Student
report Human Remain Detection Dog Course civil defence Ireland.
A 2 week
training course with lisar; training and handling the hrd K9.
I shall describe
in brief what we have done, myself an inexperienced handler and my
trainer
R.Linssen over a two week time period. The Irish Civil defence ordered one
HRD
dog with LISAR,
fully trained to conduct searches, delivery @ end of 2005 early 2006.
Routine is quite
important to the dog, the mornings started out by walking the dog,
grooming,
getting in and out of the vehicle, real bonding stuff.
In the evenings
after training the dog needs to be watered and fed, kennel to be cleaned.
We never feed
the dog before training, as this may decrease work ethics; the dog gets
watered
regularly during the training exercises.
The first few
days we played some retrieve exercises, where we threw away a scented
play item for
the dog to find. This was done whilst the dog was looking at the item being
thrown and also
with the dog doing a “blind” search. This is a good exercise in order for
the dog to
search for cadaver scent, associate the search command with looking for the
toy and building
scent commitment. We only want the dog to look for this particular
scent. We used
pseudo corpse and scent tubes with natural decomp material. The only
scent source
available to the dog is this scent. So even in play the scent is
predominant.
Later the dog
was on a lead, the search command was given, now the arm movement was
included as
well, dog was let go and went for the item, when found lots of praise “good
boy” in Dutch
was used as a secondary rein forcer, the toy itself was the main thing!
I learned to use
my voice as a training tool, to be overly enthusiastic using a high pitched
voice, also to
use it to command or give a reprimand. The above exercise can also be
used after a
day’s searching, where you were not successful, I learned to end the day
with
a positive
“find” or end the day on a positive note.
I let the dog
play with the toy for about ten seconds and then gave the “let go” command,
only to throw
the item again or put it away, as a signal that the exercise was terminated.
We started to
use scent boxes, 5 in total. The scent source was hidden in 1, called the
hot
box. The dog is
given the “search” command; dog sniffs at each box and sits when alerts
on hot box. Dog
was given lots of praise and was immediately rewarded with the play
item from the
box, lots of play after!
I also learned
basic obedience skills like not to let the dog pull the lead, allow for a
slack
lead when
searching on lead. To make the dog “come; sit; heel; go in and out of the
car”.
Next step was to
conduct a forest search where we buried and hidden some scent items,
the dog was set
up beside me on the left hand side, gave the “search” command and the
dog was let go,
I learned to let the dog perform an initial rough search first, in the event
of a very strong
scent cone. I could than specify smaller search areas for a more
comprehensive
search, keeping the dog under close control. The dog sits when he finds
the scent
source, reward is given at the scent source (toy) plus lots of play and
verbal
praise. The toy
can be thrown inconspicuously at the dog at the scent source. We buried
cotton balls
with pseudo corpse on it in a field, we used a probe to make small holes in
the soil, and
this would allow scent to emerge from a decomposing body. Some times it
can be hard for
the dog to locate the immediate source; this probing will help as the scent
rises from the
hole (chimney effect) and forms a scent cone for the dog to alert on. This
is
quite important
as certain soil conditions do not allow for a scent cone to develop. Clay
soil may inhibit
decomposition, as it blocks oxygen going into the soil.
We searched
debris as well; this involves the dog to search for buried scent sources
beneath a pile
of debris, as a collapsed building. I had to make sure the dogs paws were
checked
regularly, as the sharp stone may cause cuts and grazes to the dog’s paws.
Scent items were
hidden under stone, in vehicles, containers. Procedure was done off lead
and on lead, it
was my job to indicate areas the dog was to search. After every 20 minutes
or so we took a
break, allowing the dog to rest and drink. Again the dog was to carry out
a quick rough
random search, after this I kept the dog close to me, given verbal
encouragement
when the dog was performing well, giving him the “search” command in
specific areas
where I wanted the dog to search. I was to look and learn from specific
behaviour the
dog displays once entering a scent cone, like holding his head up or
looking at his
tail, dog could be circling a specific area, trying to work out the scent.
When dog got the
source right, he will sit, reward is given and some playtime after, like
throwing scent
item away for retrieval. I was to be careful to not reinforce the dog on a
false alert
(sometimes the dog tries to trick you into getting a reward regardless!). I
had to
give the search
command again, or give a verbal reprimand if the dog was getting
distracted by
other scents (animal scents). I was not suppose to give the dog any clues,
like when the
dog looks at you for confirmation, act neutral.
So now we
searched in a forest, a field, a collapsed building and now we were to
search
buildings and
sheds.
We had
permission to search farm buildings, the dog was set up at the main door,
search
command was
given and a rough search was conducted. On a few occasions this was
enough for the
dog, he was able to run straight to the scent source. On other occasions I
needed to work
each room slowly, letting the dog dictate the pace, but making sure he
checked
everything I wanted him to check. I was to keep ahead of the dog, not to
obstruct
his searching.
The dog sat at the scent source, made him check it, I remained neutral in
my behaviour,
ensuring not to give the dog any clues as he neared the scent source.
It was ok to
give verbal encouragement if you noticed that the dog was in need of some!
After the find,
again some exuberant praise and playtime.
One thing was to
make sure you never endangered yourself or you dog whilst out on a
search. I was to
pay close attention to possible signs of fatigue in the dog. Play exercises
are a good way
to rekindle flagging drive!
We also visited
an animal shelter, in order to add maximum distraction to the scent.
There were lots
of different animal smells present; this would really make this difficult
for the dog. If
the dog started to get too interested in other smells, I would give a strong
verbal telling
off command to the dog, followed by the search command.
During our
forest searches, we let a helper run off with the scent item and hide in the
woods. After a
few minutes we sent in the dog, it took only a few minutes for the dog to
find the helper.
If found the helper would only give the item to the dog, if he displayed
his sit
behaviour. One can do this exercise with the dog looking at the helper
running
away, or do it
when the dog is not looking. Great exercises for finishing the day
positively or
increasing drive. Some times we teased the dog on lead with his toy/scent
item, and waved
it at him, but prevented him from just getting it. Than helper may run
away as
described earlier.
As we progressed
through our training, things were made more difficult for the dog. We
made ”dudd”
holes in a field, hanging the scent source in a tree, running off pretending
to
burry in a
specific area but then burying it somewhere else, allowing the dog to watch,
but then
returning empty handed! I learned that there are many exercise scenarios if
you
are imaginative
enough. Searches were mainly conducted against the wind. Search areas
were made bigger
as well. On one occasion the scent source was hidden the day before,
we went to
search for it the next day. The longer you leave items, the more a scent
cone
may develop.
I started to use
2 different Dutch search commands, “zoek” for searches in my immediate
area, not too
far removed from the handler and “revier” for searches further removed
from the
handler. The way you use your hands is different for both commands.
I learned to
control distractions when we were training using the scratch boxes, other
people/animals
can seriously distract the dog. It is important to start training this with
no
distractions
present; if the dog is more committed and confident then distractions may be
added. Be
careful by giving verbal encouragement to the dog, do not talk him to the
scent
source let the
dog work it out for himself.
We spent some
time working with decomp material, I learned to use protective clothing
all the time
whilst working with these substances, use gloves and do not spill anything.
We also used
pseudo corpse 1 and 2 which was put on cotton balls and subsequently
inserted in
scent tubes. On one occasion the helper ran into the woods, he hid in a tree
clutching the
scent item, dog found item, displayed his sit behaviour and was rewarded.
The 10 days
training was a mixture of forest/rubble/field/indoor/scratch boxes training.
We did several
different exercises each day with lunch at around 13 pm.
I learned quite
a bit from the dog, started to bond really well, Rex is quite pleasant to
work with, and
has excellent search abilities; we need to still work on his drive a bit as
he
can be a bit
complacent at times. I must say that the weather was not very conducive to
lengthy
searching as it was quite hot for handler and dog during those ten days in
Holland.
The dog will be
ready with its training around the end of December this year (2005).
The trainer
wants to bring the dog to his highest level before he finishes his training,
the
dog will be
fully trained and deployable. We hope to take delivery of Rex late December
or early January
next year, 2006.
The last day of
our training was again obedience training, we went to a local training
field of the
local rescue dog club. We did the basic heel exercises, walking on a lead,
taking 90 degree
angles with the dog on my left hand side. I learned to give appropriate
commands and how
to correct undesirable behaviour. I learned how to walk across a seesaw,
walking the dog
across a small beam, let the dog jump on command and go through
a tunnel.
All through the
training the basic principles remained evident:
Introduce the
scent (play and retrieve)
Associate the
scent with the command word for searching (play and retrieve)
Teach the alert
(sit/dig/bark/lie down)
Scent
discrimination (dog only to alert on human decomp material)
Search for the
scent
Proofing and
evaluation (dig false holes/decoys/false alerts)
The alert is a
typical behaviour the dog engages in if he finds the scent source; some
handlers prefer
a passive alert i.e. a behaviour that does not interfere with a possible
crime scene like
sitting or lying down. Other handlers prefer an active alert like a bark or
a scratch. The
handler reinforces only the one alert he prefers and only that one.
A great deal of
time was spent on search tactics and strategies. Also time was spent on
forensics and
likely criminal behaviour that would assist us in our search. Also I had to
spent a great
deal of time observing the terrain, soil conditions, vegetation and looking
for any evidence
that may have been left by a possible murderer.
Various stages
of decomposition were discussed and how the effects of certain weather
and soil
conditions may impact on detection.
One of the days
we conducted a search which included three sheds and their perimeter.
The dog was to
do a quick random search and a more defined in the sheds themselves.
Three scent
sources were hidden, one outside the other two in the sheds, the dog found
all
three with no
problems at all. Sometimes the scent cones were hardly established, and we
used small items
with weak scent to make things harder for the dog. To add even more
distraction, we
used empty pig sheds, with lots of residual animal scent, the dog never
had a false
alert!
These exercises
were conducted in the final few days I had in Holland.
It is sad to
leave Rex for his final 2 months of training, but I take comfort from the
fact
that he will be
trained to the best of his abilities while there. I have learned how to
train
the cadaver dog
and how to handle him, I am not there yet but I think I got a great start by
training at
Lisar in the Netherlands.
I would like to
thank Rene and his colleague for the time invested in me.
We meet again in
Ireland once the dog has finished its training.
M. Steenkist
Camross village-Mountrath-Co.Laois-IRELAND
hrdteam@irishcivildefence.org
On the 5th feb. 2006,
LiSAR deliverd the full trained HRD dog to Mr. M Steenkist from the ICDF.
Ireland has now one operational Dog Handler with HRD dog.
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