We're talking about working dogs this week in the pet photography blog circle. The Internet tells us that a working dog is a dog used to perform practical tasks, as opposed to a companion dog (what's probably sleeping at your feet right now). Definitions vary on what that work might be; sometimes they're described as dogs trained for and employed in meaningful work such as search and rescue or assistance for the disabled but it also can apply to herding dogs who have been working for centuries alongside man to help manage livestock.
This post is about a dog named Forest, an eight (8) year old rescue black Labrador Retriever and his handler, Steve Deutsch, who deploy with Search One Rescue Team serving Dallas and the north central region of Texas. Forest found himself looking for a new gig when his family's circumstances changed. Word got around about this sociable, driven two-year-old lab and Steve headed out with a colleague to evaluate him as his next search and rescue dog.
After spending a few minutes with Forest, Steve picked up a tug toy and it was like the world stopped. Forest was singularly focused on the toy to the exclusion of every other distraction around him - this was a good start. This was a very good start. He was also sociable to both people and dogs, another win! Steve took Forest home with him that day and their partnership began.
Forest would be Steve's third search and rescue (SAR) dog in his career which as of today has spanned twenty three (23) years, his second as a human remains detection dog. His first search and rescue dog was Storm, a white lab, that was trained in live find (more on the different disciplines below).
After Storm and before Forest there was Frankie, another black lab that was Steve's first dog to be trained as a human remains detection dog. Steve told me a funny story about Frankie's ball drive, it involved a demonstration to a group of pre-schoolers and a dropped tennis ball that rolled toward the group of sitting children, if you're imagining bowling pins right about now, you're spot on!
(click on any image to view full screen)
Portrait Of A Search And Rescue Dog
While some search and rescue dogs are trained in multiple disciplines, Steve prefers focusing on just one with his working dogs. Forest is a human remains (aka HR) detection dog and he's got two known independently confirmed finds to his credit and likely more. Unfortunately despite working dozens and dozens of real world cases, it's not often that Steve actually receives confirmation of Forest's successful finds. It makes sense, even though he'd really like to know, it's not high on the list of things to do for law enforcement when a deceased person is found. Live find search and rescue teams get the benefit of more immediate gratification of a job well done. HR dogs tend to work silently in the background of search and rescue work.
Here's a summary of the different search and rescue disciplines:
- Live find: dogs are trained to find any human scent by air scenting, which is exactly what it sounds like, sniffing the air to locate the source
- Trailing: dogs are trained to find a specific scent, the scent of a specific person, this is probably what you're used to seeing in the movies - a dog is given an article of clothing to pick up the scent of the person and then they try to locate that scent, often by trailing the scent on the ground - this is also where you'll see the most bloodhounds
- Human remains detection: this is the detection of deceased humans, from recent to weeks, months, and even years old bone scatter - this may take place in a burned building (see video below), a vehicle, rubble pile and even on the water
Dogs are trained to have a very specific response behavior when they have successfully located their target, Forest's is a stare at the source. Other dogs will bark at the source and some dogs will run back to the handler to alert them if they found something and then lead the handler back to what they found. Like people, dogs can be fallible as well, but handlers have to learn to trust their dog. If the dog indicates, no matter what you may think about it (i.e. "there's no way a person could be in there!"), you need to trust the dog and share the information with law enforcement.
Speaking of law enforcement, Search One Rescue Team only responds to governmental agency requests. They are a volunteer, non-profit agency founded in 1983 by Paul Lake. The group is managed much like that of a typical commercial business. There is a Board of Directors who oversees the goals and direction of the tam. Search One membership is recruited at large from the communities we serve and each recruit is subject to extensive screening prior to acceptance into the organization.
The Search One team is managed during field operations by the National Incident Command Structure (ICS). This allows their command staff to merge and interact with other emergency agencies during large scale incidents if required. Training for field deployment is extensive and all recruits are required to undergo Search One’s basic training program prior to deployment on actual searches. Having served more than 180 agencies (below) over the past 25 years their team has established excellent working relationships with the emergency response community. Search One is considered a valuable resource from the small rural law enforcement agency to the City of Dallas Office of Emergency Preparedness and every type of response unit in between.
Nerve Strength is Necessary for Working Dogs
Along with toy drive and people and dog sociability, nerve strength is key attribute that handlers look for when evaluating search and rescue dog candidates. What's nerve strength? It's the ability to deal with environmental stressors like uneven surfaces, loud noises, dark areas and closed spaces. Or you could just watch the video below for a real world example of it!
(click the image to play the video, credit: Steve Deutsch)
Steve Works "Problems" With Forest To Keep His Skills Sharp
Owning a working search and rescue dog is a massive commitment, not just the initial training, but also the ongoing maintenance of their skills. Steve attends weekly training sessions conducted by Search One and at least twice a week runs him through his paces with small problems in their back yard. Steve is always challenging Forest, so he thinks about how he can change up the training sessions to make Forest expand his skills and this photo shoot was no different.
Steve took the opportunity to train with the scent (human remains in a glass jar) off the ground and tucked into some rocks (indicated by yellow arrow) that would "trap" the scent, which was further inhibited by the lack of wind that morning. It took Forest a number of passes through the area before he locked onto the source of the scent, see the images below where he's lifting his head and "scenting" the air.
Forest Gets To Work
It took about 18 months for Steve to fully train Forest as an HR dog and he continues that training every single week to keep his skills sharp. Motivation is something that every working dog handler monitors in their partner. Too many "no finds" might start to weigh on a search and rescue dog. They need wins just like people do so working problems may be set up to both challenge, as well as reward, a working dog.
Steve has to be careful to use the "F word" around Forest, but it's not what you think. The "F word" that Steve means is "FIND". Using that word is enough to send Forest into overdrive and he's always teetering on the edge of it anyway! Steve only has to put on his Search One uniform and Forest starts to get excited.
I did not have an appreciation for how much running a search and rescue dog does in the course of doing their job. Once he's given the cue to search, "Find", Forest is in constant motion until he either finds a source or is called off by Steve. Monitoring rescue dogs' health in the heat of a Texas summer is always a key concern of handlers; they are truly working!
When Forest makes a successful find, Steve will sometimes have him revisit the target with a "show me" cue so Forest can experience the reward for a job well done all over again, building his motivation.
Handlers also have to be watchful for "false finds", dogs that give their trained behavior for a find just to get the reward, this is where working known problems in training comes into play, to ensure the veracity of the dog's indicators.
Dogs can sometimes get frustrated as well when working a particular problem. In this case, the location that Steve hid the source, along with the still air of a hot summer morning, did not allow the scent to easily travel and Forest had to work really hard to try and find it. At one point he started barking at the rock pile and Steve told me "that's not his response behavior", so he encouraged him to keep searching with more "find" cues.
Reward For A Successful Find
Forest likes to play with toys, but he likes interactive play with Steve a whole lot more - like a LOT more! Steve is careful to try and provide that special interactive play as a reward for a successful find, thereby retaining its high value for Forest.
Forest Working an Actual Burn Site
Steve and Forest practice a lot. Having a working search and rescue dog is an incredible commitment of time and dedication, but all that hard work pays off when his special skills are needed in the real world as was the case of this burn site where he was tasked with finding the remains of victims of the fire. It might not be as exciting as live find work and there's rarely the immediate confirmation and gratification of success, but the work of identifying human remains is an important one to bring peace and closure to a family or provide evidence in a law enforcement investigation.
(click the image to play the video, credit: Steve Deutsch)
Search One Rescue Team: Steve and Forest
It's hard to get a picture of these two without Forest looking up at Steve. I tried to take a selfie with Forest after the session and he was like, "Ah, you're not my dad, I don't think so". Yes he's sociable, happy to get petted, but it's clear he knows where his reinforcement comes from so he only had eyes for Steve and that's the way it should be! Working dogs need a high level of focus in order to do their job.
The Ultimate Reward at the End of a Working Session
Forest is rewarded with a game of interactive tug immediately following a positive indication, but it's the flying disc that marks the end of a working session. As with my border collie Rooney, Forest also believes that "On the 8th day, God created the Frisbee" LOL. Forest loves to work, he loves to tug, but I think a good game of disc surpasses all that so Steve has to keep careful control of the duration of play, especially in the Texas heat. You have to tell Forest that the game is over because he never will!
All Around The Pet Photographer Circle
It's all about the working dog this week in the pet photography blog circle, I can't wait to learn about other special dogs that give of themselves as Forest does so let's head on over to Fiona Lovett from Happy Tales Photography in Andorra and Spain spends a day with Carbón, a mobility assistance dog and then continue clicking on the link at the bottom of each post for an around-the-world tour of informative, and fabulous, pet photography until you land right back here and then you will have completed the circle.
Tracy Allard of Penny Whistle Photography is a Certified Professional Photographer with the organization Professional Photographers of America; a designation held by fewer than 2,000 photographers nationwide and a hallmark of consistency, technical skill, artistry and professionalism. Whenever there's a break in her schedule Tracy likes to join the Search One Rescue Team on their training sessions to photograph these working dogs hone their skills.
Penny Whistle specializes in both on-location and studio photography providing pet, equine, family, couples & engagement and high school senior portraits as well as corporate headshots and commercial photography services in her studio located in historic downtown Carrollton as well as on location in Coppell, Grapevine, Southlake, Flower Mound and surrounding communities in Dallas – Fort Worth, Texas.