Page 68 - JRT Magazine - 2023 Issue 2

Performance

Dogs used for Search and Rescue
(SAR) work employ tracking and trailing
techniques also. I have no personal
experience with this, but I thought that it
should be mentioned in this article.

SAR dogs work alongside a human helper
as well but often off-leash to access areas
difficult for a human. Trained with the local
environment in mind, their job is to search
large areas and home-in on the target.
SAR teams consist of dogs specializing in
tracking, trailing, and air-scent. There are
primarily four types of SAR dogs.
Although a harness would be better, this
team is on the trail. SAR tracking dog
Tracking dogs are trained to focus
1
Mantrailing is a fantastic way to mentally and on individual scent on the ground.
physically exercise a dog and give them low They lock into the smell of the clothing
impact exercise as well. All training is done or object with the missing person’s scent
by using positive, reward-based methods and and stay on that track. Keeping its head
food or toy rewards, depending on what the low, a tracking dog will occasionally raise
individual dog prefers. If a dog has a mobility its nose to detect airborne particles. Good
issue, it doesn’t necessarily preclude them from tracking dogs can accurately track trails
taking part, neither does the human having more than a month old, depending on the
mobility issues. I have had handlers waiting for
knee and hip replacements, one in a powered
wheelchair, and several dogs who for one
reason or another couldn’t manage banks or
steps, but we were able to lay out trails with
those limitations in mind.

Mantrailing is not an activity that you can do
alone (unlike tracking). A group training session
is so much more fun and more sociable anyway!

For more information on mantrailing:
the parent site

www.mantrailingglobal.com
(so far – Australia, Canada, Ireland, USA,

www.mantrailing (countries name) .com

and some countries in mainland Europe are
included).

68 | A Worldwide Magazine for the Jack Russell Terrier / Russell Terrier • Issue 2/2023