Jan. 04, 2012 - Issue #846: Year in review
A dog’s life
Training an avalanche rescue dog
» A welcome sight—the less hairy half of an avalanche rescue team / Jeremy Derksen
I give Jonah an old woolly toque as his reward and he goes bounding off toward his handler, Jeff Andrews, to wrestle and play in the snow. I climb out of the shadowy pit into the white glare of a beautiful alpine day.
This is only a practice scenario for Jonah, a German Shepherd-Husky cross, but it's as close to the real thing as I ever hope to get. If I were ever caught in an avalanche, though, I'd definitely be glad to have him on my trail.
Jonah is a trained rescue dog with the Canadian Avalanche Rescue Dog Association (CARDA). Andrews, his handler, is an avalanche technician with North West Avalanche Solutions and a former head of safety operations for Marmot Basin ski patrol.
"I've had dogs all my life and I've worked in avalanche control since 2000," he explains. Joining CARDA seemed a natural fit. "When we lost our family pet, I decided to try it out."
Andrews rescued Jonah from the Hinton SPCA in 2003 and the duo began training a year later, achieving CARDA certification in 2006. Together, the two make a formidable team. Jonah can often sniff out buried "victims" in less than a minute but, more importantly, CARDA dogs like Jonah can locate victims who aren't wearing avalanche beacons much faster than a manual search team, making them an invaluable resource on a rescue, where every second counts.
Of course, like all dogs, Jonah was born with an impressive scenting ability, thought to be 1000 times more sensitive than the human nose. Stretched end to end, his olfactory nerves would extend half the length of an average adult human body. The human nose, by comparison, has nerves that would stretch the length of an unfolded paper clip.
A gifted nose is essential, but it takes a lot more than that to be a CARDA dog. All prospective rescue dogs are assessed as puppies to determine whether they have the right temperament and aptitude. A good rescue dog must be obedient, be an aggressive hunter and perform well in a series of tests.
The final validation exam for CARDA certification involves a search for two articles of clothing and a backpack spread out over a 100-metre square plot, buried at depths of 75 – 80 centimetres. In addition, the animal must demonstrate basic obedience in a five-minute off-leash test.
Rigorous as the program is, the animals are also motivated by the prospect of rewards for a job well done. Usually this involves treats and play time. "Playing rag" is a common game, often using a scarf, toque or other clothing item in a joyful game of tug-of-war—the more over-the-top the better. "If you're not acting like an idiot, you're not doing it well," says Andrews.
This training and reward system is also why handlers tend to prefer the public not to play with or pet the dogs while on the ski hill, as it can send the wrong message. "He is a pet but he's also a tool," says Marshall Dempster of his young Border Collie, Bandit, "The rules are different at the hill or at home."
Dempster is currently an avalanche technician at Marmot, entering the CARDA training program with Bandit this season. He credits Andrews and Jonah as an inspiration. "It was amazing to watch how fast they searched and the camaraderie they enjoyed. It seemed so rewarding to watch the dog succeed and have that happy celebration—and potentially save someone's life."
There are also the unforeseen benefits. Sometimes, Dempster confesses, the training goes both ways. "I think he knew all along and I just had to figure out how to get it out of him," he muses. "It's not far from him throwing the ball and me going to get it."
Dempster may be joking but his comments are more accurate than he may realize. Watching Andrews and Jonah play after my rescue scenario experience, it's pretty clear who's the star of the team.
More stories in Snow Zone »
vueweekly.com comments: powered by DisqusPrivacy Policy:
Vue respects your privacy. We will not forward your personal information to any other organization except as required by law, and will use your e-mail address only to respond to your comments. We reserve the right to edit and remove comments for length, clarity and/or if they are illegal or inappropriate. Your email address is never shown to visitors to vueweekly.com. Read the whole policy at: http://vueweekly.com/privacy
Comments policy
Comments go online directly without first being seen or reviewed by editors at Vue. Don't personally attack people, don't be defamatory, don't be spam-atory, don't hawk your band, don't pretend to be someone else, be clear, be on topic, be nice. Read our extended comments policy here. »
We use Disqus for our comments system. What's that all about?
We found that managing the comment community at Vue was easier to do with a system like Disqus. If this isn't straightforward to you, get help here.