Dog SAR Training

Ziycon

I was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction of a reputable dog SAR training course/group as I'm interested in seeing if my puppy would be a good candidate or not.

I've found a few on-line but looking for recommendations.

Thanks in advance.

ivabiggon

Ziycon wrote: »

I was wondering if anyone could point me in the right direction of a reputable dog SAR training course/group as I'm interested in seeing if my puppy would be a good candidate or not.

I've found a few on-line but looking for recommendations.

Thanks in advance.

try contacting these! alot of work involved and commitment from you, good luck with it.

http://sardaireland.com/viewpage.php?memid=31

goldie fish

SARDA, end of.

Ziycon

Thanks for the advice folks, I'll get onto them so.

dmg10

Also Irish Search Dogs based in Cork.

volrex

You'll have to be prepared to join and act as a body for 6 months at least before they even consider your dog, and they stipulate that you are a member of an emergency service branch, i.e Mountain rescue, coastguard , etc. The 6 months is non negotiable. And IF your dog proves to be of a high enough standard to be considered , Be prepared to put in at least 3 years of hard training to qualify a dog to the required standard. Sitting out in all weathers in the Silvermines or the Slieve Blooms,or Cork and Kerry Mountains,or wherever, waiting for a dog to find you, loses it's appeal quite quickly in January. So many people think it's just turn up and train your dog and Hey presto...trained Search Dog.... Not the case .
Check out National Search and Rescue Dog Association. Sarda Ireland come under this umbrella group.

tripline

Hi Ziycon,
Most of info above correct. It is not essential that you are a member of another SAR group such as MR, CG or Civil Defence right now but it would be an advantage as SARDA specialise in training dogs for search work.While training your dog you will need to gain all of the other skills needed to be an effective search dog team , first aid , Mountain Skills, etc. These can be arranged through the team. Obviously if you are active in another team , the experience will be of great benefit to you. It is recommended that you join another team while you are training your dog. SARDA have also brought in Lowland standards for people who may wish to train dogs for non mountain search work. It is demanding, challenging but if you enjoy being outdoors and working with dogs you will enjoy it. SARDA normally hold national training weekends in Wicklow, Galway, The Burren, The Commeraghs and Kerry. Lots more info on the website. Contact them... see where it goes. Best of luck.

The Black Oil

Met a chap who was training a dog in Spring 2010, a year later she was still in training. Lovely dog - focused, but obviously the training's pretty full on for both owner and the dog. He said she had been 'stock tested' in the sense of being OK around farm animals and that, but that he still had to be careful near farms as farmers can understandably be a bit anxious.

Sounds like a great organisation anyway.

volrex

SARDA national training weekend in Donabate last weekend went very well. First outing for the new Lowland branch of SARDA Ireland. It was well attended by local Coast Guard units from Skerries , Drogheda and also from Dun Laoighre.

SARDA Ireland :: Search And Rescue Dog Assocation Of Ireland