Search Dogs at Work.

Can you assist Elke and Jochen

2012-01-27T21:52:00.002+08:00

SPONSORSHIP PROPOSAL

TO CONTEST

THE REDOG CANINE USAR OPERATIONAL TEST

IN SWITZERLAND

INTRODUCTION

The REDOG operational test takes place in late October 2012 in Les Epeisses near Geneva,

Switzerland. This test comprises 11 x 20 minute searches with about 26 victims, and is held over two days and one night. It is considered the hardest test in the canine disaster world. The test has been accepted and recommended by INSARAG (International Search & Rescue Advisory Group under the umbrella of the United Nations in Geneva).

Note: (REDOG is Switzerland’s only Swiss government approved organisation (both volunteer and professional) to train, test and deploy Swiss canine USAR teams internationally. The Australian Swiss Search Dog Association Inc. (ASSDA) is affiliated with REDOG, the only organisation enjoying this privilege. Refer to: http://www.redog.ch/)

I am seeking financial support and assistance of the German Shepherd Dog Council of Australia, to enable me and my German Shepherd Dog ‘Jochen’ to travel to Switzerland and participate in this most prestigious event.

To properly prepare for this event, there ait will be necessary to travel to Switzerland up to three months prior to the test. This is because:

1. Both Jochen and I will need the extra training time to acclimatise to their facilities and develop their skills under the tutelage of the REDOG instructors to have a real chance of passing this test.

2. In August a group of REDOG dog/handler teams and instructors will again be travelling to Austria for additional practice high in the mountains where there was a massive rock slide some years ago. This has created a vast ‘rubble’ site and provides the perfect opportunity to prepare the teams for the operational test. We have nothing to equal this in Australia and the additional training would be extremely beneficial to both myself and Jochen..

WHY THIS TEST?

As already stated, the REDOG canine USAR test including their assessment tools and criteria is accepted by INSARAG. REDOG enjoys a very high reputation globally and any canine USAR team that has passed their test has reached the highest standard available today.

In addition, the knowledge and experience gained will be invaluable to the Australian canine USAR world as a whole and the USAR task forces in particular, who will have access to the best that can be produced. In addition, if the team passes, it will mean the following –

1. It will raise the profile of the German Shepherd Breed. An Australian bred and trained German Shepherd capable of reaching the pinnacle in international disaster search on international territory must surely be the best advertisement for this super breed in this country.

2. It will be the most qualified canine USAR team in the Southern Hemisphere.

3. It will raise the profile of USAR dogs in Australia to such a degree that their essential need cannot be ignored.

4. It will prove that despite relatively poor facilities in this country, with some additional help Australians can produce world class teams.

HOW DOES AUSTRALIA BENEFIT FROM THIS?

Whilst Australia now has a National Canine USAR Standard and Best Practice Guidelines incorporated in the Australian National Safety Training Package, other than in South Australia, we do not have adequate facilities to run the higher required tests and even those facilities drastically need improvement for the tests we do run.

The highest level attainable in the Australian Standard is the Advanced Operational Test comprising 7 x 20-minute searches locating 14 victims.

Jochen and I were one of three teams, (of which Jochen was the only German Shepherd Dog), to pass this test in South Australia in October 2011 with very high scores. It is because of that very high pass that it was felt justified to try to send this team to Switzerland. The Australian Advanced Test already completed so successfully, will be viewed as a ‘pre-test’ in Switzerland and will qualify the team to participate in the REDOG Operational Test. As a result, a place has been reserved for them to compete in Switzerland.

THE PARTICIPANTS

THE DOG - ‘JOCHEN’

Jochen is a son of Lafer von Batu and Duval Uska, an Iwan vom Lechtal daughter, whelped 19.10.05. From a very early age he demonstrated his ability to work successfully in the field of Urban Search & Rescue (USAR) searching for, and locating persons buried under the rubble of collapsed buildings.

Throughout his training and participation in the various Urban Task Force 48-hour exercises the team has attended, Jochen has consistently proven the absolute value of a highly trained and properly tested USAR dog in locating buried persons. It is recognised that a well-trained USAR dog is an important component of a USAR Task Force. Simply put, the trained USAR dog ‘tells’ the rescuers where to start excavating.

THE HANDLER – Ms ELKE EFFLER

I have been involved with canine search and rescue training since the late seventies when I was introduced to this discipline by the late Reddy Toman on one of his trips to Australia. In 1983 I travelled to Germany, Holland and Switzerland to gain more knowledge. The next trip was in 1994 with my new husband Peter. We settled on Switzerland and REDOG for their knowledge and support. Peter and I founded the Australian Swiss Search Dog Association Inc. (ASSDA) in 1995 and either individually or together we have since made numerous entirely self-funded trips to Switzerland for additional training and experience. Under the REDOG training system I (and Peter) am an instructor for canine wilderness search and canine disaster search, and have had instruction in snow/avalanche search. I am also a qualified disaster search assessor and team leader.

OUR DEPLOYMENT

Jochen and I, were on standby four times during 2011; twice to Queensland, once in relation to the earthquake in Christchurch and once to Japan. In the case of Queensland, the teams were stood down as the authorities of that state eventually decided that did not require any canine search teams. In respect to Christchurch and Japan, the South Australian Task Force the Australian Swiss Search Dog Association Inc. canine teams are attached to, did not receive the permission of the Attorney General to proceed.

After the fires of Black Saturday, and at the request the Melbourne Fire Brigade to field dog teams, Jochen and I, as part of an ASSDA team were sent to Kinglake. Jochen located a handful of small human bones at a site in Strathewen, (as identified by the Victim Identification Team). Given that Jochen is only trained on the scent of live human ‘victims’, this was an astonishing result.

ADDITIONAL

Jochen and I were invited to participate in Cesar Millan’s show at the Melbourne HiSense arena on 23^rd November 2011 as a search dog team. This was in front of an audience of 2500 people, inside a closed facility and added another string to Jochen’s achievements.

THE COST

Based on current prices, the following is a summary of the cost associated with this venture. Unfortunately, there is little that can be done to reduce the actual costs in relation to getting Jochen to Switzerland and home again.

Whilst I am obtaining private accommodation in Switzerland, unfortunately there are travel costs and some living expenses that are a necessity. As Switzerland is one of the most expensive countries in which to live, I have tried to be realistic in relation to the weekly costs required.

Airfare	Elke Effler (estimate.)	2,500.00
Airfare	Jochen (Dogtainers quote)	7,000.00
Quarantine 30 days		1,500.00
Veterinary Fees re quarantine	Export/import - estimate	1,000.00
Living expenses	3 months @ $250.00 pw	3,000.00
	TOTAL FUNDING SOUGHT	$15,000.00

SUMMARY

Given that Jochen has so ably proven himself to be a quality USAR dog and he is now mature and settled, this year is an opportune time to reach for the highest goal in USAR for the following reasons:

1. To demonstrate that the German Shepherd Dog breed is still able to be classed as the best all-round working dog (bred from show lines!), especially in the service of saving lives at a disaster.

2. To demonstrate to the Australian canine USAR world what is possible with a sound, well-bred and well-trained dog.

3. To demonstrate to the Australian USAR Task Force Management that civilians are able to provide world-class canine search teams given adequate support.

As this is the first time we are unable to personally fund a trip to Switzerland , it is necessary to obtain sponsorship to achieve this goal. With all of the above, I see this as a most prestigious and extremely beneficial way of promoting both the German Shepherd Dog and with your assistance, the German Shepherd Dog Council of Australia.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions / queries on this sponsorship plea.

Respectfully submitted

Elke Effler

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City of Wanneroo - Dogs Breakfast

2011-11-10T20:16:00.000+08:00

As part of our ongoing commitment to attend public displays to promote the State Emergency Service Canine Unit, we were invited back to the Dogs Breakfast hosted by the City of Wanneroo.

This event grows larger each year and this year was again no exception. There was much to see and do for the young and old from tracking displays to herding to baking biscuits for our K9 pals.

The crew.

Many thanks go to Ian, Sharon and Emma for attending and assisting with all those questions we received about the State Emergency Service. Cant wait for next year so I can again test out the K9 cookies, they were yummo.

idog

2011-11-06T21:18:00.000+08:00

With the regrettable passing of Steve Jobs it has led me to wonder what Steve would have been like if he had been a dog trainer. You often hear people say that we should be singing from the same hymn book, well I don't think that Steve would have done this as he was the type of person who thought outside the norm to solve problems and invent new ways of achieving his goals. And training dogs is the same, you cannot afford to simply say that training methods of yesterday are better than today, Apple would have gone broke on that theory. The harshness of yesterdays training thankfully gave way to better and kinder training methods of today. Steve changed this world with his products and he has also assisted in the training of dogs through the iphone and ipad2, he just never knew it at the time.

On to todays training. It was humid but cool which made for interesting tracks watching just how the dogs handled the humidity.

Lloyd harnessing up Jess.


Just about on the go

Finishing in the park.

All three dogs put in a great performance but I do think that our track layer put in a better performance as they were not feeling too flash with a tummy bug. The end result being that he have two wonderful dogs closing in on obtaining and passing their assessment to enable them to go live.

RIP

Steve Jobs

Eagle Rock, Mukinbudin Search

2011-09-11T20:20:00.003+08:00

The call came just after lunch on Saturday that Cade was required for a search for a missing girl in Mukinbudin, about 300k's from Perth.

Here is the link from The West Newspaper and the story is underneath:

http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/wa/10234953/lost-girl-kept-safe-by-rescuer/

Lost girl kept safe by rescuer

LUKE ELIOT, The West Australian September 12, 2011, 2:55 am

John Mocrzycki/The West Australian ©

A four-year-old girl who survived a night in the bush has described how her rescuer cuddled her inside her jumper for warmth as her family spoke of their relief that she was found safe and well.

Catalina Stronach wandered away from family and friends who were camping near Eagle Rock, about 90km north of Mukinbudin in WA's Wheatbelt, on Saturday morning.

"I went to get some wood but I was lost instead," Catalina said yesterday. "And then Anna found me."

Anna Kelley told Seven News she found Catalina within 30 minutes but the pair became disorientated in bush.

"(It was) scary, because I realised how completely lost I was, I had no bearings, I couldn't see this rock so I just didn't know where to go," she said.

Ms Kelley said the pair walked a long way before deciding to stop for the night in the hope they would be spotted by a heat-detecting camera aboard a search plane.

"I realised that I didn't know where I was going," she said.

"So we stopped and tried to make a fire and failed, lots of times.

"It was really cold, we found a nice log to lie on, rugged up and watched all the planes coming over."

Catalina cuddled inside Ms Kelley's jumper.

When the sun rose yesterday the pair followed a well-used track towards a clearing that was being used by search helicopters.

Family friend Paul Jarvis said a policeman and a tracker dog were headed towards the pair when they were spotted by a helicopter about 400m from the campsite.

"And then I got to see my mum and dad," Catalina said.

Catalina and Ms Kelley were thirsty but otherwise healthy.

Catalina's father Craig Stronach said his daughter was eating lollies and looked like she had a great night when they were reunited with "lots of kisses and cuddles".

Mr Jarvis said Catalina slept well inside Ms Kelley's jumper, but the 35-year-old woman was exhausted.

"I did spend the night knowing that she was safe and as long as I kept her warm and happy that she was all right," Ms Kelley said.

"But nobody else knew that she was with me, and I knew that.

"So for them that must have been a really, really harrowing night."

Dozens of volunteers, including farmers and visitors to Mukinbudin's annual agricultural show, joined the search on Saturday and helped throughout the weekend by bringing supplies. "Everyone has been so friendly," Mr Stronach said.

Searchers lit a bonfire on top of the rocks and police shone a spotlight into the scrub as a beacon for the lost campers.

Weary and sore from hours of walking through scrub, Mr Stronach said he was relieved beyond description.

"I can't tell you how relieved I am," Mr Stronach said.

"It was terrifying when it started getting dark and we still hadn't found her."

The group headed out to the picturesque rocky outcrop near the Emu Proof Fence to look at the wildflowers in bloom.

"I love going camping," Catalina said, adding she could not wait to head out to the bush again.


Working Cade over Eagle Rock


Arriving at Search Base


Checking the back of the rock area


News crews departing


Cade resting his weary head on the way home

A very long and rewarding weekend for us all. Many thanks to Chris and Dave for driving myself and Cade to the search site and being our back ups.

2011-07-24T19:55:00.000+08:00

2011-07-24T19:46:00.000+08:00

The new GoPro helmet camera

2011-07-18T21:21:00.000+08:00

The new GoPro helmet camera is proving to be very useful as a training aid. Strong and lightweight with a good field of depth and this version is not the HD version. Good tool for the person learning tracking as they can look and learn from the dogs movements.

A night with the Girl Guides

2011-05-30T21:20:00.000+08:00

I have never attended a girl guides meeting before tonight and it was such a warming experience to watch the guides in action. We were invited along so that the girls could see and pat Cade as well as receive some useful information on what to do if you get lost in the bush.


What a group


Being Cade

It is refreshing to meet such a wonderful group of young ladies and I would not hesitate in accepting any invitation to visit a guide group in the future.

Learning what to take into the bush.

Moora Cadets

2011-05-02T20:23:00.000+08:00

I received a invitation to visit the Moora Cadets, the last visit was nearly four years ago, so we hooked up the dog trailer, fueled up the troopie and away we went for the day. Richard was with me on the last visit so it was only fitting that he decided to come along again. Tuesday was their meeting day after school so we decided to visit the Moora Primary School before going on to the High School to meet the cadets.


Primary school pupil with Cade and Talo

After spending a great hour with the primary school children we let them have a good look through the dog trailer and troopie and we said our goodbyes. Country schools just love visits from services like ours as its a great way to promote what we do within the State Emergency Service.

We had a short half hour break from the time we left the primary school to the time we had to be at the high school so we stopped in town for a lovely cup of coffee and something to eat.

The cadets were ready for us when we arrived and we gave them a full run down on what we do and how we go about assisting the police in our searches.


Moora Cadets.

After a good half hour of answering some very good questions, a few thousand photos were taken by the cadets with their mobile phones. The cadets put away the dogs whilst I had a quick chat with the teachers and staff that stayed behind. They are a fantastic group of cadets.

The dog lovers

I would like to thank Doug McGee for the invitation to visit the Moora cadets. As this is Doug's last year with the cadets I would like to wish him well for the future and we again look forward to visiting the Moora cadets at a future date.

Anzac Day 2011

2011-04-17T21:51:00.000+08:00

Lest We Forget

Search and Training

2011-02-02T21:20:00.000+08:00

January 27th.

Daisy and Peter went on a call out to the northern outskirts of Perth. The search only lasted a couple of hours which was quite good as the temperatures were very high (Think around 39 degr cel) and there was only little wind.

It was an interesting search from other perspectives as Daisy encountered her first experience of seeing horses, Peter learned how good it is to have a good navigator / comms person (Thanks for the help Michael) and Michael learned not to stand too close to the back end of a horse (Hope stomach is feeling better Michael)

Peter and Daisy

Saturday January 29th.

Due to the very high temperatures training this week-end was moved to night training which took place at Gnangara.

Attending were Leonie, Francis, Peter, with bodies Emma and Ashley, and naturally the esteemed Old Grey One.

When turning up at 8 PM the weather was quite humid and warm in the aftermath of a shower or two which had occurred during the day.

Having set up an area of 400 m x 400 m the intention was for the handler to be allowed to concentrate on controlling the dog with the other handlers taking turns to act as navigator.

This was indeed a very good learning experience, one which opened the eyes for the fact that night search is not the easiest thing in the world and that it is indeed helpful to have a navigator present.

It was also a learning experience for the navigators in how to work and how hard it can actually be to remain behind the dog handler.

The evening ended around 11 PM after having towed a certain individuals car out of getting bogged - which seems to have happened a couple of times lately.

Albany Search - Stirling Ranges

2010-12-21T21:30:00.001+08:00

Just a week and a half after 2 more search dogs had passed their assessment a call went out for a search in the Stirling Ranges near Albany. Two search dog teams were deployed there (Rani and Francis as well as Daisy and Peter) and were accompanied by two people from the Kalamunda unit who would act as support for the teams. The Stirling ranges in all their splendour and beauty (From afar) is not used by the SAS (not the SES) for their selection course – the ground is steep and the bush is heavy and dense. The locals (Being spiders, goannas, snakes, roo's and emu's are a plenty.

The teams left Perth on Tuesday morning at 5 am and arrived on location shortly before noon, ready to start their searches whilst under the watchful eyes of the local press and media.

For operational reasons we cannot comment on the actual search however we can say that the training we have previously done in areas around Brigadoon was very welcome as they gave us the basic knowledge we would need to work on the steep slopes.

The weather was fortunately with us and the first two days it wasn't too warm and there was a light breeze – Thursday the temperature went up to close to the 30 degr. C.

Despite the harsh terrain to work in the food and accommodation side of things was 5 star and with early nights there were plenty of opportunities to sleep and recover.

A very interesting experience was to see how Daisy was working with a muzzle on – due to the area being one of those where fox-bait is being used to control the fox population in the area the DEC had recommended the dogs be working with a muzzle, which they have not yet tried. Can only say that it was a positive experience to see that Daisy did indeed work very well even with this muzzle on and that she had ample room for her mouth to open to drink water.

The experience has certainly left us with a good experience of how to work in difficult terrain, how to work alongside other units as well as having helicopters working close by and seeing whether this would distract or have little influence on how the dogs work – which fortunately it did not.

Thank you Peter for your terrific report and photos.

Area Search Assessment at Gnangara.

2010-12-06T19:55:00.000+08:00

7.30am. Sunday 5^th December saw two, somewhat nervous area search dog handlers arrive at Gnangara ready to be assessed as to their suitability to be on the FESA/SES call out list. They were required to pass two of three large area searches to gain the title of Initial Area Search Dog.

Also assembled were four volunteers from the SES units who would hide in the areas and wait to be found. A big thank you goes to Shelley, Stewart, Anne and Katie. Plus a hand full of handlers supporting them.

Assessing on behalf of the Police (for whom we work) Sergeant Justin Watts of the Dog Squad. Representing FESA/SES was Stephen Summerton who also is a dab hand at supplying refreshments.

The areas to be search were adjacent and could both be viewed from high ground facilitating both handlers working at the same time then changing over.

Wind conditions improved for the second search that produced some good strikes.

Both Handlers Leonie with Jemma and Peter with Daisy performed well (almost “Gooderer”) and as both were successful on their first two search areas they were not required to search a third. They are now graded Areas Search Dog Handlers. Congratulations.

Special “Thank You” to Kim for taking the photos.

Dogs Breakfast

2010-10-31T20:38:00.002+08:00

We had an invitation to attend an annual event held by the City of Wannerroo called the "Dogs Breakfast". This event allows for dog clubs to demonstrate their skills as well as traders to display their wares.

Today's event was held in perfect conditions which drew a very large crowd of dog owners accompanied by their faithful companion.

I can see this event growing yearly as it has a lot going for it.


Some of the crowd enjoying our stand.

Part of the early morning crowd.

We want one dad....

Look out for what?

Transportation methods

2010-10-17T20:32:00.003+08:00

I often wonder if our four legged companions ever complain about the way they get transported to and from training or anywhere else for that matter?

I have decided to show some of our methods of transport and in a future blog I will go into details as to what luxuries we put into our vehicles for our companions.


Daisy and Karma in the Land Rover

JoJo on the back of a flat tray

Luna and Kian.

Jemma in the station wagon


Talo and Cade sharing a compartment in the dog trailer


Emma relaxing

The new sun shade is up

With the hotter weather approaching fast its a timely reminder for us all to carry more water.

Jeg har låst nøglerne i min bil, hjælp.

2010-09-27T22:04:00.000+08:00

You may well wonder what the above title means.

Training on Sunday was a day that Peter would probably like to forget. You sort of know what the day is going to be like when things go wrong , nothing goes to plan like it should have, and then the un excusable happens. You return from doing a exercise and getting ready to go to another section of the pine plantation to do another when you realise you have just done the worst thing in the world. You have just locked your keys in the car!

Sitting patiently for Peter arrive were three bodies and myself. Well time ticked by and then we received the message that Peter would be arriving in another vehicle because he locked his keys in his car.

Peter arrived and asked if he could use my phone to call home to tell his wife where his spare set of keys were and could she please bring them to the training ground. Peter then set off with Daisy to complete his area in a good time, little bit sunburnt as his hat was also locked inside his car along with his water bottle etc.

The explanation.

This was the time where Peter had to explain to his wife as to why he locked his keys in the car and she had to drive a fair way to deliver them. After a fair bit of ribbing I think a spare key will be part of Peters kit from now on.

Ladies Day Out

2010-09-13T20:17:00.000+08:00

We were fortunate on Sunday to have two lovely ladies along to body for us. This may not seem like a big deal but it helps the whole team out especially the dogs who do grow weary of smelling the same old people week after week.

A big "Thank You" to Marilyn and Julie for giving up their Sunday to help us out. I do hope that you will come back and join us again and we will see if we can produce a bit warmer weather for you to doze off under a bush waiting for the dogs to locate you.

Morning tea time and the cuppa was worth waiting for.

If you feel like having a snooze under a bush waiting for a area search dog to locate you then please leave a message for us on our blog.

There has been a couple of new photos added to the Pt Hedland topic also tonight.

SES Canine Section Recruiting Now......

2010-09-05T21:20:00.001+08:00

Click on poster to view

Training with a small group.....

2010-08-29T20:23:00.001+08:00

There were only three keen trainers today which made Ian's job a bit easier, two trackers and one area search dog, which in itself is most unusual as the area search dogs out number the tracking dogs.

First up was Cade with a nice track that really got me nice and warm by the time we finished, mind you the temperature was not that cool this morning and the sun had a nice zing to it. We gave Cade a very fresh track instead of an aged one as he does not get them that often. You should see the tail lift when he knows he is closing in fast.

Neal was up next with JoJo and performed well on a nice track. It is nice to watch another trailing dog work and compare the differences between them even if JoJo is still learning.

Looking the goods.

We then headed off down to the quarry so that Peter and Daisy could get some area search work done. Neal, Niamh and myself all went off and hid amongst the rocks, it was more to have a rest I think!

Daisy performed to a high standard and found the three of us which was really unfortunate as we were all having a nice rest in the warmth of the sun.

We then set up another exercise for Cade where we set the person off over all the rocks and every bit of rocky ground that was there. Well after a few *#@+%% words of not being able to keep up with Cade on this type of terrain I let him off the lead, it was snagged anyway, as he had already spotted Neal and was trying to get to him. It was a nice exercise to see how he would cope in that terrain, he proved that he could handle it but I think I will leave that up to the area search dogs in future!

Peter, looking after the vehicles.

We returned to the top area to set another track for Neal, this track did not prove as successful as his previous track. After a good morning session we sat down to a nice cuppa and some lovely chocolate biscuits that we enjoyed.

You make up your own mind?

Niamh

Finished for the day.

Ledge Point

2010-08-24T21:25:00.001+08:00

Our first residential training weekend was conducted at Ledge Point on 20th, 21st and 22nd of August. Due to prior commitments for some and two handlers being deployed to the Pilbara we were a relatively small group, Peter and Daisy, Neal and Jo Jo, Leonie and Jemma and of course our intrepid leader Ian. Neal's daughter Niamh and Leonie's daughter Ashleigh and husband Robert came up to "body" for us.

Will joined us for dinner on Friday night but was unable to stay to see us working. He has promised to join us on a Sunday morning and we are looking forward to showing him just how amazing our dogs are. The house we stayed in was very comfortable with lots of room and best of all right on the beach. On Friday Neal and Jo Jo did some tracking work and Saturday morning saw us bright and early in the sand dunes with the area search dogs. Over the course of the weekend all dogs experienced working in very different terrain from sandy dunes covered in low growing ground cover to quite hilly areas covered in thick shrubs and vines, very difficult to move through. Jemma and Daisy had an opportunity to work an area simultaneously, a first for them. We were also able to do some night searches, great experience.

When not working the dogs spent a lot of time playing and it was wonderful to see them getting along so well. The weekend was also a good time for the humans to socialize and get to know each other a bit better. Neal is our resident comedian. All in all it was a highly successful weekend and we are looking forward to the next one, hopefully with everyone able to attend.

Thanks Leonie for a good story.

Port Hedland

2010-08-21T22:11:00.007+08:00

One canine and two handlers were deployed to Pt Hedland to assist the police in the search for a missing person. It would be improper for me to report on the search itself.

Rani, Francis and Michael left Perth on Tuesday morning arriving In Hedland at 0830 hours after getting up at 0300 to ensure that Rani was booked onto the same flight 90 minutes before take-off. After arriving at Pt Hedland we were taken to our lodgings where we dropped of our bags, got changed into some light search gear as the weather in Hedland was nice and warm. We then headed straight out to the search site.

Francis and Rani on the track.

The weather was a lot warmer in Hedland (30 degrees C) than down in Perth and this showed on both dog and handlers on the first day as we started our search pattern. I was carrying 8 litres of water and Francis was carrying nearly 3 litres. The carrying of water is a big problem as the weight is mostly carried on our shoulders and without a good back pack or Camelbak as your shoulders will start to ache. We cannot afford to run out either as this causes bigger problems for both dog and humans.

Michael and Rani at a water hole.

During our time in Port Hedland we gained experience in a lot of other areas apart from dog handling. Map reading and using a GPS were areas that we gained the most experience. We also encountered problems where the rock surface, on the hillsides, was starting to affect the paws on Rani. I think we may have to invest in dog boots.

Francis and Rani in the riverbed

Apart from eating a fair bit of red dirt every day and trying to get clean at night time we looked forward to getting a bit of sleep. We were up at 0500 and in bed by 2100 trying not to snore.

Its still a bit green up there!

The De Grey River

Base

Sun rise on the way to the search site

Rani waiting to go.

The Team.....Thanks Joe for the photos.

Training at Bells Rapids on Sunday 18th

2010-07-22T20:02:00.001+08:00

I decided not to join the group last week and Leonie has kindly written her first article for the BLOG. With a little bit more coaxing I think we might be able to get a few more members to write what happens at training from their point of view. I must thank Peter for taking a couple of photos to go with this story, thank goodness for mobile phones with cameras!..........Over to you Leonie......

It was a very cold start to our Sunday morning at Bells Rapids. A few brave souls were out with their canoes training for the Avon Descent. Rugged up in our cold weather gear including gloves and beanies, we crossed the river to work on the other side. We were working on quite steep ground, something we haven’t experienced before. It proved to be a challenge for dogs and handlers alike and a reminder to us all that a good level of fitness is important. At least one handler was panting more than her dog when she reached the top. Scent behaves quite differently on steep ground compared to level ground and the way the dogs are worked varies according to the terrain so it is good to practice in areas like this from time to time. By mid morning the sun came out and it warmed up a bit. All the dogs had a successful day.

Little orange people!

I think I can see what training actually took place from this photo?

Foot Note: For those of you wondering where "Bells Rapids" are located, they are located on the Avon River, Brigadoon, Perth Western Australia. The world famous Avon Descent takes all competitors over Bells Rapids.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

2010-07-11T20:19:00.001+08:00

Every now and again you have a weekend that stands out from most whether it be good, bad or just plain s****y. Mine started out the later as I had a small accident on Friday after picking up my wife from the Red Cross after giving her blood donation. So one now has a passengers side door that requires replacing along with a few other bits and bobs. Time off road will be two weeks.....oh joy!

Now we come to the bad bit........well not as you may think. The baddies had been out doing their worst by stealing handbags, credit cards etc. There has been a photo taken to prove this but it has not arrived in my email in-box yet. Hint, hint. The Area Search Dogs were out practicing on Saturday morning when one of them, Jemma, gave an alert on four Ladies hand bags she came across while on her search. These were then duly handed over to the police. Just goes to show what unexpected things can happen on a training day.

We were back out at Brigadoon again today, Gods country, where the Good part happened. Neal and his dog JoJo passed their control test and are now pretty much on the way to 2 years of hard training to get graded. Well done Neal and JoJo. I need to get a good photo of Neal and JoJo and this one does not do them justice.

Neal and JoJo are in the middle.

Glenys from Albany was on the track with Mahnon.

As was Michael and Cade.

Sorting out training for the day.

You looking at me?

You have been located, now off you go that way!

Apart from the morning rain, which just added to the atmosphere of the training ground, everybody enjoyed today's training session. Looking forward to getting up this way again real soon.

Training in Brigadoon

2010-06-27T19:51:00.002+08:00

Its not often you get to work a track with great views and that is what happened today. Neal, our newest recruit, lives up in Brigadoon and was able to get us into one of the best training grounds we have been to. It has everything you could want to see a whole team through the day, great areas to lay tracks and some very nice areas to work the search dogs. We do have parrot bush and we are putting up with it!

With a bit of luck we may be able to continue training up here for a while to come, lets hope so.

Its hard not to enjoy training with views like this.

Having achieved a good days work we had morning tea and then took a look around the area with Neal showing us the way.

Heading out towards the escarpment.

Annette and Elli

LOST - not the tv show!

2010-06-20T20:30:00.001+08:00

It was a lovely start to the day, a cool morning with a bit of smoke left over from the burning off in Gnangara Pine Plantation. Cade and myself were first up as Ian had set up a little scenario where Peter and Leionie would leave their vehicle and take off into the bush. They would then separate and Cade would have to find two mispers.

Harnessed Cade up and obtained the scent from the scent article left in the vehicle and away we went. Ian was following up with the GPS so that he knew where Leonie was waiting. To cut a long story short, Cade took off in his normal confident manner as we set out to find Leonie. The soft sand left a few clues as to which way they went but then we started into the harder stuff where footprints were no longer any good to us. A kangaroo bounded on by and spotting us decided to leave the area, Cade paid no attention to the kangaroo but did go and investigate the track left by it. We then located Leonie and Jemma only to be told that Peter had wandered off looking for help and the only thing available for scent was his backpack. Had a quick break giving Cade and myself a nice refreshing drink of water.

Harnessed Cade back up and took off looking for Peter. For the first part of the track I had Leonie and Ian behind me following up using the GPS to follow Peters breadcrumb trail. Cade decided that air-scenting Peter would be much quicker than following his trail. Heading towards the road he suddenly turned left and lifted his head into the slight breeze and took off pulling like a steam train. We located Peter and then I inquired with Leonie how far behind me they were. We will be with you shortly was the reply. Peter and I then decided to head back to the main group and got onto the radio to inform Ian, who had the GPS, what we were doing.

I do not know how you can become geographically embarrassed with a GPS? We are pretty proficient with them. Some considerable time later and arriving from the completely wrong direction, Leonie and Ian arrived back. It will take some time to live this one down as I am sure we will not let them forget it for some time to come.

Ah.....found you!

Annette had the rest of the Area Search Dog Teams training whilst Team Lost made their way back to camp. We put in another few finds before sitting down to a well earned morning cuppa.

Ian with a smile after returning.

"Found you.....off to tell Dad"

It was nice to come back after having a short break, just a bit disappointed that nobody took any photos whilst I was away. Lets see what dramas await us next week.

The Trailing Boys

2010-05-30T20:48:00.001+08:00

Time to get a couple of shots of myself and the boys in today's blog. It has taken me a while to get some photos taken of us working as I am usually the one taking the photos.

Cade up front and Talo is in the rear.

Michael and Cade on track and closing in fast.

Bursting through the bush.....well sort of!

It seemed by the lovely warm weather this morning and the Black Cockatoos getting restless we are going to get some more rain. Lets hope its just rain!

For the next couple of weeks there will be not postings on this BLOG as this little volunteer will be taking a short break down south. I hope that some of the other team members will take along a camera and take a few shots for me of the training.

Our new team member

2010-05-29T19:35:00.002+08:00

Elisha Rae

Born 17 May 2010 09:19am 9lb9oz and 54cm long.

Congratulations to Sue and Duane on the birth of your beautiful daughter Elisha.

Its all down to reading your dog!

2010-05-16T20:24:00.000+08:00

Tracking Dog or Area Search Dog, it all comes down to being able to read your dogs body language. That sudden swing of the body by a Area SearchDog or even lifting the head for a good sniff by either of the dogs is a vital sign that needs to be spotted by the handler and understood. Being able to read your dog is the vital part of you being a team. These are not pearls of wisdom, all tracking people know about having to read their dog but many fail doing so. The best way to learn about a dogs body language is to follow up with as many dogs and trainers that you can. We will never fully understand how a dogs nose works but it fun trying to learn what we can from what we see.

Today saw a reduced number of the group to to varying circumstances so we had a rather light days training. I did manage to take my camera along on a street track for a couple of photos.

Nose to the ground.

End of the track.

Haze in the bush.

Today was a special day for Ian, it was his birthday. "Happy Birthday Ian" and thanks for a great lunch. A nice afternoon had by all.

Early morning start

2010-05-09T20:25:00.002+08:00

It was nice to be up in the pine plantation this morning, little bit of fog along with some smoke left over from the burn off down south made for a great start to the day. Ian and myself arrived early so that I could lay a track for Glenys (Albany), so that she could get an assessment done on her 3 hour old track, then we did some work with Ian's dogs. Pity somebody decided to cull some of the kangaroos as there were a couple of carcasses near to where we started to train. This proved to be great for the dogs but not for training.

Ian in the early light of day.

The rest of the team arrived at 8.00am and we then got down to a good mornings training. The new camo overalls were worn for the first time and proved to be a good investment as we could not see any body hiding out in the open space. Our orange gear just stood too much and allowed handlers to subconsciously lead their dogs towards the body.

Camo gear and dog ready to disappear.

10 o'clock rolled around and that was time for Glenys and Mahnon to do their track and be assessed. We are pleased to say both handled the track with ease and now we start to move on to the harder tracks.

The next photo is a must, being an ardent Dockers fan and having endured 16 years of maybe's, our time has finally arrived with gusto. Dont you just love his face?

Meet Hase....ain't he cute!

ANZAC Day Photo

2010-04-25T16:19:00.000+08:00

Ian on the march.

ANZAC DAY - Dogs of War

2010-04-19T22:19:00.002+08:00

ANZAC Day is approaching and I thought it was time to pay homage to all those dogs that served in the Australian Army.

Dogs of War

by Elizabeth Stewart

There is a shell-shocked Digger who will be in Vietnam until he dies … He is Private Tibera black Labrador tracker dog. Tiber is a casualty of a Viet Cong attack in May last year. A rocket-propelled grenade burst only a few feet away from him. Since then he has been gun-shy -- sometimes he jumps whimpering into a ditch when Australian artillery or mortars fire.

Melbourne Herald10 May 1969.

Eleven of the most popular contributors to the Australian war effort in Vietnam could not return home when their tour of duty ended. They were the black Labrador tracker dogs used by the Australian Task Force.

Photo taken by John Dalton. Published in My Vietnam: Photographs by Australian Veterans of the Vietnam conflict.

Most of the stories about the dogs involve the close attachments formed between animal and handler and the anguish of soldiers when their time came to return to Australia at the end of their one-year tour. It was Australian Army policy that the dogs not be brought home at the end of their service.

Photographs immediately above courtesy of the Australian Army Trackers and War Dogs Association.

The dogs were the core of Combat Tracker Teams that were used from 1967 until the last combat troops left in late 1971. Trained from the age of about 10 months at the Tracking Wing of the Ingleburn Infantry Centre NSW two dogs were assigned to each of the Australian battalions based at the Task Force base at Nui Datin Phuoc Tuy Province. Full-time use of the dogs in Vietnam from late 1967 followed their successful use in Malaya in the 1950s and a trial in Vietnam during most of 1967. Housed in kennels at Nui Datthe dogs’ lives followed an established routine. They were groomed and checked every day and taken outside the base perimeter for training runs on tracks set through the bush. South Vietnamese soldiers were usually used to set scent trails so the dogs could get used to following their distinctive smell.

Photographs immediately above courtesy of the Australian Army Trackers and War Dogs Association.

Each Tracker Team consisting of the two dogs and their handlers two visual trackers and two covermen (a machine-gunner and a signaller)operated on standby out of Nui Dat. Usually called out to follow up enemy trails or to locate suspected enemy hideouts after a contact the teams would be airlifted by helicopter into the area of operation. The dogs loved these helicopter flights finding the cool air a relief from the oppressive tropical heat. Once on the ground the dog would be put on to the scent of retreating enemy. The dog would follow the scent usually at speed until a location was found when he would stop with nose or paw extended in a ‘point’facing the suspected hideout. The tracker and dog would then fall back while the rest of the section searched the area often finding wounded enemy or recently occupied bunker systems that would otherwise have been missed.

The dogs were outstandingly successful at their combat tasks in Vietnam. Apart from their success in locating enemy and their support systems the dogs saved the lives of their handlers and team members on many occasions. Although not trained to detect mines (despite recommendations by some soldiers that mine dogs be used in Vietnam) the dogs were intelligent and sufficiently well-trained to do so. Handler Peter Haran summed up his dog’s worth: Caesar … could see smell and hear Charlie [slang term for Viet Congfrom the military phonetic alphabet for the letters ‘V’ -- Victor and ‘C’ -- Charlie] long before we walked into a firefight. He knew where the mines were where the trip wires were strungand he could cover ground chasing the enemy at speeds which literally took your breath away.

SKE/67/1139/VN. VietnamNovember 1967. Justinone of two tracker dogs with 7th Battalionthe Royal Australian Regiment (7RAR) has a cup of water poured over his muzzle by his handlerPrivate Tom Blackhurst of SwanseaNSW. Justin had just successfully located a group of Viet Cong during operation Santa Fe in the north-east of the province. A little while after the Viet Cong had withdrawnthe 7th Battalion tracker team was called ineventually locating members of the enemy about thirty yards ahead. The tracker team immediately opened fire and inflicted two fatal casualties.

The fate of Australia’s war dogs once their service came to an end in Vietnam caused consternation in Army circles and anguish to their handlers. Unlike their human counterparts the length of duty for a tracker dog was around three years (at least one year too long according to many handlers). This made it impossible for the dog to return to Australia when his handler’s tour ended. The main reason for keeping the dogs ‘in country’ was the Army’s reluctance to cover the quarantine costs involved.

After much discussion about the issueand with the matter having been raised in Parliament the Army decided in 1968 that at the end of their working lives the dogs would be kept by the battalion as a reservethen given as pets to European or Australian families resident in Saigon. Only as a last resort if no home could be found would they be destroyed. In the event none of the 11 dogs who served in Vietnam was put down with homes being found for the ten who survived. (One dogCassiusdied of heat exhaustion after a training run.)

Having to part with their dogs at the end of their tours was often the hardest thing the dog handlers had to face in Vietnam. Some likened it to losing a child. Denis Ferguson trained Marcus in Australia and served with his ‘mate’ during two tours of Vietnam. Ferguson applied through all the appropriate Army channels to take Marcus home with him even offering to pay all the quarantine costs. The curt refusal he received -- no reasons were given -- caused Ferguson trauma that he still feels deeply.

The family of Garry Polglasethe handler of Julian had a similar experience. PoIglase was accidentally killed in Vietnam in April 1968and his mother applied to have the dog brought home soon after her son’s death. After questions were raised in Parliament and the family had conducted a public campaign that raised enough money to pay the quarantine costs of all the tracker dogs the Army confirmed its policy on the fate of the dogs and refused the request.

FOD/71/0563/VN. SaigonSouth Vietnam17 November 1971. Arriving by helicopter to meet their new owners are tracker dogs Marcian and Milo. Marcian was handed over to his new ownerMr R. Brashthe Counsellor and Consul General with the British Embassy in Saigon. Milowho had been in Vietnam since 1968was handed over to Mr J. R. Cochranethe assistant manager of the Chartered Bank in Saigon. Both dogs were with the 4RAR /NZ (ANZAC) (The ANZAC Battalion comprising 4th BattalionThe Royal Australian Regiment and a component from the 1st BattalionRoyal New Zealand Infantry Regiment).

FOD/71/0566/VN. SaigonSouth Vietnam. 17 November 1971. Mr R. Brashthe Counsellor and Consul General with the British Embassy in Saigonand his Vietnamese maid and her three childrenare introduced to Marcianby his former handlerPrivate David Nelson.

These refusals might have been easier to bear had the handlers been told one apparent reason for them. An Army veterinary report noted that large numbers of American tracker dogs in Vietnam had died from a tropical disease thought (but not confirmed) to be transmitted by ticks. The disease which very quickly caused massive haemorrhaging in all major organs was hard to detect and could be carried by the dogs without symptoms for some time. The report strongly recommended that no tracker dogs be allowed back into Australia“even under strict quarantine”until the mode of transmission of the disease was discovered. By the end of 1972 the majority of Australian troops including the dog handlers were home from Vietnam. Most got on with their lives more or less successfully but their dogs were never far from their thoughts.

Haran felt that his dog Caesar… had been forgotten as a soldier and soldiers should not be forgotten in war there should be some sort of memory of them. Many ex-handlers shared this feeling and it resulted in a permanent memorial to the dogs being erected in Australia. The Australian War Dog Memorial complete with carved statue and a drinking trough for dogs was unveiled at a ceremony on the Alexandra Headlandon the Sunshine Coast Queensland in April 2001. An inaugural reunion of past and present trackers in Queensland in March 2002 further cemented the bonds between those who served with these remarkable dogs of war and highlighted their importance and rightful place in Australian military history.

Canines in Combat -- Vietnam 1962-1972

Cassius Tiber Justin Marcus

Janus Julian Caesar Milo

Trajan Juno Marcian

The Australian Army Trackers MemorialGoolwaSouth Australia. Photograph courtesy of the Australian Army Trackers & War Dogs Association.

Australian War Dog MemorialAlexandra HeadlandQueensland. Photograph courtesy of the Australian Army Trackers & War Dogs Association.

After a lapse of some years tracker dogs are again serving with Australian forces on peace keeping and other missions overseas. The dogs are now brought back to Australia at the end of their service.

This story was reproduced by kind permission of the Australian War Memorial. Dogs of War was a feature story in issue 18 of Wartimethe official magazine of the Australian War Memorial.

Footy and Dog Training?

2010-04-18T20:26:00.002+08:00

Whilst watching Freo nearly give the Saints a lesson today I was thinking how do the umpires miss seeing free kicks when it happens right in front of their eyes. It all happens within a split second and a decision has to be made by the umpire and as dog handlers we also have a split second in which to react to the dogs indication or action. The only good thing for handler is that he cannot be sent off for not being able to read the play so to speak.

Training does take its toll on the handler if we are not concentrating on the job in front of us, the dog! To miss a vital sign on a track by your dog is a sin that should not be forgiven. If it was for real, it could end up costing a life. So, should your back up person be as good at reading your dog as your are? I think so!

The next time your are watching the footy, or any sport for that matter, and the umpire makes a wrong call, just have a quick think back to make sure you have not missed one of your dogs indications.

With ANZAC Day coming up next weekend training has been postponed till the following weekend when it will be a double banger weekend with training on Saturday and Sunday.

Leonie and Jemma.

Today's training was held in warm weather 32C, which for this time of the year is awful as it bring our all the damn ticks and other creepy crawly things that we thought went away after summer. With a small group on hand we did get a lot of training done with the up and coming dogs which was great.

The grass still has not turned green with the rain!

I missed it!

2010-04-15T20:31:00.004+08:00

Having survived the chocolate feast of Easter, I do think we have really forgotten what Easter means, Perth Storm and a bad back the following was the one thing we really didn't want.I don't know how many times I have picked up a dog magazine that, buried somewhere inside, informs you of the perils of grass seeds and dogs.

During summer I check Cade regularly for ticks and grass seeds, looks like I missed one. This one was one of those nasty sharp hard ones that look like a sharpened match stick and fee like a needle when you stab yourself with one trying to remove it from the coat.

The Damage

As you can see by the photo, there was a lot of surgery required to remove one grass seed and a lump the size of a mini chocolate easter egg. Those are his drains sticking out and they will be removed on Sunday.

Training in the areas that we do, checking the dogs coat for these little horrors is a must if we want to have peace of mind.

It looks like the camera will get a work out this weekend seeing that Cade will be a home resting. He has been taken off the call out list for the next 10 days.

Back next week with a few more photos and some more news on the Area Search Dogs.

Did I ask for rain?

2010-03-28T21:12:00.001+08:00

Perth has just experienced one of the best, if that's how you describe it, storms in our history. It hit late Monday afternoon with high winds, lots of rain and hail the size of golf balls. Our SES Units have been running overtime, all week, trying to catch up with all the damage that has been caused. Many thanks to the Interstate and Intrastate teams that came to Perth to help with the massive clean up.

The above photo was take near our Unit. I was sent this photo so I am unsure as to the origins and I hope that I am not breaching copyright .
I am going to be very careful next time in complaining that we have had enough of Summer and require rain.

Next weekend is Easter so there will be no training. Time to catch up on getting our own house back into order after a bit of damage from the storm.

Please take the time to feed the fish at the bottom of our BLOG. Left click will feed them.

Look who's back?

2010-03-21T20:39:00.001+08:00

After an enjoyable holiday in Tasmania Ian returned to the fold to ensure the training standards had not deteriorated within those two weeks. We had a deal, training standards would be kept up if Ian bought us back some well needed rain. We haven't had any rain. You can tell a bloke that has been in Tasmania for a while, they forget to wear a hat when back in a sunny state.

Guess which one is Ian?

We were nearly at full strength for training today with the exception of Ian and Stephen. There was also a packet of gifts waiting for us, the new dog jackets. A special "Thank You" to Leonie for spending many an hour near a sewing machine making our dog jackets. All we need now is the new Canine Section Badge to add to the jackets.

With just a hint of orange!

With the two groups splitting for training, Area Search Dogs and Tracker Dogs, we covered a lot of ground and lost a bit of weight in this unforgiving sun. We want rain!

It looks like we will be back at Gnangara Pine Plantation next week improving our skills in radio communications and dog handling.

Peter and Daisy

Tracker dogs 3D Track

We are currently using Oziexplorer 3D to use with the Tracker Dogs to map their tracks. I will explain the benefits that we think we can obtain through using such technology in a future blog.

Bring on the cold weather.

2010-03-14T20:08:00.000+08:00

I think just about every body in Perth is well over summer and looking forward to rain, whatever the hell that is.
We had a very good turn out today and there is a photo of a team member who have not featured before only because of their business commitments. And Peter ran away before I could take any photos.

The training session went well even if there was no wind to speak of and a ton of humidity to deal with. All the Area Search dogs worked well and so did the handlers which was even more pleasing. If you don't have a happy handler, you don't have a happy dog.

Everybody has to be ship shape for when the Training Coordinator returns from his two weeks in Tasmania. Now there is a State that knows a bit about rain. It will be nice to have Ian back with us again to see what has happened in two weeks.

Annette with Elli just about to be released for her search.

Stephen with Vesta and the Land Rover Recovery vehicle in the background.

I did happen to look at the long range forecast and next Sunday will be 34 C, will it ever end?

Limited attendance

2010-03-07T20:05:00.000+08:00

With a limited number of members we made the most of a warm morning to get some work done with the Area Search Dogs and the Tracker Dogs. Most of the work did involve the ASD as the TD were training more on locating articles placed onto a track.

Ian and Jess

We started off work with the junior SD so she could work with a fresher wind, that did not really happen as the wind was on the change and began swirling. Don't you just love that!

Francis and Rani taking shade.

The senior SD did her thing in the later session after the rest (Above) By that time we all required a bit of a drink and a sit down as the sun still has a fair bit of sting.

Zac was in football heaven.

With a good mornings training under our belt we headed back to one of the team members residence for a well earned glass of Ginger Beer. With a bit of luck we should be able to supply more photos and stories next week as we should have a full team for training?

Night training and spiders.

2010-02-22T20:08:00.000+08:00

Our weather is at present particularly hot which means we do night training to escape the uncomfortable day training. Seeing that I was going to be away for this training session I asked if somebody could take some photos, of the night training, to be placed onto the blog.

As you can see, the spider photo was the only one taken. Now I have nothing personal against spiders as I do like Spider Bait and Spider Man etc etc etc but you would have thought that seeing we have our four legged friends with us they would have out done the eight legged variety.

Cameras will be at the ready for the next night exercise, whether they get used is another story.

What happened to the rain? 07/02/2010

2010-02-07T19:42:00.008+08:00

I awoke this morning expecting to see it raining, well that just did not happen in my neck of the woods so off to training we went.
Training started off with the Tracker Dogs doing their 24 hour old tracks before we assisted as bodies for the Area Search Dogs. Glenys from the Albany SES Canine Section joined us today as part of our joint training. Great with the dogs, shocking on the video camera.

A lot of you may be unaware that we spend a lot of time in the bush doing nothing. This next photo shows our Training Coordinator, Ian, in one of his more relaxed states.

After running through all of the exercises we needed to cover for the morning we sat down to a well deserved morning tea break. We do look after ourselves at morning tea time as we have some wonderful cooks amid our ranks. Well that should see me right for the next few weeks!

The above photo is of Ian and Rosie.
Over the next few weeks we will endeavor to have every team members picture up with their human and a brief bit about them both.

You work out what this photo means?

Congratulations to Annette and Elli

2010-02-03T15:37:00.004+08:00

Congratulations to Annette and Elli on passing their assessment and becoming graded. I shall look forward to you joining us in the small wee hours of the morning on our call outs.

Todays Street Training 31/01/2010

2010-01-31T21:25:00.008+08:00

The Area Search Dogs were out in the Gnangara Pine Plantation getting a fair bit of training done while it was cool. Thats if you call 30c cool after you have been running around in it for a while.

That left Sue and myself to hit the streets for tracking. We started off from the front doors of Myer's to ensure that there was a fair bit of contamination. If I had of known about the fete in the undercover car park at the other end I would have put the tracks through there.

Zac was very positive in his start and continued the track to the finish.

Sue had layed a track for Cade earlier in the morning. We worked that after we took a break, you cant rush an expecting Mum can you?

Cade took off from the start and proceeded to the end, short cutting a fair bit of the track by airscenting. Dont you just love the thinking dog! So in a brief statement, that was our day.

With us all being together for the next training day I shall get some photos of the Area Search Dogs at work.

Training this weekend

2010-01-28T21:57:00.000+08:00

Looks like we will be blessed with a bit cooler weather for Sunday. Half the team will be training in Mariginup and the odd couple out will be Sue and myself who will be doing some street tracking.

Annette is due to be graded soon so all the practice she can get will be beneficial for her at this stage. I just hope she gets a cool day when the time comes.

At present we only have two graded dogs, one Tracking/trailing dog and one Area Search dog. To have a few more people graded by the police will be beneficial to the whole team.

We are trying to overcome a problem of being able to carry enough water for our dog as well as ourselves on a call out. With temperatures sometimes hitting 43 degrees Celsius you can see that we dont really get far carrying 2.5 liters of water in a camebak. We have to start looking for 5 lt bags which them becomes very heavy.

If anybody has any brillian ideas, please pass them on.

2010-01-24T21:50:00.001+08:00

Today's weather was a tad on the warm side for training. Did not see any snakes which was nice.
We need more bodies (Bodies are people that go and hide in the bush for the dogs to locate) if you are keen to assist us then please leave a message here or call me on my mobile 0419901840.

The above photo is not from today training, took a video camera as well as a still camera and did not take one single photo....go figure?

It will happen next week.

Training

2010-01-23T22:12:00.000+08:00

Our training takes place every Sunday morning. This week we are training in Gnangara Pine Plantation with a full unit on hand.

I hope to be able to get some up to date photos to post here tomorrow night.

2010-01-23T11:23:00.000+08:00

Todays new pictures 23rd Jan 2010

2010-01-23T11:17:00.001+08:00

More new photos posted today, I hope you enjoy them.

New Photos

2010-01-22T22:03:00.000+08:00

There will be a update of new photos to come.

The First one

2010-01-21T20:19:00.000+08:00

There will be posts done on a regular basis.