Be Prepared with Your Dog

 Click here to go to the Bug-out page and list 

Training Your Family Dog to Look for a Lost Person

Teach a dog to look for lost or missing persons

Family Disaster Dogs Daisy and Willie

This dog training lesson is easy to do at home and teaches a dog to use an article belonging to the missing or lost person to find that person. 

In dog work this is considered and often called scent discrimination because the dog learns to smell the "scent article" and look only for that scent or person. 

It is very Important to not contaminate the article with your own and other scents. 

Read More (click) and go to the free lesson page for many posts about scent and how-to teach working dogs tracking or pets to help its family locate missing family after a disaster. 

To get Started

Training your family dog to look for a Lost Person

You will need:

1. Your dog
2. 1 person who will hide from the dog
3. 1 sock, or hat or glove the "scent article" from the person who will hide

You can do this lesson indoors or outside with or without a leash, depending on the dog.

Start with a person your dog knows and hold your dog by its collar as the person slowly runs and waves at the dog to a hiding place that is easy to find and with only one turn away right now.

As soon as the person is out of sight,,, 

Hold the scent article, the person's sock, to your dog's nose, say "Smell" and then turn your dog loose and say "Find so and so" use the person’s name, follow your dog to the person.

Your dog, no matter what age will attempt to find them.

If the dog has a hard time at first it is okay for the person who is hiding to call the dog or encourage the dog to find them so the dog gets the idea. Later the person will not speak or move but hide.

You will learn as we get further in training to read your dog's clues, in the meantime, learn to watch your dog's moves and body language for indications and reactions that lead to the trail or person.

If the dog does not go fairly quickly to the person then encourage the dog to go with you and show the dog with excitement how fun it is to find the person. 

When they find the person, praise, praise, praise by you and the person shower this dog with attention and they will be so happy to do this again, you'll hardly be able to hold him. 

Here is Bo taking scent from the scent article in a plastic bag before we start on a wooded trail looking for a person who is hiding. Bloodhounds often put their whole nose in the scent bag.

A leash is not needed at first with your pet dog if you train in a fenced yard or with a dog who is use to free roaming.

Check out the Family Disaster Dog book for all the lessons in paperback and kindle!

Evacuate with Your Dog's Help-Updated Survival Bag List-Dog CPR and more

Now available in paperback and kindle with free reads available 

Please share to other dog owners so everyone can be safe. 

Follow me on FB on the "Family Disaster Dogs page"  

Twitter as URDogCanRescueU

This book is helpful for anybody in wildfire and hurricane areas with pets who may have to evacuate. 

Learn how your dog can help you and all the supplies you will need to have ready to survive if stranded or waiting for rescuers to arrive.

Learn how and what supplies a dog of any size can carry.

Click Here for the paperback and Click Here for the Ebook edition

Click to Preview and Buy

This book is a collection of helpful articles and more from the author of the Family Disaster Dog site 

Stay Safe Everyone!!

Scent Articles for Dog to Find Missing Family Members

Prepare to find loved ones with your dog ahead of time 

by gathering scent articles.

Blue Boy Homer
by A.Higgins

One of the easiest ways to find a lost person is to give a dog the person's scent and watch him find the scent. 

The dog is only looking for the smell and not for the actual person. 

The dog dose not necessarily associate the scent with the person unless the person is somebody they know with that scent. 

To a dog, a scent is a scent.

Therefore, the fastest and surest way to teach or ask a dog to find a person is to use the person's scent to show them who we seek and no two people smell alike. Everybody smells different and we smell different at various times during the day or if we are sick.

To teach your dog to search for a lost or missing family member or friend you have to prepare first by gathering a "scent article".  Click to Read more about Scent and how a dog follows its nose.

It is wise to gather one sock from each person you love or do not want to lose before you start training your family pet and to store these as instructed below for later use in training sessions or if a loved one is lost.

Also you can collect a item from each family pet as well, a old collar or brush would do. Store this item as outlined below use it as a scent article for a dog to find the missing pet

  For now and for training;

       Place one dirty sock from each family member in a one freezer bag each sock. Do Not Mix or touch the sock to anything, only the bag, use a hanger or stick to pick it up.

Warning:

DO NOT touch the sock yourself, have the person drop the sock from their foot to a new brown paper bag (lunch bag size) or a plastic freezer bag ( zip lock natural non chemical bag is best).

You will learn more about scent article collection at a scene in other articles.

This is the most important part of using a search dog. 

Do Not Contaminate that sock.

Reminder, Do Not Put 2 socks from different people together, each sock gets its own bag.

Store sock in the freezer until a few minutes before use.

This is called the "Scent Article"

The “scent article” tells your dog who they are looking for.

Handle with Care.

Keep one for each family member for use if a disaster ever strikes.

Amber and Bo getting ready to train to find a Lost Person.

Bo was 5 months old at the time of this picture in 2001. 

He later went to volunteer in California and then Georgia with his half sister Sambo. 

Side note: 

As a parent I use to remind my teenagers if they stayed out to late or ran away from home, the dogs could find them...smile and ya know,,,it worked too,,, wink to other parents, mine are all grown now.

Get all the lessons in the Family Disaster Dogs Books

Click the book cover below for a Free Copy and preview

If you would like a signed printed copy from the author use the contact form or sign up for new lessons, articles and events at www.familydisasterdogs.com 

Learn to Train your Pet Dog to Rescue You!

Did you know a family dog can come to your aid during a disaster?


One of our biggest fears and chores during a disaster is losing or finding a loved one.


Every dog has the ability to find its family members or friends.


Dogs do this on their own everyday without us noticing.


So, let's pay attention and "Follow your Dog ! "

 Free lessons are posted here so you can practice 
with your family pet 

and 
learn how to save your family, neighbors 
and friends in a disaster.


You and your dog will learn How To

Find a Missing Person in rubble, woods or city settings

Prepare for Emergency

Dog Backpacking for Disaster

Other Dog Tricks for Assisting in Emergencies. 

Get the books

Click for Free Preview

Disaster Expo-Book Fair Events

click to get the book

Thank you for visiting the Family Disaster Dogs booth at the Florence Be Ready Disaster Expo !

Thanks to all who came to hear my talk about evacuating with our pets ! I had a great time visiting with everyone and learned a lot myself. Go Florence !

The weather is great for next week's book fair and I hope to see everyone there.

Take care, until next time...be ready !

Stay Calm and Carry On !

Follow that dog to read the complete Bug-out Bag List posted below this  post on   FamilyDisasterDogs.com