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Because dogs have such a superb sense of smell, they are often used to find people in rescue operations. Such dogs are trained to use their noses and find people in all kinds of situations, especially after a disaster. When there has been an earthquake, search dog teams are often called in from all over the world to find people in collapsed buildings. The dogs are in a lot of danger themselves as they clamber about trying to find the smell of people in the rubble.  |
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There are different ways that dogs follow a trail, or look for a specific lost person. First of all, the handler has to give them the scent (usually by giving them an article of their clothing to sniff). Then they put their nose to the ground (like this bloodhound), and off they go. The handler needs to be very fit in order to keep up with the dog! If it gets a clear scent, it can move really fast! |
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When the dog finds the lost person, they may be unconscious, like this woman. Then the dog is trained to bark loudly, and stay by the person, until the handler can get there, and call for help to carry the person out. |
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Search and rescue dogs are trained to find people in all sorts of conditions. If a person has walked through water, the scent may be hard to find, however. But part of their training is on how to pick up the scent again on the other side of a stream. |