Many things have delayed the training of Bo this past year. First the whole kennel came down with Ehrlichia, a tick born disease. One after the other, we had SAR dogs come down or test positive. For three months our unit had no working dogs. Then the ice storms and a bad case of pneumonia for me.

In Feb we started back to hard training. Bo hadn't lost one skill, but a few were rusty. We had to go back to "refind" practice, and within weeks, his refinds had a 90% rate. It was time to put the "refinds" and "find the person" together.

Each week the unit would get together. Bo was started on longer problems, but known locations to build the refind into the locating of the hidden person. The first ones were simple, adding harder air scents with each week. Some were open and easy, but as he continued to have no problems, we added people above his head. Or closed into closets.

Stage Two:
 The first night we put a person on the roof of the small shed, we ran a few dogs in front so I could get a feeling of how the older, more experienced dogs ran the problem. That way I knew where the scent pools lay. Then it was Bo's turn.

I prescented him on a wallet laying out on the grass. "Find the Man, Bo..go find". And released him about 500 feet out from the hiding place. His pattern began with zig zags across the yards. Back and forth till he lifted into the wind and started to run. I could hear the small bell he wears so I know where he is. He was completely out of sight now.

"Where's your dog ?" the flanker asked. "What's he doing?"

"He is between the buildings and he is criss-crossing the space between them looking for the source." I approached the buildings as I spoke. Sure enough, there he was running back and forth from stable to shed, dancing and lifting the nose into the air. When I came into view, he ran to me and back to the center of the 30 foot space. I stood UP wind to watch.

Bo checked each stall, lifted to check inside over each door. Moved on. Back into the center and checked all of the shrubs along the back of the shed. He stood up on his hind legs and smelled the leaves. Moved on to the end where the scent pool was falling off the roof into the trees. Bark! "find'm Bo" I called.

Again he moved back to the overhang. He checked the boat and along the door and windows. Nothing. Back out to the space and slowly he worked into the shed. Again he danced up at the corner and tested the air. I told him to "check close" and stood very still. It was very important HE knew to look up and pick the place with no help from me. It was this problem solving that he needed to develop to be a good SAR dog.

Finally he stood up on the barrel I had standing there. It had been where Justin had climbed up onto the roof! We had a good bark and a indication from the young dog. I knew it was time to start his finds where I didn't know the location of the hider. Justin leaned over to feed him and make him bark some more.

Stage Three:
 The next big practice, I had someone go hide in a school building doorway. They had closed for the summer, and many things had been left laying out in the breezeways while the buildings were being cleaned. It was a big school, lots of nooks and crannies. A good test. I started at the south side of the building. Bo was very full of himself. He started off with a whiff of a cigarette pack laying next to the telephone pole. I took him to the south side of the building and he began to fall into the pattern search. Doors, windows, any openings. All got a good check from his nose. He moved way ahead of me and checked without waiting for me to tell him.

The school is built in spokes. The doors are often in walkways between buildings. And they had trailers out to the sides for extra school rooms. It was a difficult air-cross currents problem. I followed with my "testers" who would evaluated his progress. As I spoke with Sharon, Bo disappeared into the next doorway. He didn't come back out. I called, he appeared and ran to me standing waiting. I didn't say anything at first, then said "Find the man" and moved on. Bo waited and followed. He continued to run ahead and search the breezeways. At the main patio he made a big circle...then went back the way we had come. I turned and yelled...OH NO!! LOOK AT THE RAIN COMING! And ran for the overhanging walkways. The storm was closing fast. Two of the flankers ran back through the main area to the cars to roll up windows. I stood talking to Bo and waiting for the wind to hit. It didn't take long.

It passed as fast as it hit. All of 7 minutes and it was a newly washed earth and fresh scents. I released Bo and said "Find the Man" again. He booked off to the south the way we had come in. Had I missed something? I thought hard. He HAD stood waiting. But I had moved on with a new command. I followed him.

Soon he was hitting my leg...run to the big refrigerator sitting out in the doorway and then back to me when I called his name. Where, Bo, show me. Again he returned to the refrigerator. There was Dave hidden behind it and next to the wall<G>. Good Dog Bo!

Sharon and I talk over MY mistake. Bo had been unsure of his find, I failed to read him the first time, and moved him off. With his typical Schippy attitude, he had gone back to problem solve the mistake. Bo was indeed going to be good. He was already outthinking me<G>. It was clear I needed more work on unknown locations. Bo was indeed going to be very good.

So our training returned to bark boxes, containment, and hidden unknown places for me. Each week I could, between the Twin towers and puppies, I worked the problems. It was time to retest his levels.

Stage Four:
 On the first weekend in Oct we had a chance to work with CSI at the old VA building. Mostly it would be cadaver work. But we had been proofing Bo off of cadaver so he could be a certified Live Find only dog for disaster. Bo had never worked a building before. It was a great skills test.

As soon as we arrived, we checked out the 10^th floor that had been opened for us. To find any hazards that might get a young dog in training. I found an open dumbwaiter. Closed and locked it. A hole in a wall, that might make it interesting for a air scent problem. Not big enough to worry about. Then I entered a room where they had NO door onto a large terrace. The surrounding walls were only 32" high and easily jumped on by an untrained dog. It was 10 stories to the ground. The pouring rain made it slick and the debris was about 12" deep all over the center. A GREAT place for a search. But I'd need control to keep him out of danger.

First I set an easier problem in the south wing. About 30 rooms with all doors standing open. Two, off the hall suites with working doors and an open window. The perfect place to set up an advanced problem. I placed the victim in the north side room in a corner, about 4 feet from the door. I placed cadaver in the center room, under an old pail. The door to the southern most room was closed, but the hole in the wall would draw scent. I went to get Bo.

By the time we had gone for the dogs, took a potty break for them, and then came up the old elevator, about 30 minutes had passed. Plenty of time to cook the scents. I approached the main door to the hall, and released him with "SEARCH". I had no scent article. It was a general clearing just as we had witnessed in NY buildings. I wanted to build his pattern of searching rooms. I encouraged him to enter and circle each room off of the main hall as we passed it. It didn't take long until I didn't say anything. He did it on his own.

About half way down the main hall, he entered the interconnecting rooms. I watched him double check a wall. It was the one Kay stood behind. Bo worked back along the opposite wall, and around the corner into the hallway with the cadaver. He stopped by the wall outlet and pushed his nose into the socket. Moved off to the other end, pass the cadaver and back to me. He hit me hard." Where" I asked. "Find the Man". My friend asked if he had alerted on the cadaver...no. He returned to the wall socket! And hit the wall. I told him to "check close" and he moved on to the door. Bo jumped and gave a small woof! Where? He hit and barked again. I needed a BIG bark. But he gave me a series of small bounce 'n bark and I opened the door...he bound into the room and straight to the corner around the door. FIND!

It was a good test. No fear at strange rooms or dark spots. No fear of the stranger he had found. He worked totally independent and confident. I like this dog. My young Magic son.

The rest of the test was good, too. He found the women behind the wall. Alerted on the one behind a door below him, and the one totally hidden under the stairwell in the dark. He came off of the rain-washed terrace without a problem, totally searched all 5 rooms alone. We did need a better bark, but all in all, I would trust this young dog to go out with Fox or Magic as a back up anytime.

I had many compliments from the others watching. And the one that meant the most. Sande liked my Magic son. More drive than Fox. More control than Magic. Lots of focus and control in places he had never been before. Now of course the big test comes. I leave Nov 4th for the disaster training in Mississippi.

It will be just Bo and I. No Fox, No Magic. Its like a replay of Fox's beginning just 5 years ago that month. Our first trip out together and alone. A time of bonding and building the skills so necessary for the search work we love to do.

Come again to see how the seminar goes....

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