Family Disaster Dogs Updates fall 2021 New Emergency Links, Guides, Books, K9SAR

 Hi everyone, 

I've been busy updating the site, getting the new book published and more as everything opens up again after the last year and half of lockdowns. I hope everyone is doing good as Covid19, Delta and current events continue to affect everything. 

Here's some updates to the site's emergency links page.

The emergency links page is a long page full of helpful links-check it out at the link above and keep scrolling once there.

Keep scrolling this page has many resources and helpful sites to see!

Click the Blue links to be taken to that web site, thank you for visiting  Family Disaster Dogs...if you want to be added here or to advertise with us email me from the contact page in the menu 

Other books by the author of Family Disaster Dogs

Nov 2019 The children's book "My Puppy Can Find Me" with UK dog cartoonists Scotty King artwork teaches children and family how to train their puppy to find mom or the child.  

Sept 11, 2021 New book released "Start Mantrailing" Step by Step for fun, sport and work. Here's the full cover.  Featuring photos from RRI North Scotland search and rescue dogs plus USA K9sport top dog, Super Kludde and dogs I have trained for mantrailing.

Cover dog RRI K9 Amber  (For UK K9SAR training and response look for RRI North Scotland on Facebook)

The paperback is available at Amazon worldwide and the eBook as a direct download from my new store below. 

 See all my dog books at my author page click here

New Family Disaster Dogs store has the books and eBooks available for those who do not shop at Amazon.  I will be adding a few dog training items and more in the future. 

Visit the new store here at FDD K9 Books Shop

Please leave me reviews on my books at Amazon, Goodreads, Barnes Noble, facebook and wherever you happen to see them. Reviews really help other people find the books. Thank you  

"My Puppy Can Find Me" picture book is your child’s first step on an exciting learning experience that will teach them what to do if they are lost or find themselves alone.






Be sure to visit our home page at Family Disaster Dogs FamilyDisasterDogs.com

We are now part of the Missing Persons Center  (click blue name ) please have a look  and join if you would like to help find missing persons.

I'm also a member of the American Mantrailing, Police & Work Dog Association.

Although I will not be attending the event, I want to share with everyone who is interested that they will be awarding the Fall 2021 "United States National Champion Mantrailing Team" in Sept 2021 to each division upon completion of the AMPWDA Fall National K-9 Search & Rescue Seminar.

The participating Team with the highest score on a Level 1 Certification, the Team with the highest score on a level 2 Certification and The participating Team with the highest score on a Urban Certification will be named as "United States National Champion Mantrailing Team" in their category. For information about training and seminars click here.

Here's another great resource for Search and Rescue dog handlers and those looking for a missing loved one. K9 trainer, handler and author Harry Oakes has over 49 years experience working to find missing persons. He is well known and liked by many but not by some which happens when you have been active in any field for so many years. His expertise and his track record speaks for itself. Read his books at his site.

Here's a great Article about a Dog's Nose from Your Dog Advisor website. They just published an updated, comprehensive guide on dog nose. It is completely free and you can find by clicking here

Here is equipment I use when training a dog to find people. (We do make a few cents from amazon when you purchase through the links, all proceeds are used to help cost of publishing the site and free lessons. Thank you for your support)

In Dogs We Trust

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 

Complete These Tasks For a Happy, Healthy and Well Balanced Puppy

All kinds of problems can come about when puppies aren’t raised correctly, and it can cause big issues all the way throughout their lives. For this reason, it’s important to wait until you’re in a position where you can commit some solid time to your puppy- and that they grow up knowing exactly how they need to behave. Here are some of the tasks you will need to do when you bring your pup home, once they’re vaccinated and ready to go outside.

from this website

Take Them Out in the Car and on Public Transport
Taking your dog to all kinds of places, and even taking them travelling with you around the country is one of the great joys of being a dog owner. However if your dog gets stressed when they’re out in the car, on buses or on trains it can cause a huge problem. From a young age, you need to show your pup that it’s fine being in these situations, starting very young is key as they’re far more adaptable. 

By the time they’re a little older, fear can be more problematic and can even turn into aggression. Instead of walking your dog around your local park, put them in the car (complete with a blanket to sit on and a doggy seat belt) and drive somewhere a little further out. Not only will this give them chance to see new places, new things, new smells and everything else but it gets them used to being in the car. It becomes a positive experience for them rather than something scary. 

At the weekends, commit time to taking your puppy on trains and buses, around stations and other busy areas. Even if you don’t use buses or trains that often, getting them used to them now means if you do want to use public transport at a later date it won’t be an issue.

Socialize Them With Other Dogs

Dogs having other doggy friends can be an incredible experience for them. It’s a chance for them to play and tire each other out, and they can also learn the rules and behavior etiquette from older dogs. Dogs that aren’t well socialize can be fearful or aggressive of other pets, and so this is something to get right at an early age. Take them to the dog park and let them sniff and socialize with other dogs. 

There are often large dog walks arranged online on places like Facebook that you could attend. Behavior and agility classes will also allow your dog to meet others. If you have a neighbor with a dog, you could set up play dates or even offer to walk their dog along with yours. That way there’s never any issues and you can take your dog anywhere you want, without the worry of them being scared or aggressive to other dogs. 

If you want your pup to live in a home with cats, then now is also a good time to introduce them. It’s far better to introduce a puppy to a resident cat than it is to bring in a cat to a household that already has a dog. So if you know you want cats at some point, hold off on getting a puppy and get them first. Once they’re settled and happy you can get your pup from a site like https://www.puppyjoy.net/. 

Do plenty of research into the needs and likely traits and characteristics of the breed so you know what to expect.

Get Them Used to People

Just like getting your pup used to other dogs, you should get them used to people too. If you don’t have a whole lot of visitors coming in and out of your home, it’s easy for your puppy to start developing stranger danger which again can lead to fear or aggression. Make the effort to get out in public with your dog, let people fuss them.

Meet up with friends, invite people over and again classes and dog meets will allow them to get used to being around other people so that it’s not an issue to them. Let children play with them, and get them used to people of all ages. This all needs to be done at a young age, after a couple of weeks and months if your puppy has already started acting cautious it could be too late- and a professional dog trainer will be needed to undo the damage.


Expose Them to Lots of Situations

With a new tiny puppy it can be tempting to want to wrap them up in cotton wool. But this is the worst thing you can do, and actually getting out there with them and exposing them to all kinds of noises and situations is very beneficial. Take them into dog friendly shops such as pet shops and dog friendly cafes. 

Stay with them at a dog friendly hotel, walk them in lots of different places so they can see that everything is fine. Dogs can develop phobias of everything from bicycles and prams to stairs, the vacuum cleaner and much more. Exposing them to all of these things as a young puppy will allow them to adapt and get used to it, they will see there’s no danger and grow up a happy and well balanced pooch.

Find Good Kennels
Going on vacation when you have a dog can be problematic, and there are dog owners out there who will refuse to go instead of leaving their pet behind. But it doesn’t have to be this way, and there are lots of fantastic kennels out there these days that will ensure your dog is well looked after. That way you can own a dog and still have your annual vacation or the odd mini break with no stress.

Find a good local boarding kennels, read plenty of reviews and go and see the place for yourself. You want somewhere you will be happy leaving your pup throughout their life. You could even book them in for the occasional overnight stay in puppy hood even if you’re not going away, that way they get used to the place and when you do go away for a week or two they’ve been there before. 

Some kennels offer grooming and training too, and will allow friendly dogs to socialize. So it’s something that can be stimulating and fun for your dog while you’re away! You will need to ensure your dog’s vaccinations and boosters are all up to scratch for them to go into kennels so it’s a good reminder for you to get them done each year.