How to train a rescue dog?

China Plus Published: 2018-01-08 19:58:17
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Missile is a playful two-year-old German shepherd. When it is put into an orange-colored uniform, however, Missile has another role - a trained rescue dog.

Rescue dog Missile and its trainer Huang Fei are photographed in the training base in Chengdu on October 14, 2017. [Photo: IC]

Rescue dog Missile and its trainer Huang Fei are photographed in the training base in Chengdu on October 14, 2017. [Photo: IC]

The dog went with the rescue team to the disaster-hit area during a serious landslide, which happened in Mao County of Sichuan Province on June 24, 2017.

Missile was later selected to be a member of the "Blue Sky Search and Rescue Dog Team (International)." It is the first civil rescue dog team organized by the Blue Sky Rescue Team, a civil professional rescue organization in China.

Rescue dog Missile and its trainer Huang Fei are photographed in the training base in Chengdu on October 14, 2017. [Photo: IC]

Rescue dog Missile and its trainer Huang Fei are photographed in the training base in Chengdu on October 14, 2017. [Photo: IC]

Located in Jintang County of Chengdu, Sichuan Province, the training base which Missile works at was formally approved to be a "Blue Sky Rescue Team search and rescue dog training base" at the end of 2017. It's the first civil training base and one of the four largest training bases in China.

Rescue dog Missile is trained at the base in Chengdu on October 14, 2017. [Photo: IC]

Rescue dog Missile is trained at the base in Chengdu on October 14, 2017. [Photo: IC]

But how does one train a dog to become a qualified rescue dog? Huang Fei, the head of the training base, told Chengdu Economic Daily that the assessment time for a rescue dog is around one and a half years, while the elimination rate is as high as 90%. Dogs would also face a series of rigorous training sessions after they become rescue dogs.

Rescue dog Missile is trained at the base in Chengdu on October 14, 2017. [Photo: IC]

Rescue dog Missile is trained at the base in Chengdu on October 14, 2017. [Photo: IC]

Huang said Missile is one of the nearly 100 sniffer dogs and search dogs that he has trained since retirement. The dog faced nearly one year of strict tests with nearly ten assessments, including temperament tests, socialization training and search and rescue training courses. During the assessment of search and rescue, Missile found the target in ten minutes.

In 2017, Missile joined two large-scale rescue operations in Sichuan.


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