Hi everyone, I've been lurking on these forums a bit but finally registered. I'm a new SAR handler (though experienced dog trainer and have non-K9 SAR experience) with a new dog, and we're getting to the point of putting an alert on him.
I'm trying to figure out what to do with him. He's an air scent dog, and most of my team's air scent dogs do a recall/refind but I'm not sure that's ideal for him (he already has a tendency to ignore the subject in favor of seeing me). A problem with a stay alert is that he's a quiet dog and it may be difficult to get him to bark so I'd know he found something (although not impossible by any means); a passive stay alert seems ideal for his natural behavior but I'm concerned about that in a wilderness setting where it might be easy to lose track of him. But then, there are GPS collars... I'm also very good at reading him so I would be able to tell if he was really onto something, and he doesn't generally range terribly far though he does go out of sight.
So I've read scattered discussions of alerts on threads here, but I'd appreciate anything you want to share. Whether it's specific advice based on what I've posted, your personal philosophy, what you do with your dog and how it's working for you, etc. I'd like to hear it all!
I'm trying to figure out what to do with him. He's an air scent dog, and most of my team's air scent dogs do a recall/refind but I'm not sure that's ideal for him (he already has a tendency to ignore the subject in favor of seeing me). A problem with a stay alert is that he's a quiet dog and it may be difficult to get him to bark so I'd know he found something (although not impossible by any means); a passive stay alert seems ideal for his natural behavior but I'm concerned about that in a wilderness setting where it might be easy to lose track of him. But then, there are GPS collars... I'm also very good at reading him so I would be able to tell if he was really onto something, and he doesn't generally range terribly far though he does go out of sight.
So I've read scattered discussions of alerts on threads here, but I'd appreciate anything you want to share. Whether it's specific advice based on what I've posted, your personal philosophy, what you do with your dog and how it's working for you, etc. I'd like to hear it all!