SCENT WORK & SEARCH and RESUCE

I offer education and the training of search dogs to the average person who may not be able to experience this area otherwise.  The politics in SAR is extremely bad, and starting a unit is hard even with help.  So I hope to balance that out if you decide you wish to start your own unit.  I can also assist you in training in this field for the fun of the experience with your dog, but caution you that this does not mean you can work in the field to save lives, unless your actually serious about that part of it.  

You can train for scent work to title competitively under AKC, and or Schutzhund, or you can certify as a real working dog under a national organization North American Police Work Dog Association. My scent programs are designed for many different uses:

• Search and rescue training without the hassles and politics of a unit, or for those that  wish to remain a freelance independent K9 Team. If you want to start your own unit, I offer a package to guide you through it including a full set of Standard Operating Procedures. I will provide you with several years of work in weeks.
• Put working dog titles on show dogs to further prove their value for breeding.
• Train your dog to find your children if they wonder, such as an autistic child, or an elderly family member. Waiting for K9 SAR teams to look for your loved ones can eat up valuable time. With your dog trained properly, you can get to work right away. 
• The sport of scent work.
• Personal Accomplishment.
  
  We meet four times a month, and lessons can last from one to four hours depending on your level of training and number of handlers. Your training days will be worked out to best suit both yours and your trainer’s schedules.  After a couple of months you will also assist in the training of my dogs so you can learn how to set up problems on your own.  These trainings will also serve as your weekly training session.  Besides the training of your dogs, you also have to understand about how scent works in general.   
  
  Your payment is monthly, and you will receive at least for training session for your payment, but you can pay for additional session if you like.  You will also be training on your own during the week.  I will advise you within the first couple of months if you are not progressing at a good speed. This may be due to you not following up on your homework, or lack of aptitude on the part of your dog or you. After two months you will have a really good idea of what it takes to do this work, and if you have the time to dedicate to the task.  If it is only for competitive reasons then you can take as long as you like to achieve this, but for real world work, you don't want it to take you two to three years to get your dog trained.  You want as much working life from for the training time your putting in with your dog.  Also beside the 1.5 to 2 years it takes to train one to work in the field, you have about another year of polish work to do.  Then if you want to do specialized work, you have another two years of advanced scent work to do.  For those that are passionate about his, that is fun work.  If your only doing this for the titles, you do not need the polishing or the advanced scent work.  That is only for those working to save lives. 
  
  Most of the trainings will be located in Chesapeake, however occasional trainings will be in other cities.
  
  Available Scent disciplines
  
  o Tracking, human or pet
  o Man Trailing, human or pet
  o Area Search, human or pet
  o Article Search, general or specific   
  o Search and Rescue Unit Organization
  
  
  *Note that if your working towards pet search you will certify the same, and by the same person, just will not be under NAPWDA, because law enforcement does not have pet search tests.  I will issue you the certification certificate if you pass.  
  
  *For all off lead work, you will have to test for obedience first before I will test you for the scent work.  The fee for the obedience test is $150.  To get a copy of all test standards contact me.
  
  K9 Evaluations, Search and Rescue Orientation and Consultations
  I can do private or group sessions. 
  
  Fee for lecture and education is $60 per hour plus a $5.00 per 15 minute travel time fee if I come to you.
  
  Fee for K9 Evaluations is a flat fee of $60 per dog.  This evaluation may last 15 minutes, but can run up to an hour depending on the dog, and what the handler is considering doing with the dog(s).  They generally run about 30 to 45 minutes.  The evaluation includes a written report of the results emailed to the handler.         
  
  Tracking. This involves teaching your dog to follow almost the exact footsteps of someone. It is done as a competitive sport, and in criminal work, but has limited applications in search and rescue work unless it is combined with man trailing. The goal to title readiness or certification is nine months to a year. This success will depend on your diligence in doing additional weekly training.
  
  *Fee for organizing certification and titling with NAPWDA is $250.  
  
  Man Trailing. This involves teaching your dog to follow a specific person’s scent. It is utilized for the lost, and for criminal work. If you wish to seek titling for man trailing the goal is one year of training. If you wish to become certified for real search work, the goal is 18 months with additional requirements including a minimum number of training hours, and a lesson logbook. Some required classes are: CPR, First Aid, FEMA ICS 100, 200, 700, 800, Hazardous Material, Blood Born Pathogens, Ground Search Certification. You will also be required to extensively understand scent theory for real search work. Your success will depend on your diligence in doing additional weekly training.
  
  *Fee for organizing Certification/Titling with NAPWDA is $400
  
  Area Search. This involves teaching your dog to look for anyone in a given area by way of air scent. It is utilized in looking for the lost in large areas, and with criminal work as in a building search. If you wish to seek titling for area search the goal is three months, or if you wish to seek certification for real search work, your goal is six to eight months, with additional classes being required, as in man trailing. The knowledge of scent theory is more demanding for real search work. Your success will depend on the student/handler’s diligence in doing additional weekly training.
  
  *Fee for organizing Certification/Titling with NAPWDA is $150
  
  Article Search. This involves teaching your dog to look for objects in a given area that have human scent on them. It is utilized in looking for evidence at crimes scenes and but can be extended to alerting on items owned by a particular person on a scent specific run. If you wish to seek titling the goal is three months, or if you wish to seek certification for real criminal evidence search work, your goal is six months, with additional classes being required, as in man trailing. The knowledge of scent theory is more demanding for real criminal work. Your success will depend on the student/handler’s diligence in doing additional weekly training.
  
  *Fee for organizing Certification/Titling with NAPWDA is $150
  
  
  The training fee for each of the above disciplines is Monthly.
  First 3 months is $200 per month
  Second 3 months is $300 per month
  There after is $400 per month
  
  *Note: The price increase is due to the fact as the team's experience increases so does the time it takes at each training.
  
  Search and Rescue Package. This is an unusual offering. I have started several K9 units, and developed a complete set of Standard Operating Procedures, along with other documents. If you ever wanted to do SAR, but there were no units in your area, or you did not care for the unit in your area, this is for you. I will help you organize your own unit, and bet prepared for call outs. You will learn how to make yourself known, document searches, testify in court, meet K9 industry standards so your work will hold up in court, and you will also be provided with a copyrighted K9 Unit manual, with a full set of standard operating procedures, skills check sheets and many other documents. This is several years of work wrapped up in 8-weeks.
  
  8-Week Course $1,200 per unit ($800 for course and $400 for Copyright material/SOPs). Sessions are weekly at one to two hours per week. You will learn everything you need to start you own SAR unit, and have all your documents in 8 short weeks, verses years.
  
  
  For bio and SAR profile see "Meet our Trainers"
  
  If you are planning on requesting Kim's services or need further verification of her training time, you may request copies of her 2005, 2006, and 2007 SAR training records.