#live find

[superfitcanine]

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. 

[superfitcanine]

Disaster K9 Workshop: MUTC 2016

47 K9 Teams. 52 Handler and Observers. 14 Agencies.

Our largest event to date was held last weekend at the Muscatatuck Urban Training Center in Illinois. K9 teams from all over the country came together to test their skills in the detection of live people and human remains in a variety of disaster environments. 

One of the biggest challenges in training the disaster search and rescue dog is that you cannot train for every possible scenario. The nature of disasters is that they can happen at any place, and any time. Handlers and trainers do their best to prepare their dogs using sites locally, but it's not until you remove them from their comfort zone that we really get to see how the teams might handle a deployment. 

During the workshop, the handlers worked in small teams and sent their dogs to search into several different environments including buildings, dark spaces, confined spaces, wide areas, rubbled structures, destroyed vehicles, and a derailed train. Our group leaders (all federally certified and experienced K9 handlers) provided mentorship when requested to assist the K9 teams as they worked through the search areas.

Check out our complete gallery of photos from this event here

As a workshop targeted for the intermediate to advanced K9 team, we introduced a number of distractors to provide additional challenges through the scenarios. Handlers and K9s alike were exposed to noxious sounds such as babies crying, howling wolves, gunfire, barnyard animals sounds, people screaming, etc. during search problems (see video below). Scents such as burning wood, car bomb, and dinosaur dung (yes, I said dinosaur dung) were introduced to some of the search areas for additional distraction. Smoke candles were used to provide visual and scent distraction, but were also used after difficult scenarios to demonstrate air flow through search areas.

Our workshops are designed to provide a supportive environment where handlers from all over can work together in sharing ideas and experiences with each other in order to strengthen the readiness of the K9 search element of our nation.

Find out about future events by visiting our Disaster K9 Workshop Page:

[superfitcanine]

Disaster Dog Realities

Driving across the countryside to another training location. Thinking about the thousands of miles we’ve traveled. The thousands of hours we’ve traveled. The hundreds of hours of sleep lost. The tens of thousands of dollars we’ve spent. The hundreds of vacation hours we’ve used. The freezing temperatures, the roasting temperatures, the pouring rain, the unforgiving winds. The bumps and bruises, scrapes and scratches. Portable toilets and beat up vehicle interiors. Failed obedience through airport security lines. No poop bags in the hotel lobby. The frustrating training sessions. The rest stops and mini mart meals. Coolers of melted ice. Frozen water bowls. The cold coffee. The motel rooms, and naps in the car. 

It’s not surprising that the most common question from the public, is interestingly the question I always feel uncomfortable answering for some reason. “How many people has your dog found?”

My answer is often “well…hundreds. He finds people every week (in training)”. They always give me the same, look of surprise, followed by a gentle smile. Of course, I realize that this is not what they were asking. They want to hear about how many lives were saved by the efforts of the dog. They want to hear heroic stories of how our dogs braved the treacherous rubble of a collapsed structure(s), risking life and limb, and brought rescuers to a buried survivor trapped for hours or days, waiting to be saved. These stories are incredible and inspiring, and some handlers have these life saving stories to tell firsthand. For many Live Find Disaster search dog teams, the answer is often, none. The fact is, most disaster live find canine teams will go their entire career, and never find a single survivor. Some disaster dogs will never even get out the door on an official mission. It has nothing to do with their skill, or level of training. That’s just the nature of disaster work. Disasters are (luckily) few and far between, and only a few teams are called to each disaster. 

The reality is that most handlers know this as they start their journey in disaster K9 search and rescue. As we travel the country and meet all of the incredible disaster canine teams and trainers, I often think about what makes so many people willing to sacrifice such a huge chunk of their lives for something that may never ultimately come to fruition. 

I can’t answer for everyone. We all have our reasons. For us, it started with a passion for dogs, and then the chance to make a difference in someone’s life. As the time passes, for some of us it turns into something different. It doesn’t define us entirely, but becomes deeply a part of who we are. Part of our purpose. It is no longer about us and what our single dog can do. It becomes about every dog. We don’t know which dog will be in that right place at the right time when disaster strikes, so every dog is vital to the mission of finding disaster survivors. It has been said before, “it takes a village”. Everyone that touches our dogs’ lives and the lives of any other disaster dog becomes a part of their journey. As a community of disaster dog trainers and handlers, we get to help each other, and be a part of every dog’s journey. In contrast, every dog we touch teaches us something we can pass to the next dog. Each dog’s successes can be attributed to the entire community. This is what drives some of us to continue.

As I write this, I think of how I may answer the question differently next time. 

In the meantime, the four wheels are rolling down the highway, wet with rain. The crate doors are rattling. My cold coffee is almost gone and there’s some melted ice and home made sandwiches in the cooler. The puppy is chewing his Kong. The others are fast asleep, but will jump up as soon as the van slows down the offramp to the next rest stop.

Stay safe. Train hard. Someone’s life may depend on it. ~TD

[superfitcanine]

Superfit K9 Disaster Canine Workshop: VA Beach

SAVE THE DATE!

Registration Details Coming Soon

Combined HRD/Live Find Disaster K9 Training. Come train at Virginia Beach Fire Training Center, one of the east coast's level I&II Urban Search and Rescue testing sites for disaster search canine/handler teams. 

Optional Night Search Wednesday Evening!

This non-instructional workshop will allow handlers to expose their dogs to a variety of search problems in a supportive environment. 

We pride ourselves in providing training opportunities designed to strengthen deployment ready K9 teams. While most of our workshops are not formally instructional, we only utilize highly experienced working K9 handlers and other professionals to provide leadership to the teams that attend our events.

Intermediate to advanced Live Find/HRD disaster K9 teams 

Mixed rubble and open area scenarios

Agility area

One dog per handler (Live find OR HRD)

Audit spots available (without K9)

Registration details will be released soon. Contact [email protected] with questions.

[superfitcanine]

Disaster Canine Workshop HRD/Live Find

Audit Spots Still Available!

Muscatatuck Urban Training Center, Indiana