# Air Scent Paradigms



## Nancy Jocoy (Apr 19, 2006)

I have a question concerning air scent dogs.

In my area, the overwhelming majoirty of air scent dogs are started in trailing at least until they have demonstrated they are capable of scent discrimination. Basically they are trained in both disciplines but some dogs wind up as more specilaized trailing dogs and others as more specialized air scent dog based on their natural inclination and training plan. The trailing and air scenting skills overlap and you want them to use the strongest source of scent.

They work air scent problems using a scent article. This is not a paradigm that prevalls in much of the US. 

It is done in my area because it decreases inefficiencies in finding people in other sectors - and finding the wrong person wastes a lot of time and energy. Getting a good scent article has rarely been a problem and we still require dogs to be able to work without them. 

Now a question has come up on another forum. If a NON scent specific dog hits and follows a human trail, do you allow it to trail? Wouldn't the most likely event be that the trail, if human, is that of a previous hasty searcher or trailing team since air scent dogs are often deployed in later stages of the search? (or family member who went looking before they called for help). How would you know the dog was not following a game trail if you have not done specific training in trailing. When would you stop?


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

Nancy, this is one of the reasons I left SAR. The team I was on would be asked to a search area where often dozens of family and friends would show up to "help". 
Yes. I've followed dogs to only discover we've "found" another searcher. 
I don't think pure air scent dogs should be deployed unless the area can completely be cleared of non dog teams. JMHO!


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## David Frost (Mar 29, 2006)

Bob, what you describe is not all that uncommon. It becomes a PR nightmare for the police and professional search teams. It's not a problem with canine training, it's a command and control problem. Like I said, it's a PR nightmare.

DFrost


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## Nancy Jocoy (Apr 19, 2006)

So what about the question......................

Assume a savvy person ensures the areas are clear before deployment of air scent teams.

(1) Do you accept the concept of a scent-specific dog working in air-scent mode?

(2) If not, wouldn't there still be an issue with the dog hitting trails from prior searchers if allowed to trail?


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## David Frost (Mar 29, 2006)

I guess it would depend on what you are searching for. A live body or cadaver. With cadaver, I don't see it as being a problem. With a live find, the hottest scent should be the victim. If I'm air scenting for a victim, the only real specificity is it's human. 

DFrost


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## Matthew Grubb (Nov 16, 2007)

The idea of scent specific air scenting intrigues me but the amount of time this would take to train and proof would be a nightmare.
Nancy… you always run the risk of tracking the wrong person.. and it happens a lot! I’ve run more than my share of tracks back to a patrol car… back to an interested neighbors house.. back to a fire truck.. ugh!
One time I was called to track a robbery suspect… his flight path went down a commonly used alley across the street from the gas station he hit. I walked my partner to the start of the alley and cut across the track. Problem I ran into was another kid walked the same path about 40 mins prior. My luck… my dog hooked on the first track he came to… the older track. We ran a great track.. about ¾ mile through suburban neighborhoods and ended up at the quarry’s house. L


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## Nancy Jocoy (Apr 19, 2006)

I guess this really IS a different paradigm than most are used to. 

It really is basically like trailing with a scent article only you are casting over a large area (not from the LKP as you would a trailing dog) in a grid (as opposed to a permieter). The grid pattern being typical to the air scent dog.

The cross trained area search dog will pick up either the trail or the airborne scent of the one specific person associated with the scent article and no one else and will follow the strongest scent be it trail or airborne. Contamination and crews in adjacent areas become non-issues as the dog is trained to ingore them. 

Some dogs are naturally only used as on lead trailing dogs (for example bloodhounds) while others are worked either onlead if working from the LKP or offlead if casting an area, but are cast as an airscent dog would be cast and will work either the trail or the airscent - these dogs are usually trained with a recall-refind.

The dogs start training almost from the beginning with a scent article.

It is not like police tracking because we would be typically working a very very contaminated area and must find the correct source by using the article. Trailing dogs would still be a first line resource but as the subject is missing for longer times, air scent dogs become more important. And if way too long, then, cadaver dogs.


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## Matthew Grubb (Nov 16, 2007)

Nancy Jocoy said:


> It is not like police tracking because we would be typically working a very very contaminated area and must find the correct source by using the article. .


We do this as well when a scent article is available... but only for tracks.


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## Nancy Jocoy (Apr 19, 2006)

We would just also use the scent article for area search without a track - we are not unique; a lot of teams do that. We are typically not the first responders - it would be nice to be called in right away but the typical call for a SAR team is after the person has been missing over 24 hours. 

It is a different paradigm, but by day 2 or 3 of a search when the crews start coming in from all over, you really need the dogs to be scanning for airborne scent as the utility of the trailing dog is declining as the trail ages. 

You may have crews in adjacent sectors and I have certainly seen a dog pick up an airscent over 1/2 mile away (ridge to ridge) so by having that air scenting dog discriminate it reduces wasted time finding other ground crews in adjacent sectors. 

Takes someone real experienced maybe 6 mos to a year to train a dog to this level, but someone new may take 2 + years. [Of course we are talking maybe 2 days a week and weekends, (plus vacation time used for seminars) for a volunteer.


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## Nancy Jocoy (Apr 19, 2006)

Just wanted to let you know I was not looney tunes - I was looking for a good article on this - it is widely enough used to have been argued into the NIMS typing clissification ...................

http://www.nimsonline.com/resource_...e%20Team%20%96%20Wilderness%20Air%20Scent.htm


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