NASDA members meet regularly for training, usually on Saturday mornings and Tuesday evenings.  Training sessions usually last at least 3-4 hours.  We sometimes have additional training with other rescue squads and search and rescue organizations.    Members are expected to make as much training as possible as well as work their dog additionally at home.  Training takes place outside in all weather conditions. We practice in the woods and in many varieties of terrain and vegetation, as well as practicing rubble and building searches.

Working a dog for search and rescue requires that the skills of the dog be maintained for the working life of the dog.  Training a search dog is a long term commitment by the handler.  It may take 1.5 - 2 years to get a dog to operational status, and training must be continued and expanded for the entire working life of the dog.

A search dog must also be well socialized and controllable.  We recommend obedience classes for all our handlers to establish a working relationship with the dog as well as building control of the dog in a variety of situations.  Search dogs must be fieldable in a variety of situations, and must adapt well to these circumstances.

Interested in doing Canine Search and Rescue?

Here are some questions to ask yourself.

Am I willing to train myself and my dog for 1 or 2 years before my dog and I are ready to participate in a search?

Am I willing to continue training once or twice a week indefinitely?

Can I regularly make once a week group training?

Am I physically and mentally prepared to spend long hours in the field out in the worst weather conditions, often at night, searching through difficult terrain, comfortable with finding my way around?

Is my job flexible enough to let me leave work for a search occasionally?

Will I get up at 3 a.m. for a search?

Can I afford the money for search equipment, gas, training courses, etc.?

Am I mentally prepared to discover a deceased victim?  Even a child?

Am I prepared to reward my dog happily when she leads me to a deceased person?

Am I willing to do additional training, without my dog, for search work?

Will I accept the judgment of a training officer  concerning my own abilities and my dog's and take direction concerning training methods?

Am I willing to take responsibility for my own progress, and show initiative in developing my own skills?

Am I willing to be dressed like a bumble bee or a pumpkin?

 Here are some questions to ask about your dog.

Is she of an appropriate breed and age?

Does she have a rock solid temperament - social, outgoing, confident, calm, and non-aggressive?

Is she in excellent health?

Is she a well mannered, obedient dog?

Am I willing to expose her to a certain amount of shared risk?

Am I willing to acquire a new puppy specifically for search work and train for a couple of years?

Am I willing to keep and care for a new puppy if it doesn't work out for SAR work?

Am I the kind of dog trainer who is willing to give up control and trust my dog when she tells me something that I think is incorrect?