Rescue dogs: a variety of breeds, especially training

Everyone knows that a dog is a friend of man. But not everyone knows that some of them are not just friends, but real lifeguards who help people in extreme situations and even provide first aid. We will talk about these amazing animals in our article.

Dogs since ancient times used as rescuers. Thanks to perfect hearing and a good nose, they can search for people under avalanches, the ruins of destroyed structures, in a burning house and in water. It is proved that the smell of these animals works even in a smoke-filled room filled with fumes. It can be said that the dogs ’scent is like the sixth sense, since these creatures can recognize the human presence even under a layer of snow of 9 meters.

Dogs have long been recognized as effective search engines that give much better results than humans.

Despite the fact that today rescue dogs are often in the service of the Ministry of Emergency Situations, the police and other security agencies, nobody calls them rescue assistants, since each of them is a completely independent unit and few people are for their professional activities. manages to save as many lives as four-legged heroes.

The very nature of these animals laid unique abilities:

• to look for people buried alive at a depth of 10 meters;
• to find the victims in the houses, enveloped in flames, when the smell of burning interrupts all human smells;
• search for drowned people and bring them to the shore;
• inform people about the whereabouts of the victims and bring search engines to them.

According to the stories of volunteers, dogs working in the Moscow region have to save up to 3-4 people per day. - these are played children, lost mushroom pickers, and simply people are not with the best skills in orienteering - despite cellular communication, they are lost regularly.

At the same time, a person who has gone on a search may pass by a lost person and even not notice him, especially this happens if the search is delayed, and the victim is exhausted or even lost consciousness. Thanks to the excellent scent, the rescue dogs will even find the victim who has fallen into the undergrowth and will certainly help him by sending an audible signal to the rescue team.

Of course, not every dog, even the most courageous and courageous, can become a savior. These animals have rather high demands.

• They must have well developed feelings: smell, hearing and touch.
• It is important that the animal has a bold, but at the same time friendly nature. A dog must make contact with a person, even with someone who does not like it - after all, it will have to save a lot of people with very different characters and temperaments.
• Of fundamental importance is the physical form of the animal, the degree of endurance and health - on the way to rescue those in trouble, they will have to overcome many obstacles and obstacles.
• The dog's nervous system must be stable, because such a dog will have to work very hard, and it must easily withstand the psychological stress.
• It is important that the animal is trained, easily trained and obedient.

Consider several breeds that best manifest themselves in saving people.

• Newfoundland. These dogs are more familiar to breeders called the diver. Animals are not at all afraid of low temperatures and can actively search even in cold water. Due to the structure of the body and the structure of the coat, divers can easily overcome up to 20 km and dive to a depth of 30 m.

• St. Bernard. These animals are indispensable during the search operations in the mountains. Animals of this breed are distinguished by exceptional endurance, they are well trained and have exceptional physical parameters.

• Labrador retriever. Labrador retrievers are probably the most friendly and good-natured dogs in the world, however, they are often found in the ranks of search teams and other rescue groups. They are distinguished by good learning, have tremendous patience, endurance and, not least, the ability to express compassion, which is especially important for those people who have to eliminate the effects of man-made disasters, tsunamis and earthquakes.

• German Shepherd. This animal is widespread in the activities of rescue teams. The fact is that if a sheepdog feels a person caught in a difficult situation, then neither snow, nor hail, nor frost will stop it on the way to its search and rescue. Sheepdogs often rescue explorers of mountain peaks, often with great risk to their own lives.

• Doberman. The perfect police dog. Many US law enforcement officers have such an indispensable assistant in their work, because he easily catches up with intruders and protects the policeman himself from attack. These are intelligent, loyal and exceptionally loyal dogs with high physique. Representatives of this breed of animals often become owners of a wide variety of state awards, and even titles.

• Leonberger. A versatile dog that is taught a wide variety of skills to participate in rescue operations. These dogs have an excellent sense of smell, because most often they become search engines. With proper training such a dog will become a reliable companion in any extreme situations.

• Drathaar. This is a hunting breed that has been used for a long time in pursuit of game, but people have learned how to use its qualities for rescue purposes. Today, representatives of this breed often work in the coast guard: they have the ability to swim, can easily reach a drowning man and pull him to the shore.

If you are planning to buy a puppy for protection and rescue, then you should conduct several tests that will show whether the animal is suitable for such work or not. It is important to check the dog's reaction to a stranger at the moment when the puppy sees him for the first time.

The experience is quite simple: you need to squat down in front of the dog, then get up very sharply and descend again, then make a few loud pops over the puppy's head. Next, you need to throw next to the pet object that produces noise: a rattle, keys or a tin jar with peas. You can wave a newspaper over the dog's head.

If the puppy does not begin to bark hysterically, be nervous, show aggression or, on the contrary, accept the postures of submission, will not make an attempt to escape, but at the same time will not show violent joy - you can read it successfully tested.

Only professional cynologists should be engaged in teaching animals the basics of helping people in need.Depending on the field in which the abilities of the dogs will be used, the training program is selected, a set of exercises, tasks and goals to which the dog should strive. But in any case, without exception, all rescue dogs during lessons should be trained in reactions to extreme situations, response skills and first aid.

At the time of training dogs impart the following skills:

• search for things;
• human detection;
• beeping when detected;
• digging out;
• eyeliner rescuer to the detected objects.

During training, the location is constantly changed - no more than three occupations are allowed in one territory, otherwise the animal will form a habit of searching only in familiar places. It is important that as the course progresses, tasks become more complicated: for example, they conduct a search for objects against the wind, and also create “false digging” when they dig up the surface, but things do not bury.

In the world there are many dogs who have shown real heroism. In particular, during the Great Patriotic War, many animals were not only military search engines - they delivered secret papers, brought cartridges, and even undermined the trains where no other person could get through. The dogs proved themselves as orderlies on the battlefield: the animals ran with medical bags and stretchers, helped to pull out the wounded soldiers from the hell itself.

Especially famous dog named Mukhtar: on his account more than four hundred rescued soldiers who received wounds during the battle, and the total number of fighters found during the war exceeds 500 thousand!

Dogs provided invaluable assistance to former soldiers even after the end of the war — at that time special therapeutic dogs were trained that healed the souls of the soldiers and helped them cope with the post-traumatic syndrome. One of the most famous such dogs is This is a dog named Ricochet. By the way, this retriever was also famous for his activities with children with psycho-emotional problems: he taught them how to surf, normalizing health and emotional state.

And nowadays, many methods of dealing with diseases such as autism include the use of four-legged pets. There is a special medical direction - dogotherapy, it helps to cope with even the most difficult cases. These friendly pets help children to socialize, create the right mood against the background of nervous disorders and mental overloads.

No rescue operation in the snowy mountains can not do without dogs. Their assistance in eliminating the consequences of explosions, natural disasters and terrorist acts, as well as man-made disasters, is indispensable. The consequences of their already great but without the rescue dogs the losses would have been enormous.

Sheepdog named Ajax has become a big celebrity. The feat of this animal can be described in figures: 96 hours of continuous work, bloody and frostbite paws and 12 saved lives. This dog really fought for the life of 11 children in an avalanche and their teachers in Austria.

A dog named Titu in the Swiss Alps saved his master from death. At the risk of dying from hunger, the animal looked for its owner on the top of a snowy mountain for six days, dug it out and warmed it with warmth. All this time, while the man and the dog were waiting for the search group, the climber remained alive only thanks to the efforts of his faithful pet.

It is known that in recent decades quite a number of natural disasters have been reported, which dogs often warned the owners. So, in Ashgabat, shortly before the earthquake, the dog grabbed the child by the hem of his shirt and carried him out of the house, and a few minutes later the building collapsed.

A real legend has become dog named Bolt who could, overcoming the snowstorm, deliver a package of medicines to Alaska, thanks to which hundreds of people were saved from diphtheria. Our four-legged friends are real heroes. A considerable number of dogs gave their lives for the sake of man.

In the next video you will find the release of the program "Planet of dogs" about rescue dogs.