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Dedicated handlers and hard working, well-trained dogs are required in search efforts to be effective in their task. Search and rescue (SAR) dogs detect human scent.
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Although the exact processes are still researched, it may include skin rafts (scent-carrying skin cells that drop off living humans at a rate of about 40,000 cells per minute), evaporated perspiration, respiratory gases, or decomposition gases released by bacterial action on human skin or tissues.Search and rescue dogs are typically worked by a small team on foot.
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From their training and experience, search and rescue dogs can be classified broadly as either air scenting dogs or trailing (and tracking) dogs.
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They also can be classified according to whether they "scent discriminate" or "non-scent discriminate", and under what conditions they can work.
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Scent discriminating dogs have proven their ability to alert only on the scent of an individual person, after being given a sample of that person's scent.
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Non-scent discriminating dogs alert on or follow any scent of a given type, such as any human scent or any cadaver scent.
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SAR dogs can be trained specifically for rubble searches, for water searches, and for avalanche searches.
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Air scenting dogs primarily use airborne human scent to home in on subjects, whereas trailing dogs rely on scent of the specific subject.
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Air scenting dogs typically work off-lead, are non-scent discriminating (eg, locate scent from any human as opposed to a specific person), and cover large areas of terrain.
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These dogs are trained to follow diffused or wind-borne scent back to its source, return to the handler and indicate contact with the subject, and then lead the handler back to the subject. German Sephard, Labrador retrievers, Border Collies are known as good air scenting dogs.
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