Today was the every-three-weeks training for MISAR. It was based at the Michigan State University Experimental Station in Clarksville. It wasn’t too much of a hike for us to get there. When we arrived, my mentor and another guy were already there, so we drove up to the buildings and prepared to wait for everyone else to arrive. I worked Mason on his heel, sit, down and stays while we waited. He did extremely well after the initial 2-3 minutes of excitement. A little while later and everyone else had arrived. I was quizzed (as was Eric kind of) on my field support information and passed almost half of it, reviewing the rest to prepare for the next time.
I got a lot of practice field support time following not only one of the leaders of the group but several other people as well. It was interesting to see the dogs work through the same problems in different ways.
Eric didn’t get any photos of Mason working but here are some of the dogs we followed:
Heading out on the trail:

Getting really close to the Human Remains that were planted:

Even closer, going in to get some help from the handler:

Showing to the wrong thing - ooops:

Just checking:

Rusted truck that was in the gully where the scent was being dragged:

A treat for finding, alerting and refinding correctly:

A more experienced and certified dog next:

Plowing past the truck:

The next handler/dog team is ready:

Barking to show she wants to get to work:


Getting some tips and some directions:

Alerting on…something:

Hydrating:

After the more experienced dogs got to go out and find the HR source, Mason got to have his very first real training search for live victims.
Mason had been waiting semi-patiently in the van this entire time so I got him out to potty him first. He was very excited to get on with the game though so he only took a short break and then we arranged his victims. Three people with three different tugs were going to go hide in the orchard. We waited for them to get into place and then I walked Mason on leash to the entrance of the field. He was very over-excited so his heel left quite a lot to be desired.
When we reached the entrance I unhooked his leash and sank down to whisper to Mason to get him even more excited and then I released him with the Go Search command and he shot out into the field at full speed. He circled through the soy beans but at a very quick pace and we were almost at the end of the field when he whipped around and disappeared up into one of the rows, finding what should’ve been Victim #3. The victim tried to engage him into a game of tug but he was using a different dog’s tugs and Mason wasn’t sure of it or him so he wouldn’t latch on too hard. Finally it was tossed for him and Mason proudly brought it back to me and then paraded around to everyone else as well. He released the toy easily when asked.
I re-hooked the leash and walked him on a heel a short distance before whispering to him and then releasing him again. We were pointed back in the direction we had come from and he very much wanted to run on and explore, plus he knew that Victim #3 still had the toy so he was lingering behind me a tad. I redirected with “Mason this way!” and he rocketed ahead. He darted almost immediately down one row and I saw him shoot past Victim #2 before his nose caught and he whipped around and ecstatically found him. Victim #2 had a lot better luck with getting him to latch on (with one of his own tugs) and after he had really got a good hold on it and had a lively game of tug, I asked for him to be released and he brought the toy to me, I then turned and pushed him toward everyone else to “Go show them”, which he happily did.
After he had paraded for another minute, I leashed him once again and he released the toy to my mentor and we prepared for his third and final find. He circled the group again, checking out all of the people, specifically those that he knew had toys, but when directed he once again ranged ahead. He found what should’ve been Victim #1 right away and was very enthusiastic about tugging (with his oldest and most favorite tug), he played a short game and then was released to retrieve to me and then to show everyone else. I let him walk aways back with it then leashed him, allowing him to carry it the rest of the way to the van. He was very thirsty so I gave him some water and then we were set. We reviewed the next step of Mason’s training – adding in the bark alert and the Show Me immediately and then we all headed home.