TRAINING

Although we are all volunteers, we have high standards for candidates to reach and for operational members to continue to meet.  Therefore, both candidates and operational members must annually attend at least 75% of all bimonthly training. 

Training is usually at parks throughout the tri-state area. We train in all weather and all seasons, frequently at some distance from shelter and indoor plumbing.  We train two Sundays a month. 

PSARDA’s members will provide guidance and encouragement during the training process but YOU are responsible for the actual training.  We have an initial applicant stage of training. 

The weekend training sessions are the time to learn what should be done next, to have more experienced people evaluate you and your dog’s progress, to get help with specific problem areas, and generally to take advantage of our collective experience and mutual interests.  You will be expected to play “victim" and hide in the woods for hours at a time for other dog/handler teams, as they will for you. 

You will also learn from our members that there is usually more than one approach to training your dog at each stage of development.  As you progress, you will need to select the methods that best suit you and your dog and take care to be consistent in what is presented to your dog.

Since most search training is done off-lead, your dog will be expected to learn and show a required degree of off-lead obedience before progressing into actual search dog training.  Any dogs displaying aggression toward people or other dogs are prohibited and are removed from participation.  Temperament testing is mandatory for all perspective dogs.