Search and Rescue Dogs
    Search and rescue dogs don't just search for lost people but for other lost pets too. These dogs have to be very strong and need a long attention span. One trained SAR dog can be as effective as ten trained human searchers.
    The sporting breeds make great SAR dogs. Labrador and Golden Retrievers are often sporting dogs used as Search and Rescue dogs. Working and Herding dogs are commonly used and are highly motivated "working" dogs.
    One important part of a search and rescue dogs training is getting a "snow bath". In a snow bath dogs get covered in snow. This technique is supposed to represent a search that has to be performed in snow.
    These dog also play hide and seek. There are 3 steps to this procedure. Step 1: someone pretends to be lost in the woods. Step 2: you say find, that is the magic command, the dog starts following the scents that were left behind. Step 3: congratulate your dog, of course they did a good job:)
 

I think AJ is on to something!!

Click on AJ for information

AJ from the Lost Pet Rescue Institute.

Sled dogs are beautiful dogs that come in many different styles and varieties. Click on the picture to get more information on the Iditarod.

There are stopping points in the Iditarod where your food supply is checked, you can eat and of coarse the health of your dogs are checked.

Sled Dogs
    Most sled dogs are usually Siberian huskies, Samoyeds or malamutes. Sled dogs are certain breeds because they have to be strong enough to pull a heavy sled through over 1,100 miles of harsh Alaskan terrain. Sled dogs also have to be very attentive because when you're sledding through mountains and lakes, commands can be given all the time. Mushers (the sled driver) will give commands like "hike" and "whoa" and "haw" and "gee" instead of "go", "stop", "left" and "right".
    Sled dogs were started when teams of dogs had to travel though the snow to deliver medicines. A famous and very heroic sled dog from this time was Balto. There are many books and movies about this one dog who pulled his team the some of the worst weather to save one dying child.
 
 

Guide Dogs
    Guide dogs were the first kind of Assistant dogs in North America. Originated in Germany, guide dogs were used to help soldiers that were blinded during the battles of W.W.II.
    These amazing dogs are trained in "guide dog school" to be their owner's eyes. Dogs of many types, usually Labrador and Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds and Bernese Mountain Dogs, are chosen to be guide dogs because they have the right temperament, intelligence and work ethics to do this hard job with confidence.
 
 

Guide dogs come in many shapes, sizes and age. Dogs usually start guide dog school at 18 months, but some are older.