Information for prospective DOGS-East members considering search and rescue work with their dog.
We train in areas of Virginia bounded primarily by Manassas, Front Royal, Charlottesville and Richmond, and King George. We train in a wide range of areas because we search in all areas of Virginia and adjoining states.
If you look at our Training Calendar, you will see how often we train. One day of the weekend is designated for regular training and another may be for specialty training. Specialty training sessions, labeled SCAT, are for advanced dogs and handlers only.
You are welcome to join us in a training session to see if this is really what you want to do. If you want to join us for the day, please let us know ahead of time when to expect you.
By contacting us ahead of time, we can obtain your contact information. That way, if the training session is canceled due to a search, we can call and tell you not to come that weekend and arrange a new time to meet.
Not bringing your dog on the first visit gives you the maximum opportunity to observe others and ask questions.
The shot record policy protects our dogs as well as yours. We require Distemper, Parvo, Rabies, and Bordetella. Most dogs do not have Bordetella unless they are boarded.
The information below is intended to help you decide if you really want to become a search team with your dog.
This will be a major time-consuming effort. We train once a week on most weekends of the year. At times, you may need to help both days of the weekend. Expect to have additional expenses above and beyond normal pet care, such as transportation, equipment, and your time.
It takes 1 to 2 years to complete all the requirements to become an operational wilderness search team.
DOGS-East requires all members to attend 50% of the scheduled training sessions each quarter. This usually means attending 5 to 6 training sessions per quarter.
Training may occur during the day on Saturday or Sunday, or at night on Saturday. In reality, to progress at a reasonable rate, you will need to achieve 75% attendance and train during the week on your own or with others.
In addition to regular training sessions, members are expected to help with testing and demonstrations. These do not count toward your attendance requirements.
The size and breed of the dog is less important than the dog’s desire to play the “game.” Generally, dogs that succeed in search and rescue are from hunting, herding, or working breeds, or mixes of these. They tend to weigh between 35 and 100 pounds.
Our only requirements are that the dog cannot be people- or dog-aggressive, and the dog must be sound in body and temperament.
The first step is to apply to DOGS-East after attending at least 4 training sessions. If voted in by a majority of the voting membership, you will be expected to begin completing the requirements to become a candidate.
Applicants also need to become walkers so they can attend actual searches and accompany operational handlers for experience.
Candidate level tests required to become a candidate wilderness team include:
Operational level tests required to become an operational wilderness team include:
Once you have passed all tests and been voted to operational status, you will be on call 24/7. Many callouts are in the middle of the night, so night searching is common.
You are allowed to turn down searches when necessary, such as for work or other conflicts, but remember that the reason we do this is to assist with searches.
Virginia and Maryland both have ticks and snakes in wooded areas. Lyme, Ehrlichia, and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever are diseases carried by ticks in this area of the country.
While most snakes are non-poisonous, there are rattlesnakes and copperheads, and in Southern Virginia, water moccasins. No one has been bitten during a practice or search, as far as noted in the original guidance. Ticks are more of an issue.
This work is physically demanding for both dog and handler. Most people on the team feel that some type of routine exercise, in addition to regular training days, is helpful to be physically fit enough for searches in the more mountainous parts of the state.
Doing search and rescue is extremely rewarding, but it will take all the free time you think you have, plus a huge amount of time that you did not know you had.
We hope you will feel this is something you would love to do and will come out and join us for a training session. Look at the Training Calendar for upcoming sessions and training site directions. If you have any questions about where training will take place, please ask.
