Wanna Get Lost?

Buckeye Search and Rescue Dogs wants you to get lost! Not really, but we would love to have you come out as a volunteer trail runner for a day. It's a great way to relax, meet the dogs and their people, and do a good deed all at the same time.

Adults and children may participate. (Trail runners under 18 years of age must be accompanied by an adult.) All of our dogs are people-friendly; these are search dogs, not police patrol dogs (i.e. restraint or aggression dogs). Nonetheless, anyone with a fear of large dogs probably should not participate.

If you'd like to help out with a little of your time and labor, please contact Gloria Napier at 513.683.5785 or via email at training@buckeyesardogs.org.

What to expect

You'll meet with the Training Director at the training site a half-hour before the rest of the team arrives. The Training Director will give you instructions on where to go and wait for the dogs, as well as answer any questions you may have. The objective is to have you on your way in time to allow the trails to age a bit before working the dogs.

(Directions to Training Sites.)

You may be asked to go anywhere from a few hundred yards to upwards of a mile. Obviously, we don't ask small children to walk a great distance. Also, we always keep children under 16 years old with an adult. You may be asked to flag your trail as you walk and will be given the materials and instructions on how to do this. If you have physical limitations which impact the distance you can walk, please let us know and we will gladly adjust the trail for you.

Bart in action.

When the dog/handler team finds you, most of the dogs will come right up to their search subject. Some dogs first check out everybody in an area, while others ignore everyone who is not their subject. All dogs will then alert on their subject. The alert varies but may include touching the subject with their nose, barking at them, kissing them, or even jumping up on them. If any of these methods bother you, please inform the Training Director when you're briefed in the morning so we can adjust accordingly. We generally know what our dogs will do and can pair certain dogs to certain subjects.

What to bring

There are a few things you'll need to bring along to make your experience both productive and comfortable.

• A scent article: The evening before running trail, put a piece of clothing that has been in contact with your skin (underwear and socks are ideal) in a Ziploc bag and write your name on it. The person wearing the clothing should be the only person who touches it. Parents, have small children remove their article of clothing and put it in the Ziploc bag themselves.
• Water, snacks, etc: Feel free to bring food to eat while you're waiting for the dogs to find you. If you want, feel free to bring a small cooler with soft drinks and/or water. No alcohol or other intoxicants please! Our training is often accompanied by law enforcement and we strive to be on our best, most professional behavior at all times.
• Newspaper, Books, CD Player, Gameboy, etc: You'll be sitting in the woods for 3 or 4 hours, so be sure to bring something to entertain yourself. CD Players or radios are fine as long as you use earplugs with them.
• Dress appropriately for the weather: We train in all kinds of weather, so if it's going to rain, be sure to bring something to keep you dry. If you get up and it's pouring rain and sitting in the rain in the woods for four hours isn't your cup of tea, that's OK, just call us and let us know you're going to postpone your help to another day. Remember in the summer there are ticks and mosquitoes, so be sure to wear insect repellant. Any kind is OK, it won't interfere with our dog's ability to find you.
• Something to sit on: You want to be comfortable while you're hiding, so feel free to bring a lawn chair or a blanket to sit on.

If you can't make it

In the event of an emergency, or if for some reason you need to cancel or reschedule, please call Gloria Napier at 513.312.1527.