Law enforcement and natural disaster response teams are often largely dependent upon the help of rescue dogs (or search-and-rescue dogs) to find trapped or lost human beings, or sometimes, in the worst cases, corpses. The most common breeds favored for this kind of work are Burmese mountain dogs, Saint Bernards and, last but certainly not least, Labrador Retrievers. The successful training of a Labrador rescue dog in particular is dependent on several factors, including the dedication of the handler, and the disposition of the dog.



Rescue dogs are typically classified as one of the following: air scenting, tracking and trailing. Air scenting dogs use airborne human scents to find targets, while tracking and trailing dogs are trained to follow scents that have been left upon the ground. The success of an air-scenting dog is largely dependent upon atmospheric conditions, while tracking and trailing dogs are at the mercy of the terrain and the age of the trail that they are following. The most common applications for search-and-rescue dogs include wilderness rescue, corpse retrieval, natural disasters such as avalanches, and drowning searches.

Law enforcement and disaster response are the two most common applications for Labrador rescue dogs, and may include the following: wilderness rescue, avalanche and drowning searches, corpse retrieval, and natural disasters.

Because every dog is different, the training is as important to the handler as it is for the dog. The handler needs to become familiar with the dog's body language, so as to be certain that he has indeed made a find. When the rescue dog follows a scent or trail to its end, for example, the dog may return to the handler and give him a certain look.

It is critical that a rescue dog begins training early in life. Typical search-and-rescue dogs should begin training when they are between eight and ten weeks old, and may be deployed as early as six to eighteen months after the training was begun.

There are a multitude of skills that a successful Labrador rescue dog must learn throughout the training process. Among these are obedience, socialization and agility. Each of these skills should be trained daily for the first few months, for anywhere from ten to sixty minutes. For any kind of rescue dog, scent training is also essential, but can be trained less often as the other skills, three to seven days per week, for five to thirty minutes.

Generally, a rescue dog's skills will improve rapidly, if not daily. It is important to maintain skill training in obedience as well as agility and socialization. Scent training can be taught less often as the dog progresses, eventually decreasing to three to five times per week.

As the dog's skills progress, obedience, agility and socialization training should continue with the same frequency. Scent training, however, can become less frequent with time, and should take place three to five times per week, but should increase in duration to between twenty and sixty minutes. Focus sessions, which stress very specific skills such as scent discrimination, should be added after the dog has become reliable in the primary training area.