MAR Trailing Dogs
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What They Do: MAR Trailing dogs are specialists in tracking the scent trail of lost dogs. Eventually in their advanced training they can be cross-trained to track the scent trail of other animals that can travel great distances like horses, ferrets, and even cats under certain circumstances.
How They Are Trained: MAR Trailing dogs are presented with a scent article which contains only the scent of the missing pet. The trailing dog understands that whatever scent is presented is the scent that he or she is to pick up and track. The training begins with runaway "hide-and-seek" games using other "target dogs" that run and hide from the MAR Trailing dog. This is an exciting game if you have the right dog--one that loves to play with other dogs and cannot stand to see another dog runaway! MAR Trailing dogs learn to use to their noses to find the dog that has run away and is hiding from them. Later, after many months of trailing lost dogs, other animals are used (cats, ferrets, horses, etc.) to lay scent trails that the MAR Trailing dog will be trained to follow.
Advantages: The biggest advantage of a MAR Trailing dog is that he or she can often establish the direction that a lost pet has traveled, which enables the pet owner to narrow the search area and increases the probability of making a recovery. In many cases, MAR Trailing dogs help develop leads from witnesses who previously observed the lost pet, but were not aware that it was missing. Witnesses often come forward with information once they see a pet detective and MAR dog tracking the scent trail hours (or days) later. On rare occasions, MAR Trailing dogs may track right up to where a lost pet is located, resulting in an instant reunion between the lost pet and its owner.
Disadvantages: The biggest disadvantage to training a MAR Trailing dog is the amount of time it takes to train and certify a dog. Because you will teach your dog advanced exercises such as negative trails, scent pools, trails that are aged several days, challenging trails laid out in various environments like urban and residential areas, and advanced scent discrimination work, it can take twelve to eighteen months to train and certify a dog in this discipline.
Unlike the MAR Cat Detection dogs that are trained to detect the scent of all cats in an area, MAR Trailing dogs are trained to lock onto the specific scent of one individual animal. This means that you will spend considerable time teaching them to ignore the scent of other people, dogs, cats and other animals while they are working. If they encounter another dog while on the trail of a missing pet, they should not become distracted.
Working a trailing dog can be physically demanding on both the dog and handler. Because you will be holding onto the end of a long leash, you will need to go wherever your trailing dog takes you. You will be at the mercy of where the scent drifted and settled, which can often be down slopes, in steep terrain, and in areas that you would prefer not to walk. Missing pets do not travel in straight lines and they do not stick to well-traveled paths.
Best Dogs For This Job: The best dog to train as a MAR Trailing dog is a dog that loves to play with other dogs. A dog that takes an intense interest in other dogs, has a curiosity to use its nose on the ground and follow ground scent, and that goes ballistic when another "target" dog runs away and hides is an ideal candidate for MAR trailing work.
How They Are Certified: The certification test that Missing Pet Partnership administers for MAR Trailing dogs includes the following components:
- Dog being tested must find a concealed jar of cat or dog decomposition and indicate by pawing or digging at the jar;
- Dog being tested must show no fear or aggression towards humans, cats, or other dogs;
- Dog being tested must work an urban scent trail, a portion of which is laid in a residential area. Trail must be at least 24 hours old, at least 2 miles in length, and have at least three intersections with at least three turns in direction. Search dog will be given ninety minutes to locate the target dog. The handler will not know where the scent trail is;
- Handler is able to read their dog when it is on the correct scent trail and when it loses the scent trail; and
- Dog being tested must locate the target dog within the allotted time (90 minutes).
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