Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia

Capabilities of a Search and Rescue Dog

• Air scent dog - The air scent dog works off lead, ranging back and forth in an area to pick up the scent left by the subject. Ranging often takes the dog out of sight for several minutes at a time, so the handler must trust the dog and listen for an alert. Once the dog gets the subject's scent, he moves in to its source. He then must "alert" by either barking while staying with the subject or by returning to the handler and "telling" her in some way that she should follow. The dog then leads the handler to the subject. 
• Human scent - All humans have an individual scent left behind by the 40,000 skin cells dropped per minute. These dropped skin cells, called skin rafts look like tiny potato chips and float easily on air currents. Temperature, humidity, sun exposure, and wind determine how long a skin raft can be detected. The hotter and drier the day, the shorter the life of the skin raft. That's why search dogs need to be called as quickly as possible to a search scene. 
• Human Remains Detection - Dogs in this category are trained to detect and find the scent of human remains. Cadaver dogs can find buried, submerged or fragmented human remains in all sorts of terrain. Lakes, swamps, collapsed structures and wilderness areas are no problem for the appropriately trained dog. Cadaver dogs can be used to find trace evidence and to search specific areas where human remains are suspected. All well trained dogs in this category can detect and alert the handler to a huge spectrum of human tissues including but not limited to; bone, bone fragments, teeth, blood, burnt and charred tissues and items that have previously been in contact with any of the above.
• Evidence/Article Search - Dogs in this category are trained to work in a predefined area to indicate on things such as weapons, bullet casings, clothing or anything that a suspect may have dropped or discarded during a chase. Police agencies typically use dogs highly trained in this specialty to aid in finding crime scene evidence.
• Tracking dog - The tracking dog works from a scent article from the subject, such as a piece of clothing or an item touched only by the subject. From this article, the dog picks up the subject's scent and uses it to find the subject's path. He works in a harness on a 30-50 foot lead and leads his handler directly to the subject by tracing the exact footsteps of the subject. 
• Trailing dog - The trailing dog works similarly to the tracking dog. A scent article is used so the dog can pick up the subject's scent and trail. The dog may waiver from the person's actual track by several feet, cutting corners and using the wind to his advantage. Again, the dog is generally in a harness with a 20-30 foot lead.