The Kaohsiung City Fire Department’s Special Search and Rescue Team rescue dog Roger is to retire and become a “dog drillmaster” to teach canine recruits how to climb stairs and bark.
Roger has brought recognition to the team with his performance in search-and-rescue efforts following the Hualien earthquake on April 3 last year. He is also featured in the department’s monthly calendar for this year.
The department said that dogs aged 18 months or older that have passed the International Search and Rescue Dog Organisation’s intermediate-level test are eligible to work as a rescue dog.
Photo courtesy of the Kaohsiung City Fire Department
Most rescue dogs are trained from two or three months old to become socialized and learn to follow commands, it said.
They must become familiar with search-and-rescue scenarios and receive training on search, obedience and agility, it added.
Training rescue dogs takes years, with most dogs passing the test when they are three to four years old, it said.
Dogs with an appetite for play and food are usually selected, as they can be guided to complete tasks using such incentives, Kaohsiung Rescue Dog Training Center team leader Chen Chih-san (陳志三) said.
Dogs who are independent, adventurous and not shy of strangers also have the potential to be rescue dogs, he said, adding that breeds with high learning aptitude such as Labrador Retrievers or German Shepherds are usually prioritized.
Each rescue dog has their own handler to manage the training and care for them, Chen said.
“Dog drillmasters” play a key role in training, as young recruits can learn faster from senior rescue dogs, he said.
In Kaohsiung, Roger, Danpachi and Zoe are all veterans qualified as dog drillmasters, he said.
Other animals such as chickens, ducks, geese, pigs or cows are also indispensable “teaching assistants,” which can function as interference that rescue dogs must learn to tolerate and recognize, he said.
They must distinguish between the smells of humans and those of wild animals when working in natural environments or disaster sites, Chen said.
The center’s dog handler, Su Kuan-ming (蘇冠銘), said that handlers break search-and-rescue skills and other duties down into small tasks for rescue dogs to cultivate in daily life.
For example, they must follow commands to retrieve meals, and can learn to run, search for missing objects, or move along unusual terrain such as tunnels, unstable ground, horizontal ladders, swaying platforms and single-log bridges while playing games, he said.
The most important thing for rescue dogs to do is to bark loudly when locating a target object, he said, adding that dog drillmasters can guide rookies in learning such skills.
To help rescue dogs adapt to sounds and unexpected situations, handlers fire air pistols or make noises from afar during training, Su said.
Rescue dogs also go on field trips to traditional markets to learn to ignore smells unrelated to their tasks, he added.
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