The SAR Epidemic

Ever start a thought and get lost with where you were going?

I think this happens way more often that what we think in many aspects of our lives. Seems sometimes handlers start out with great intentions and then loose their way.......sometimes not even aware of it till they hit a point where they stop and say, "how did I get here?"

A couple handlers pointed out in their comments that not all problems are with the dog. What about the handlers? I agree, the dog is only half the team.

So.......lets talk about a serious epidemic in the K9 SAR world. It is a disease that spreads quickly and easily. Whole teams can be consumed by it, but it usually starts with one individual and grows from there like an invasive cancer. What is this disease you say? Is my dog at risk? Well that all depends on your own personal level of integrity. It is a two fold disease...........the acute onset is Kennel Blindness, and the chronic condition is the inability to say no to a mission even when you should.

So what is Kennel Blind? Well in the show dog world it means you are blind to the faults of your dogs. In little league it is called Dad and in Soccer Mom......j/k. But all joking aside, it is a serious problem though that afflicts many individuals and causes those "maybe" dogs or even "WTFAYT" dogs we just talked about to be fielded. Kennel blind is believing a dog has no faults, no limitations......... So lets get real............All dogs, no matter how good they are have limitations. Even if they are REALLY REALLY good at their job it could be that they are black and therefore you must be more aware of issues with over heating due to their color. Limitations can be due to breed, coat, experience etc. Even Superman has kryptonite. Those Supastar dogs have their limitations too.

Whatever your dog does, whatever your dog is, that dog, just as you, has their limits of performance. As the handler, you need to know them and acknowledge them. Kennel blind appears to be proportional to the level of ineptitude in the canine. The more inept the dog, the more serious the affliction of kennel blindness. This extends beyond members of teams but to leadership and mentors in the SAR world. Sometimes the phenomena of first dog superdogs leads the the affliction of kennel blindness in subsequent dogs. It depends on whether the handler realizes they got REALLY lucky with their first dog who turned out to be a rockstar with our without their help, or whether they have convinced themselves that their expert training is what made their first dog a supastar. Poor trainers who subsequently cannot repeat their first supastar dog tend to be more apt to suffer kennel blindness in subsequent dogs.

Sometimes however, kennel blindness is an affliction that starts in the infancy of the handlers career. It may be due to attachment to a pet sar dog or due to the handlers own arrogance in regards to their knowledge. They may think their dog is just outstanding. Some will listen when you point out their dogs issues and decide the dog maybe isnt cut out for it. Some will listen quietly and go elsewhere till they have someone tell them what they want to hear, and still others may get down right mad at you and tell you that your full of it. Bottom line always, keep the mission in sight. Would you want this dog looking for you or your loved one? If the answer is no, stand your ground.

WARNING! Kennel blindness can be contagious. If the team leader is afflicted with the disease, teammates are more susceptible to the affliction. Its like the story of the emperors coat, no one has courage to tell the emperor that he has been duped (in this case by himself), that instead of having a glorious coat (insert incredible sardog) he is instead running around butt naked (insert WTFAYT dog). EVERYONE starts agreeing with the emperor until one brave soul starts laughing and points it out......even then sometimes the brave soul who speaks up gets burned at the stake or stoned instead of applauded for having integrity and pointing out the problems. That is called MOB MENTALITY.

We humans are tricky creatures. Our dogs are far more honest than we are, ashame we do not listen to them, they give us all the answers we need as to whether they want to, can do, the job we ask them.

Amazing...........So now we have this handler who thinks his dog is "the bomb" and the dog really is a bomb but not in a good kind of way. The handler takes this dog out and the dog fails miserably on a mission in front of LE. The handler makes excuses. LE looses respect...............for the handler, for the team..........for SAR dog teams in general.

But this dog can do no wrong, it has no limitations, it is SUPADOG! This leads to the second chronic portion of the illness.............not knowing when to say NO. As pointed out in a comment from a wise LE handler to the last blog, you need to know when to say no.

Sometimes it is something you have never trained for. With HRD dogs for example, try as we might, our imaginations are not as good as some of the sick perps in this world. We can never create every situation we may encounter in a mission. Environmental conditions may also challenge you with a situation you have never trained in. Sometimes the best thing to do is say no. If you say yes, then LE should be made very aware that this is not something you have trained for and you can only give it your best shot. Let them make the call if they want to continue, but be honest and up front. They will respect you more in the long run.

Handlers often have a hard time turning down a mission. The thought is, well a marginal dog in the field is better than nothing at all in the field. See the definition of Maybe. Not if it costs someone their life. I would rather not send out a marginal dog on a search and have LE know the limited resources they have, than have them count on a dog who may or may not alert on a victim.

How many of you have ever pulled your dog from mission ready status voluntarily? I salute you! You have integrity! I have a great deal of respect for a handler who will stand up and say if their dog is slipping in training or if there is an issue. Its a hard thing to do but it is the right thing to do. But be forewarned, sometimes the MOB (see mob mentality) will attack you for acknowledging a problem and attempting to fix it, ah but that is a blog for yet another day.

Everyone says Trust your dog.....................I say know your dog, read your dog, trust your training and handler..............KNOW THYSELF!

In the end, there is one thing in this world that truly belongs to us............our integrity. Integrity is the cure for "kennel blindness" and "cant say no". We can either have it or we can throw it away. What will your decision be?