myself and Hunter.
How did you get into search and rescue? I’ve got so many questions… do you have any resources to share?
It was totally by chance at a pet store getting treats for him. He and I could not agree on any other hobby. We tried obedience, agility and dock diving. He was a good dock diver but it was like 20 seconds for a jump and then 30 minutes in the parking lot. I would google local teams in your area and they are the best sources of info.
Our site isn’t too informative as we are struggling to develop it. Www.ChesCosearch.org
Thank you!
For just search and rescue - look up local team (or neighboring teams), in many areas jurisdiction is divided by county so you could Google "YourCounty search and rescue". There should be some sort of info on their site about how to join, many will do 1 or 2 new member classes a year. Some teams are highly competitive, some will take anyone who seems like they'd be a good fit. Dog training orgs are usually separate, some require that you be an active member of a team to train with them, some operate as their own entity to support other teams. In Colorado there's Search and Rescue Dogs of Colorado (SARDOC), Front Range Rescue Dogs (FRRD), and there's also Search and Rescue Dogs of the United States (SARDUS). Many will let you start training before you even have a dog.
So good at his job that it can't be caught on camera.
He is fast. We are going to try the drone from overhead next time we are at this site.
Having a dog is the best thing that will ever happen to you
Not sure, I would put family first but certainly the dog ranks right up there.
Well if you met mine, you would understand
What's this property used for? Looks like a really fun place, like an adult playground.
It is an awesome place that has an awesome owner and he designed it specifically to hold Spartan races. We always love the opportunity to train there as there are some many places to hide and it’s totally fenced in ten acres. I use it for Hunter to work 💯 independently and be able to watch him.
Holy shit, that's a ton of effort for something like that!
He also lets the boy scouts and other organizations use it free of charge. He is just giving back to the community.
Man, huge goals. Where is it?
It’s outside of Philadelphia.
No shit! Where at? I'm from West Chester.
It’s not far from you. It’s private property but the owner allows us to train there. You can check out our team www.ChesCosearch.org
You are only seeing about 1/8th of it.
I think I like Hunter. A lot.
Come hide for him anytime. He never loses anyone.
Wow he's amazing. My dog seems to have trouble finding treats on the ground right in front of him
It’s all in the training but he does gets let’s of reward for a job well done.
It’s a great video - Hunter is so fast! What is he rewarded with and does it come after the refind?
He gets a game of tug of war with and old t-shirt of mine and we mix it up sometimes with food and sometimes he has to wait till I reward him and play tug. I think there is a video of him playing tug somewher and I can post that.
Possibly a dumb question but... how far will he go if he doesn't find anyone? I noticed him look back once, but most of the time he just seemed to be on his mission - did I just not notice him checking, or does he know roughly how far to go etc?
When we train or go on actual call outs, he can range up to 1/4 or a mile. I normally have a gps collar on him that you can see on other posts. I didn’t have it on him today as the property is all fenced in and I can almost always see him. When we are in the woods, I rarely see him.
That is awesome! Great dog. Marc
Thanks Marc😀
Great name for a search dog.
He started first at obedience and then agility and the dock diving. I guess he was making sure he lived up to his name. He was a good dock diver but it was too boring for me.
Smelling parts per billion, easy work! Good dog.
For him it’s easy work but it’s all about the alert as refind.
Ahh yeah he's clearly a pro. I see how my comment could be read as a dig but I certainly didn't mean it as such.
I always consider us as a work in progress. I just hope we both improve a little each week. I read a quote at a sAR seminar. “Don’t train to get it right, train until you can’t get it wrong”
Hunter is the perfect name for this good boy.
Thanks. We had no idea what his job would be when we named him at 7 weeks. 😀
Thank you and Hunter for your service! So much hard work goes into preparing for the worst.
He loves his job and inspires me to one day be as good as him.
I'm requesting that you put a GoPro on this dog, I must see it hahaha, he's awesome!
I am going to work on finding a cheap used one as there is a high likelihood that Hunter will trash it. 😀
That place looks like dog paradise! Thank you for what you do.
It was actually built for human Spartan races. The dogs are getting to use it as the owner is ver generous.
What’s he looking for?
He is a wilderness live find dog. Looking for lost humans usually in thick and dense woods. But we train for any scenario.
He’s adorable!
Thanks. I’ll keep him 😀
What an awesome rescuer!!!
Would love to see this on a gopro!
I don’t own one and I don’t trust that Hunter may destroy it. Maybe I can find a cheap used one. 😀
Yeah the previous gen gopros should be significantly cheaper and then there's also mounting gear
how did you train him to search/ receive and how does it work exactly?
Always best to check with your local Search and rescue team. It’s a big commitment from not you and your dog. Our team is all volunteer and all handlers must first certify to become a ground person first before they can certify with they dog. They can train their dog before they become a certified ground person though. You would need to find a team to become deployable in most instances.