Mountain Rescue England and Wales

The National Search and Rescue Dog Association (NSARDA) is the umbrella organisation for air scenting search and rescue dogs in the UK. There are currently three separate associations representing dog handlers in England and Wales – SARDA England, SARDA Wales and SARDA Lakes.

The majority of search dogs are Border Collie, although it has been said that any dog can be trained, provided the chemistry is right between dog and handler, and there are many other breeds in active service.

The air scenting search dog is trained to locate any human scent on the wind and then follow that scent to its source. Scent is carried downwind in a cone shape from the casualty, widening with distance. The dog will work up the cone shape in a zig zag pattern.

Before commencing training a pup, a dog handler must first be a fully operational team member. Not only must they be fit and able to work in the rugged environment and extremes of weather but, as potentially the first team member to arrive at an incident scene, they must be competent in first aid and casualty care.

The trust between handler and dog is paramount, their commitment to the job verging on obsession. They must devote huge amounts of time to training and assessment, over and above their regular team training and, as there are few dog handling teams across the UK, they are often called to travel long distances to assist other teams further afield.

A search dog is trained that, on a word of command, they will go off to hunt for a body, remaining under the constant control of the handler as he or she directs the dog over the designated search area. Once the casualty has been located, the dog must guide its owner towards that spot by 'indicating' – usually by barking.

They are required to take a 'stock test', early in their training, to ensure the safety of any sheep or cattle they encounter. Dog teams work regularly under their own steam with volunteer 'bodies', who will hide on the hill (usually equipped with blanket, book and thermos flask!) waiting to be found. Official SARDA training courses are organised throughout the year, to enable handlers and their dogs to improve and extend their performance. Their progress is marked with a series of grades as specified standards are attained and, once graded, these standards must be maintained. Assessment continues throughout a dog's working life.

Besides their use in a mountain environment, search dogs are often used in the urban environment, working alongside police dog resources.

Trailing dogs

Over the past few years, SARDA Wales has been experimenting with 'trailing dogs'. Trailing involves the dog wearing a harness, with the handler holding a long line and following behind. The dog follows the trail of the missing person using a combination of ground scent and the air scents either side. A scent article, such as a hat or glove, allows the dog to discriminate the lost person scent from the scent of everyone else in the area. This process is useful if, for example, a misper's car is discovered parked up somewhere. The dog can take the scent of the driver's seat and be able to indicate a direction of travel, so halving the search area.

Trailing is not very practical for mountain searches – air scenting dogs will cover the area much quicker – but a trailing dog could drastically reduce the time spent searching for Alzheimer's patients and suicides.