# Credible Certifying Organizations



## Ryan Cusack (Jan 19, 2009)

I'm putting together some "homework" for my Chiefs. They are trying to wrap their minds around search dogs and the only letters that ever come out of their mouths are FEMA. (NOT knocking FEMA folks) They want to make sure that my boy will be competent, certified, insured, yadda yadda. The list I'm making is going to include a crash course on search dogs. Discipline, certifying bodies, requisite training, etc... I want to make sure I give everyone a fair shake on this thing. What I've found so far is: FEMA disaster dog, ARDA, and IPWDA.

Special thanks to Nancy for the article she posted. It offered a great way to discuss some of these topics.


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## Konnie Hein (Jun 14, 2006)

What discipline do you plan to work your dog in - wilderness?

As you know, FEMA only applies to live-find disaster SAR dogs, which is a pretty limited speciality. Your ARDA team's certifications should be adequate, especially since (from what I've heard) they re-vamped all their certs to be NIMS compliant.


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## Ryan Cusack (Jan 19, 2009)

Yea, wilderness is the idea for Moose. A second dog sometime down the road, once I've cut my own teeth, will be geared to collapse. Also, yes, ARDA's certs have been/are being reformatted for NIMS compliance. Thanks!


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## Matthew Grubb (Nov 16, 2007)

Don't forget NAPWDA.....

http://www.napwda.com/pdflib/bylaws_cert_rules.pdf


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## Ryan Cusack (Jan 19, 2009)

Thanks Matt. I found them, along with APCA and IPWDA. I intend to mention the law enforcement training opportunities as well.


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## Nancy Jocoy (Apr 19, 2006)

NASAR is big, established, and a lot of departments use them for SAR certifications........a lot of folks are very disgruntled with them though after the way money earmarked for the dog section was handled after 9-11 and many of the good dog folks walked away. 
nasar.org


There is also NSDA, national search dog alliance which was formed after the NASAR split - and they are on the way, but have not been around as long so maybe not a credible certifying organization yet. http://www.n-sda.org/


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## Nancy Jocoy (Apr 19, 2006)

This may be another reference to tuck under your belt. I don't know that this ever got past the "its a great idea" stage but it is good food for though to consider when coming up with curricula.

ARDA is certainly one of the more established groups. Had they gotten over the "Only GSDs" thing earlier they probably would have been THE organization. 

Of course, they still don't believe an air scent dog can do scent discrimination which can save a lot of time on searches, but that belief seems to only exist in certain "pockets" of the country. .... 

http://www.fema.gov/pdf/emergency/nims/sar_jobtitle_111806.pdf


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## Vi Shaffer (Jan 25, 2010)

In addition to those already mentioned there are also SWDG, (Scientific Working Dog Group) who is working on standards - don't know if they've come up with a Cert. process yet. Then there is NNDDA and L.E.T.S. (Law Enforcement Training Specialists) 

God Bless


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