OK so for once it wasn't raining - yet!  It was cold, it was windy and it was Lauren's first training day. 

David and Andy along with Tee Dee and Fly, met Lauren at the designated training field and began the long process of turning her into a CASST support team member -  those  all-rounders that allow the dog handlers and their dogs to do the work. 

To begin with David sent Andy out to act as casualty so that Lauren could get some idea of how the dogs work.  Out went Tee Dee and with in seconds Andy was located and Tee Dee rewarded with his chicken.  David gave a short explanation as to why  and how the dog works and a little bit about scent, Lauren was aware that not only did she have field work as a CASST member but a manual to take home and study and a fair bit of 'classroom' work .  Andy took Lauren out and placed her in the field as a casualty for trainee dog Fly, (his handler was at school so David ran him), it took Fly a little longer to locate the casualty but he is learning quickly and it won't be long before his first assessment.

After a tea break, question time and a short radio procedure talk, Lauren became the Buddy, a very important member of the dog and handler team.  When a dog is searching the handlers full attention is on just what the dog is doing, it is the Buddy that ensures that all the area is searched, that the handler keeps within the designated search area and out of any potential harm.  It is also the Buddy’s job to keep in radio contact with the search co-ordinator. 

At the end of the session Lauren was wet - the rain had started, more than a little dirty, her head spinning with all that she had learned and full of enthusiasm, looking forward to her next training day.

Welcome to CASST Lauren.

Training on Sunday 25th April took on a new dimension today when one of our Safety Buddies brought along his 4 year old dog 'Stroma' to begin the trial process to find out if she will be suitable to train as a CASST search dog. Team Trainer David Ashpool and Handlers John Glen and James Ashpool were on hand to help. Stroma worked on simple runaway training looking for a casualty she recognised in line of sight across a field. It is of course too early to tell how it will all work out but Stroma did well for a first day and her owner David Bertram has gone off with clear instructions from the group trainer on what exercises to repeat between now and their next training session.

On open area searches today were fully qualified labrador 'TeeDee' handled by David Ashpool and trainee collie 'Fly' handled by James Ashpool. Teedee had a search covering the area of two large fields both containing derelict buildings. Having been sent off by his handler, TeeDee worked both fields, picked up a scent and scaled a wall to reach the casualty in an amazing five and a half minutes.This experienced dog is a consummate professional and team members know that if they are going out on exercise to be a casualty for TeeDee, the wait to be found will not be a long one.

Fly, our two year old collie, worked a shorter search to find his casualty covering a field and a half in just over 15 minutes. This bodes very well for his future training and possible future assessments. Our youngest trainee handler James was very happy with his dog's outing today and will continue to work with Fly to improve both of their skill levels.

Last up was our human remains detection dog 'Polly' handled by John Glen. Polly and John were tasked to search two of the derelict buildings for any indication of their specialist scent. Polly searched the first of the two buildings showing a strong positive indication in the first couple of minutes of the search on an area under a fallen door and other building rubble. After a short reward time of play with her favourite toy she was back into her search harness and back at work.  When she and John moved on to building two. Polly searched the perimeter of the building, showing interest in an area of partially demolished wall before moving on with her handler to the interior of  the two roomed cottage, where, in the second room she gave a very positive indication on the back wall and chimney of a disused open fire hearth. Both of Polly's indications were confirmed by the trainer as areas where canisters of her training scent had been concealed earlier in the day. After the search John did admit that when Polly vanished head and front legs up the chimney he wondered not only how would he follow her but how had the Trainer got up there to conceal the scent tube. Proving once again that scent moves in mysterious ways in some circumstances and these air scenting search dogs are truly amazing creatures.