# Usar interest



## April White (Mar 25, 2011)

Hello Everyone,

My name is April White and my husband and I are taking our EMT's over this summer.
I have been trying to get any information on how to get into USAR work as ideally we would like to work with FEMA. It has been very difficult to find information. We are in San Diego Ca. Our agility instructor (Pete Hudson) has recommended the ideal dog for this work is a Malinois. Do most of you share this same opinion?
Is it better to buy a young pup, or a started dog? I have looked at started dogs but they seem to only sell to firemen more than not. I have three children at home 16,13, and 3 so I need a dog with a very stable temperament. Ideally I would like to see a long line of health testing on the pedigree of whatever dog we choose at some point. We are in no hurry to get a dog, will wait for the perfect match while we are getting the ground training done.

We would really appreciate any information you can share on how to get into USAR work with the dogs, best breed in your opinion to work with, as well as any USAR groups or clubs you may know of in the San Diego area. I was a SAR 20 years ago in the US Navy so a lot has changed since then but I have no experience in working with dogs for this. Most of my personal experience was in the water.
We would like to keep it as volunteer on call thing since we are both working professionals, we do have the ability to leave on short notice when needed. We have a large property and time to put a lot of work and training in with the dogs.



Looking forward to hearing from you guys

April White


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## Anna Kasho (Jan 16, 2008)

Welcome, April!

My two cents is, you should meet a bunch of malinois before you decide. They can be super stable, but as a whole the breed is (or should be) rather intense. A pup is never a sure thing and takes a lot longer until you get him working, gotta wait for him to grow up and get training first. And you may still have to wash him out later. But you put in all the work and if you know what you're doing, you teach the puppy exactly what you need... A started dog, someone else did all the training and what you see is what you get, as long as you or someone else experienced knows what to look/test for...

I know next to nothing about SAR 

Wasn't there a survey saying most SAR dogs are labs?


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## April White (Mar 25, 2011)

Hi,
Do you know how I can edit my profile, I do own dogs I am not sure how to change that setting.
Labs are really popular. My agility instructors dogs are Malinois so I think he is a tad biased that way. My fathers gun dog was a lab they are spectacular dogs. From all I have seen in the USAR work from Japan and NZ looks like labs, malinois, gsd, BC, and ACD.
Ill tell you one thing we want to volunteer our time and training and it's nearly impossible to get solid information on USAR work it seems like more or less an "elite group"  I do not want their jobs so they shouldnt be like that. We may never get called on, but if something big happens like NZ, or Japan I would think some extra trained hands would be better. I am in Ca and earthquakes are always a concern.
We want to help you know, be on stand by. But VERY difficult to get information.


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## April White (Mar 25, 2011)

This is the SAN DIEGO USAR team
http://www.catf8.com/public-join.html

Seems like they are"Elite" 
I have no interest in fighting fires, only in SAR.


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## April White (Mar 25, 2011)

Well look at this!
http://www.searchdogfoundation.org/98/html/1-deployments/1-2_japan.html
There IS a civilian on there HOPE finally!

 April


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## Nancy Jocoy (Apr 19, 2006)

I am assuming you are specifically interested in disasters and not local wilderness canine search and rescue.


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## April White (Mar 25, 2011)

Hello Nancy,
That would be incorrect. Ideally we would like a dog cross trained for both, however, we have been focusing on live find (not cadavers) because of the EMT part of our training.

Do you know of clubs in San Diego area?
Warm Regards,
April


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## Nancy Jocoy (Apr 19, 2006)

I have friends on a team in the Northern part of the state but I can ask. Actually one of our members brought her trailing dog up to certification level while on our team, joined the airforce, moved to northern california (obviously not near you) certified under CARDA and had her first live find not that long ago.

Most wilderness teams are live find - ours included - we just do cadaver because we keep getting asked for it so figured we better get good at it.

You may want to look here

http://carda.nu-designs.us/california


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## April White (Mar 25, 2011)

GREAT thanks so much Nancy!


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## Konnie Hein (Jun 14, 2006)

April White said:


> Hi,
> Do you know how I can edit my profile, I do own dogs I am not sure how to change that setting.
> Labs are really popular. My agility instructors dogs are Malinois so I think he is a tad biased that way. My fathers gun dog was a lab they are spectacular dogs. From all I have seen in the USAR work from Japan and NZ looks like labs, malinois, gsd, BC, and ACD.


Hi April. There are a variety of breeds who do well in USAR work. Ultimately it boils down to personal preference as to what dog you choose to do the work with you. My FEMA certified dog is currently a Labrador, but I also work a Malinois. I prefer the Malinois temperament. That being said, Labradors are overwhelmingly more popular in the work due to their trainability and social nature. I have seen some great working Labs doing USAR work.



> Ill tell you one thing we want to volunteer our time and training and it's nearly impossible to get solid information on USAR work it seems like more or less an "elite group"  I do not want their jobs so they shouldnt be like that. We may never get called on, but if something big happens like NZ, or Japan I would think some extra trained hands would be better. I am in Ca and earthquakes are always a concern.
> We want to help you know, be on stand by. But VERY difficult to get information.


I think the link to CA-TF8 that you provided explains the situation. There are seldom openings on the team, and competition is high for those openings. Most FEMA teams have a very low canine handler turnover rate. Civilians applying for any new canine position likely have years of experience in canine SAR already. Firefighters are a natural pick for the position, due to their experience and prior training. 

Disaster search is about so much more than just handling a canine, as well as being dangerous work. A large-scale disaster isn't really a place for somebody who just wants to tinker in the work. So, your best best is to get as much up-front information and training as you can. I think the best way to do this is probably to hook up with a local wilderness team through the link Nancy provided. Local wilderness teams likely do some disaster search too, as they would likely be the first responders to a local event.


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## Nancy Jocoy (Apr 19, 2006)

I actually have a name and a phone number coming from my friend....as soon as I get it I will send you a PM and it is with someone on the San Diego County Sherrif's Search and Rescue Team.

You will find that persistence and patience pay off when contacting a team. Most members are full time employees of someone and full time team volunteers so figure a little delay in getting back may weed out the marginally interested.


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## Jennifer Michelson (Sep 20, 2006)

We have a couple of labs on our SUSAR team, but mostly GSDs. All of our handlers are civilians. It seems to me that the teams with firefighters as handlers have the labs.

It really is a matter of what kind of dog you like and can handle. I am a gsd fan. I do like the higher drive, more intense dogs, and am interested in Mals, but just like the gsd better. We have a joke for those who switch to Mals--they've gone over to the 'dark side'.

There are quite a few urban teams in Ca. Looks like 8 FEMA teams according to usar.org. Dont know if there are any SUSAR teams--state urban SAR, which is equivalent to fema but state sponsored. 

I will second what Nancy said--most wilderness teams are live find, but do have cadaver dogs too.


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## Melody Greba (Oct 4, 2007)

FYI: the ideal for FEMA TFs is that they are 3 deep in resources. That being said, when 4 K9 teams go out the door, they want 2 more layers left. A total of 12 certified K9 resources is ideal. Here is the roster of certified K9 teams per TF. 

http://www.disasterdog.org/forms/rosters/K9Roster_Jan2011.pdf

A Fema TF may still not have openings on their K9 teams due to handlers having uncertified dogs taking up spots. 

FYI, IMHO most also do wilderness, as well. 

Of the approx. 250 certified FEMA K9 resources, over 50% are labs. You can see the numbers for the rest of the breeds on the roster. 5 breeds are the norm to certify in the system. Mals, gsds, goldens, labs and BCs. All have their strengths and their weaknesses. (Sometimes the weakness is with the handler's talent not just a dog or breed weakness)

Contact the FEMA Task Force near you and inquire about positions on the K9 team. Some TFs only want FFs or LE officers, to be on their K9 teams. Others have predominately civilian members. 

Good Luck


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## Chris McDonald (May 29, 2008)

Oh man, if this was the good old days of just a few months ago a certain member would all ready have made everything right in this little thread by now


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## Bob Scott (Mar 30, 2006)

I would second the Lab on being great for the job but you need to consider that it's the #1 ranked dog in popularity in the USA according to the AKC stats. That means you better choose carefully because of all the pet and byb litters out there. 
Because of their popularity you can often find them at the pound, Humane Society, etc but your then taking a long shot on hips and other health issues.


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## Jennifer Michelson (Sep 20, 2006)

The usar people I know with labs get them from field lab breeders. We have one very nice lab from a kennel in Main, and will have 2 more from the same kennel soon.


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