Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A • FA L L 2 0 1 8 84 INTERESTED IN GETTING INVOLVED? SAR dogs are utilized all over the state, for everything from avalanche rescue to water and wilderness calls. Below are several active K9 groups in Montana. Keep in mind that training a SAR dog in any discipline is a huge investment in time and energy—the rewards are endless, but the commit- ment is real. TRUE NORTH SEARCH DOGS: truenorthsearchdogs.org WESTERN MONTANA SEARCH DOGS: westernmontanasearchdogs.org ABSAROKA SEARCH DOGS: absarokasearchdogs.org BRIDGER BOWL AVY DOGS: facebook.com/pg/BridgerBowlAvyDogs ates a necessity for avalanche dogs to be on a hill on any day the resorts are open. Bonnie Whitman has been working with SAR dogs since 1988. Her group, Western Montana Search Dogs, is based out of Gallatin County, and they often train and collaborate with True North Search Dogs as well as other teams across the state. Members of Western Montana Search Dogs are experienced in SAR facets of swift water, HAM radio, and helicop- ter operations, and along with their K9 partners, create an excellent well-rounded team, instru- mental in SAR operations across Montana. Whitman is a former park ranger, currently working with Sabre, her 5th German Shepherd. She is a longtime proponent of the value of K9 team members in search and rescue efforts, saying: "Not only are [SAR dogs] helpful with lost subjects, they are also extremely helpful locating injured or unresponsive people who cannot help themselves to seek assistance….ey are invaluable at night." WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BECOME A K9 TEAM? No matter what discipline the K9 team certifies in, training takes years, with continued maintenance and certifications even after pass- ing rigorous field tests. Plus, many K9s train and certify in multiple disciplines, all with their own necessary certifications. From day one, all future SAR dogs learn basic obedience, progressing to field-specific training after dialing in the fundamentals. Fleming stresses the importance of ensuring the dog en- joys the training, seeing it as more than a game than work: "ese are life-saving scenarios, but we make it the best game in the world—we are super high energy during training, the dog has to want to do it." After the dog has an excellent grasp of recall, attentiveness, and basic commands, handlers begin incorporating nose work and searching. What begins as basic hide-and-seek around the house turns into more complex search games, using enthusiasm and favorite toys as rewards. e training builds quickly, adding time, distance, and distraction as additional elements. In the field, the dogs-in-training are brought to different scenarios, tasked with increasingly dif- ficult scenes where they not only have to locate a person buried underground or under snow, but physically signal and help dig for the victim. e searches get harder and more realistic, testing the handler as well as the dog. A team can't be called to deploy until they are certified in that specific discipline, though many of the foundational skills would remain the same. e certifications can vary by state, county, or private resort, but most follow a similar format: "Many years ago," Heigh explains, "a number of K9 SAR groups from multiple states got together and developed the Tri-State Standards that we have all agreed to certify to." For example, an air-scent test requires the K9 team to locate three people within a quarter-mile radius. e handler needs to navigate the area and understand how their K9 is working, and the K9 must return to the handler and give an indication that they found a person, and then immediately return to where the subject is hiding. Once that the test is passed, the team moves onto clearing an area of 120 acres, with three hours to search. e field test for avalanche dogs is similar. For their test, Wylie and Isaac needed to clear an area of live scent in 30 minutes, and they didn't know how many people were buried under the snow. ere could be zero, one, or two "victims." Each discipline has its own test, and all must recertify every two years. e handlers have a serious job—they aren't just spectators. ey need to complete a SAM HEIGH GSD Gator, a 9-year SAR veteran BONNIE WHITMAN How to train a search dog for beginners www.distinctlymontana.com/dogs184 DISTINCTLY MONTANA | DIGITAL ISAAC FLEMING Some of the most common SAR dog breeds include labrador and golden retrievers, German shepherds, Belgian malinois, border collies, and bloodhounds. Kris Brock and K9 Charlie on the water

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