Does anyone know how to or where to find

[R Taft]

We do not have Water titles here in Australia and such, but I am Water training my dogs for Water Rescue to be used maybe one day in real Water Rescue.

But I have a question...........Does anyone have any idea or know of any books, websites, where they teach tracking on water and how to teach it.

I have seen it in several clips. And I think it would be good to learn. Katy does land Tracking as does Tessa. We hope for this to be part of our Rescue plan.

I have seen a dog, sitting in the bow, direct people in a boat to where the person was on water. The dog turned in the direction it wanted them to go.

We have recently lost a person on our very large Lake here, still not found. We have searched by people looking from boats. But I thought it would have been great to have had such a dog.

I am a bit hesitant to train in our usual place at present, because that is where the body is still somewhere. I fear that Katy or Tessa might find it now three weeks later

 

[Tricia2]

Ronnie, I'd look at local or national search and rescue resources. I know of a SAR Newf here in New England that has been brought in on several cadaver recovery cases of drowning.

Interesting read on SAR Water Search: http://www.cee.mtu.edu/~hssantef/sar/others/Hardy/WaterSearch.html

 

[Cascadians]

an example

http://meetthekarazans.blogspot.com/2008/03/newfoundland-water-rescue-dog.html

" .... "In keeping with the breed's love of water, Nicki Gundersen of Lenexa, Kansas, found the perfect job for Calvin. The 10-year-old black Newfoundland is a trained water search dog and uses his powerful sense of smell to locate bodies of drowned victims.

"'The fact that we can help people bring some closure in an unhappy situation is a bonus', Gundersen said of the volunteer work.

"Newfies are good in this field because they don't need to be trained how to swim, or overcome a fear of water, like some other breeds. While there are no official numbers on how many Newfoundlands are certified in water search-and-recovery, Gundersen estimates there are less than 50 throughout the United States.

"The Kansas resident responds to several calls each year, most of which are alcohol-related boating and swimming accidents.

"In this part of the country Calvin's skills are especially needed because the lakes and rivers have silt bottoms, which makes the water black. Dive teams have limited visibility underwater and need help narrowing down where to look.

"These highly trained canines also make recovery efforts go faster. Gundersen recalled one case where a man had been dared to swim across a turbulent river but didn't make it to the other side. The victim's family and park rangers searched eight hours for the man. No luck. Then Calvin was called. It took the dog 45 minutes to locate the body.

"At the scene of an accident, Calvin doesn't jump into the water and search for the victim. Instead, the 125-pound (47-kilogram) dog rides in a small inflatable boat, sniffing the water's surface for oil and skin particles that have risen to the top.

"When Calvin picks up the scent, he barks once or twice. Gundersen concentrates the search in that area until Calvin scratches at the bottom of the boat, indicating he has found the victim. A dive team is then sent to retrieve the body." .... "

 

[wrknnwf]

I know Nicky well (her name is now Dodson, I think. May have misspelled it). Her dog Quincy was also human remains detection dog. Ronnie, you can contact her through her website DogsLifeKC. Go to the "Our Pack" page for her addy. Tell her you know me, Jane Kasten.

 

[Cascadians]

Newf Net is the greatest! Not only so much good advice, support, sharing, but all archived for searches. Awesome resource. Thank you everybody!

Ronnie good luck, keep us updated on this training. Seems like a good skill to add.

If one of yours finds the body, are you worried she will roll in it? Wondering what concerns you have.

 

[pabusinesswoman]

Ronnie,

Judy Adler has a book on both water work and tracking http://www.sweetbay.com/ I don't know if her tracking book may cross into the water arena. I don't have that one yet.

Capri on here.. also worked with the water rescue training group in Italy where they drop the dogs from the helicopters in the middle of the ocean to assist with rescues. I don't know if they would be affiliated with the water tracking also. She may be a source that could help.

There is also a search and rescue group down south that trains bloodhounds for tracking in the swamp. I'll have to see if I can find names. Though I don't track, I was told different breeds of dogs track differently. Some with a nose on the ground, others through the air.

Found this site after the orig post- They should defintiely be able to help with resources.
http://www.lasardogs.org/about.html
"In water searches, the team works out of a boat with the dog locating where the body's scent is breaking the surface of the water. This gives the divers or other volunteers a specific area to search for the body. "
"LaSAR search dogs have successfully alerted to the location of many drowning victims. Some located under both water and marsh and under water and sand as well as locating double and triple drowning victims "

Here's some old post I think you'll find useful. I love the NN search option!
http://www.newf.net/Forums/showthread.php?t=76925
http://www.newf.net/Forums/showthread.php?t=78463

Hope these help!

 

[Tricia2]

From the NCA's website: Find The Fish: Training a Cadaver Scenting Dog by Rebecca Stanevich
http://www.ncanewfs.org/working/sar/pages/SARCadaver.htm

 

[R Taft]

Thank you guys you are all fabulous and helpful as per usual

I have and read, reread all of judy Adler books, love them. It is the sitting in the boat thing that I found so amazing

And yes I am worried Katy will find a part of when we are just water training. She is very good at bringing back dead fish and even a dead tortoise one day. "look what i have for you Mom"

Awwwww I got kinda sad reading the past NN messages, we all remember Tsunami, he was an awesome dog in SAR, who died due to the job he did In memory of Tsunami

 

[Capri]

I think you are thinking of cadaver dogs (on water)? There's A LOT that you'll need to learn about it too (how to manoeuvre the boat and read the dog according to the winds and currents etc.), so I would recommend getting in touch with the local search and rescue club. Cadaver dogs on water are essentially the same as cadaver dogs on land i.e. tracking the cadaver scent (as opposed to drugs/people/articles etc.), the water element is just a way of making it a little more challenging .



For example in Queensland: http://www.dogschool.com.au/Cadaver-Dogs-pg10907.html

"They are also capable of locating human drowning victims under water at great depths in both fresh and salt water or even locating victims hidden in wall and floor cavities and in containers buried deep beneath the surface of the ground."

 

[R Taft]

Thank you Bettina i know Craig Murray. I have done a few Aggressive dog Seminars with him when i just had Annabelle and I have done Tracking Seminars with him.

I actually did not want to really do cadavers, but more when people were missing in the water. Our body of water is very large and we have no immediate Helicopters. just boats and the water is very difficult to see on when it is choppy. Lake Hume has three times the surface area of the Sydney Harbour....It is huge.

But now I have some ideas and someone to talk to who lives in Australia.
Thank you everyone

 

[KodysGrandma]

Ardeagold's friend who wrote Scent of the Missing (which I am just rereading) has some mention of water tracking dogs. Donna may have a contact or you could probably find he through a web page or publisher.