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Disaster K9 Workshop Summary: March 2018 Tulsa, OK

Superfit Canine is dedicated to creating quality training opportunities to strengthen the K9 disaster response system. Our Disaster K9 Workshops are a mixture of simple to complex motivational scent evolutions and realistic scenarios to encourage thoughtful search strategy development.

Disaster K9 teams from 9 states joined us for our first Workshop of 2018. Registrants came together on March 20-21, 2018 to challenge their skills and learn from each other this week in Tulsa, OK at the US&R training site of OK TF-1. This event was focused on the K9 response after an earthquake event.

For teams looking for some footing challenges, the Tulsa site doesn't disappoint and we're grateful that they've welcomed us back for a second year. This site has a lot to offer with big concrete rubble, deep voids and crushed vehicles, but what most K9 teams remember is the impressive pallet pile. Complete with numerous deep/diffuse hides, this pile is one to challenge any K9 team.

Sharing knowledge and experience is an integral part of our workshops, and this event was no exception. Keeping with the "EARTHQUAKE" theme of this workshop, we invited guest speaker and member of our leadership team, PJ Parker to share her experiences from the deployment response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake. During her dinner presentation, we learned of the many unique challenges to US&R teams during this historic deployment, and PJ offered some lessons learned for K9 handlers and other members of the US&R teams. In addition, Search Team Managers joined us for a lunch discussion on what they expect from K9 teams, and how we can better utilize K9 teams to meet mission goals. Seeing the value of this type of learning for K9 teams, we hope to host more guest speakers like PJ and include other components of the US&R team at our events in the future.

After several training evolutions on day 1, the morning of day 2 was kicked off with a blind earthquake scenario. K9 teams were faced with a high pressure challenge to perform primary searches in areas with a multitude of distractions. We not only provided scent and sound distractions for the dogs, we added emotional irritants to the handlers to push them out of their normal training frame of mind. The handlers faced the challenges with grace and determination, learning to work through each problem systematically and reporting their results to to their assigned superior.

We designed our Disaster K9 Workshops to be non-instructional, meaning there are no official "instructors". These events were developed to provide intermediate to advanced disaster K9 teams with an opportunity to expose themselves to new environments, and broaden their experience to ensure they are as prepared as they can be when they are called upon for deployment. Our "group leads" are experienced handlers themselves and are chosen because of their commitment to helping others and an ability to guide the registrants through our training evolutions in a way that promotes positive development of K9 teams. Our group leads are the heart and soul of our workshops, and we are grateful for their dedication to our programs.

Visit Superfit Canine Photography for a complete gallery of images from this event.

Visit our K9 Workshops page for a complete listing of events.

#Live Find #HRD #Working dog #disaster dog #Workshop

Heading Towards Retirement: The Story of One Working Dog Part II

Have been deciding wether or not to share this part of the story. The trials and tribulations of a disaster working dog as he nears retirement. They live incredible lives, and do things for us that we will never be able to reciprocate. We are merely human.

The following is continued from Part I of Heading Towards Retirement. The differential diagnosis was: "possible lymphoid hyperplasia"...

I've had a dog with this before. I took a veterinary ultrasound certification course some years ago, and therefore spent a lot of time practicing my skills on my personal dogs. One of them, an 11 year old Golden Retriever. Of course if you look hard enough, you will find something. We all know the health reputation of Golden Retrievers. Cancer is prevalent, and you can imaging my feelings when I found a small nodule in his spleen. Too small to really get a good needle sample. Considering his age, breed, and knowing how difficult it can be to get a diagnosis of hemangiosarcoma (HSA) with a needle aspirate, we decided to remove the entire spleen for biopsy (if you aren't aware, dogs don't really need their spleen to survive). Biopsy results: Lymphoid Hyperplasia. Not cancer. He lived many more years and died (not of cancer) at almost 17 years of age without his spleen. A very long life for a golden. While we don't know if he would have ever gotten HSA of the spleen, I never had to worry about it after it was removed, and he lived much longer than any other golden I know (please don't get me wrong, I'm not advocating for routine splenectomy for all golden retrievers). Keep this story in mind as we jump back to Ben.

I come across this paper, "a review of 100 cases of splenic hematoma", and a quote: "lymphoid hyperplasia was commonly associated with splenic hematoma". This quote is taken completely out of the context of the article, but stuck with me. Will Ben be predisposed to developing a splenic hematoma, later resulting in subsequent rupture and life threatening hemoabdomen? (I warned you to stop reading after Part I if you didn't want to hear a lot of irrational thoughts). Of course, like a lot of folks say when they weigh risk: You could get hit by a bus tomorrow, so might as well live life to the fullest. As you might imagine, this brings be through a series of thoughts about what is best for this dog, the dog we have committed to protect and steer through this journey that many working dog families take.

We weigh the risks as a team. We consult with the internist, the radiologist, even the criticalists that are all professionally and some personally invested in Ben's well being. They talked me down off of the ledge of splenic rupture, suggested that the risk is actually quite small, and he's at just as much risk of injury from flying over the fence in our own yard. We also consult with K9 handlers that have had retired dogs, and reflected on our own history with previous dogs.

So how do we decide when it is time to retire a working K9? When is the job just too much risk for the condition of the dog? Nobody wants to see a dog injured on the job unnecessarily. Some agencies have a flat retirement age, with no questions asked. 8 years, 10 years, or something around there. This makes budgeting for assets a little more predictable, but can take a perfectly capable and highly experienced team out of service for no reason other than a number. Others leave it up to the individual handler, or team veterinarian.

Dogs are like people in that they are individuals. In spite of popular belief, some working dogs are perfectly happy sitting on the couch all day, and playing a little fetch in the yard while others would wither away into a puddle of anxiety at the thought of staying at home.

Ben declared his position on retirement last week when we took the 2 young dogs out to training. The 2 older dogs (Ben included) were left behind at home. We almost never leave Ben behind. We arrived home a couple of hours later to the most unusual sound. I wish we had recorded it. It was like no other sound I had heard from a dog ever before. Of course Ben knew we were home as soon as the van pulled into the drive, or perhaps even earlier when we rounded the corner. We didn't even get to the door when he began screaming and wailing the most blood curdling sounds. This continued as we entered the house, walked through to get to the back door, and let all of the dogs out in the yard. It continued still, as Ben hunted desperately for a tug, and the sound again continued with the tug in his mouth as he's trying to shove it into our hands to engage in a session. It affected me profoundly. Ben is a bit of a drama queen under normal circumstances, but this was unlike any tantrum I had seen or heard before. We obliged him with a training session in the yard. He performed flawless directionals, retrieves, and a dozen ladder climb configurations, barking along the way with true Ben flare. Trying not to anthropomorphize, but it was clear to me that his current desperation to engage was amplified by the fact that we had left him behind that day.

There is no way we can retire this dog with this much desire, and this much ability. We not only owe it to him, but we owe it to the survivors out there that will hope to be found.

I'm thinking there will be a Part III of "Heading Towards Retirement: The Story of One Working Dog". I'd love to hear your thoughts and personal experiences. Please post in the comments below. ~T

Learn Another Dance

As I eye the bouncing young dog in front of me I silently wonder, will he ever learn the dance?

Will he ever be able to be still enough to do the 5 minute, handler out of sight long down?

Will he have the smarts to figure out the concealed odor concept and pair that with the final trained response to the point that it is an automatic behavior?

Will he be able to control himself riding on an airplane?

The first month I spent teaching him to bark, the second month was spent trying to get him to understand when to bark and when not. The third month was spent wondering if I had made the right decision to take him on as a new working dog prospect.

Now this is not my first dog, it’s not my first working dog, but it is the first time I have met this dog. This dog and his specific genetics, the specific way he was handled as a pup, the specific things he was exposed to and whether they were good or bad experiences. It’s the first time I have interacted with him with all my preconceived notions of what he should know by now and how he should handle situations.

So, with a deep breath and a few tentative steps I start the dance, the young dog steps on my feet and I step on his, its awkward and uncomfortable at first. At some point, I try a different dance, maybe a little polka instead of a waltz. I don’t know why, perhaps it was the mood I was in, perhaps something deep inside told me I should change.

Suddenly, we’re dancing! Its not pretty, its not graceful yet, but there is something there. A connection, an understanding and a level of trust that I had previously felt was unobtainable with this dog. It took finding the right dance that we could both understand, and then practicing that dance – that delicate balance of science and formal training, with the art, grace and beauty that comes with knowledge, strength and experience.

For me most recently it was a blue merle border collie. The dog and I had been together for over a year and every time I felt we were making progress, a trip out on the dance floor would prove otherwise. As the stress and pressure increased the few dance steps we had mastered fell apart. I had taught him like I had taught all that had gone before him, what was the problem? The turning point was when I was looking through his training records to find good things to include in the advertisement I was placing to find him an alternative home. I started seeing a pattern. He wasn’t the problem. It was me! He had been consistent from day one, he had always been doing a polka. I had been blindly doing a waltz and getting more and more annoyed when he was off beat and out of place and looking like he knew nothing.

I tell you all of that to remind you of this, dog training is a dance. A beautiful choreographed dance, based on standard, proven, principles. But it is also an art, it requires the ability to step outside of the norm and adapt to the situation. If you are too rigid with the rules, you will never get past the first few lessons. If you ignore the rules it becomes abstract with no foundation and no meaning or direction. Training rules are important but being willing to change the music and learn a different dance for each new dog, maybe even each new situation, is just as important. One style may fit many but someday you will find it will not fit all.

Sally is a member of the Superfit Canine Workshop Team, as well as owner of Fully Involved K9 Academy

Disaster K9 Workshop/USAR K9 TECC Course November 2016: VA Beach

K9 search teams and support personnel from 18 states came together to challenge their skills and share training concepts at our combined Disaster K9 Workshop/K9 Tactical Emergency Casualty Care Course at Virginia Beach Fire and EMS Training Center November 28th - December 1st, 2016.

Superfit Canine returned to VA Beach this fall after a very successful event in July this year. The event started with our 2-day Disaster K9 Workshop. Attendees were teamed up with one of our experienced group leads as they worked through search problems in a variety of scenarios. The VA Beach Fire and EMS Training Center offers several FEMA Type I rubble piles, an agility yard, wide areas, and a 4-story burn tower. As a new addition, we were fortunate to offer an 18 hole golf course to provide very wide areas and an abandoned building for search operations.

Live Find and HRD K9 teams rotated through stations where they were able to work through rough terrain, and scent/sound distractions. Thanks to the incredible rigging support from VA Beach Fire and EMS training center, attendees were able to be lowered with their K9 from the 4th floor of the burn tower to the ground where they were able to immediately send their dog into a search problem.

Following our 2-day Disaster K9 Workshop was our 2-day USAR K9 Tactical Emergency Casualty Care Course. This valuable course was provided by our friends from Veterinary Tactical Group, a company that offers veterinary emergency training for dog handlers, tactical medics and veterinary personnel. Attendees were presented with the latest evidence-based knowledge of the most common life-threatening injuries in working canines. Not only did students learn what can be done to mitigate the risk of injury, they also learned what steps can be taken in the field to improve survival using TCCC/TECC guidelines adapted specifically for the unique anatomy and physiology of the K9. In addition to case presentations and lecture based learning, students had an opportunity to practice their skills hands-on throughout the course in field scenarios.

Several media agencies attended the event, and were very excited to share the incredible service that search dogs and their handlers provide across the country.

The entire event could not have been successful without the incredible support from the folks at VA Beach Fire and EMS Training Center and VA-TF2. Their dedication to supporting the mission of improving the deployment readiness of K9 teams across the country is greatly appreciated by all of us.

For a full gallery of images of this event, please visit our Photography Event Page

If you are interested in attending one of our future workshops, please check out our Disaster K9 Workshop page. We're adding new events all the time!

Site prep for our #disasterk9workshop tomorrow. Lots of fun challenges ahead for the dogs and handlers. #disasterdog #workingdogsofinstagram #searchdog #searchandrescuedog #wherewillwegonext (at Virginia Beach Fire & EMS Training Center)

#searchandrescuedog #searchdog #disasterk9workshop #wherewillwegonext #workingdogsofinstagram #disasterdog

Day 2 of the #uspca detector trials. #workingdogsofinstagram #policek9association #drugdog #policek9

#uspca #workingdogsofinstagram #policek9association #policek9 #drugdog