Training

Training Venues

The majority of our training takes place outside at either The Look Out in Bracknell, or The Devils Highway in Crowthorne. Training takes place both outside in a practical environment weekly, and also inside in a theoretical lecture environment once a month.

A map showing our training location can be found here

A training diary can be found below

Back to top

Training Ethos

The training of the dog, from initial obedience to the ongoing polishing of search skills is the responsibility of the handler. The purpose of training nights are for the team to exchange ideas, give guidance on further training and to develop search skills as a team.

Handlers should be looking to train their dog approximately 3 times per week minimum.

In addition to this we require our handlers & support persons to attend a minimum of 33% of training nights in any 3 month period in order to continually update and improve both search skills and our ability to act as a team.

Back to top

Training Requirements

Below is a brief overview of the type of training commitments that you will be expected to achieve to become and maintain operational status.

Handler

Before a Handler can become operational they must complete;

Basic Navigation Course
Basic Communication Course
Basic Search Techniques Course

It would be beneficial for a prospective handler to complete;

Team Leader Course
Canine First Aid

Support

Before a Support person can become operational, they must complete;

Basic Navigation Course
Basic Communication Course
Basic Search Techniques Course

Dog

Before a dog can become operational at a basic level, they must complete;

In-house obedience assessment
In-house animal distraction assessment
Lowland Search Dogs Level 2 Assessment

Back to top

Dog Status Levels

Below is a flow chart of the method of which a dog and handler can obtain differnet levels of Status in both discaplines, Airscenting and Trailing.

Levels

Level 1 - Trainee Dog.
- Attend Regular Training Sessions
- Must have basic obediance.
Level 2 - Hasty Operational Dog.
- Complete a National Assessment with 2 Assessors
- Find upto 3 people within 50 minutes over a distance of 2000m
Level 3 - Area Operational Dog.
- Complete a National Assessment with 2 Assessors
- Find upto 3 people within 90 minutes over an area of 50 acres
Victim Recovery - Operational Dog.

Complete a National Assessment with 1 LSDogs Assessor and 1 External Assessor
Search and locate several scent sources in both buildings and open areas in two seperate searches each lasting 1 hour