Listen "Talking Search and Rescue Sport with Melissa Stagnaro"
Episode Synopsis
What to listen for:Today, Robin and Crystal sit down with Melissa Stagnaro, Vice President of American Rettungshunde Sport Association.She’s here to discuss “sport” search and rescue, or RH: an FCI-sanctioned sport that has many similarities to IGP (Schutzhund). RH is recognized as an ideal supplement to IGP as well as AKC tracking, obedience, and agility. Trials consist of two phases: a search phase and an obedience and dexterity phase. There is no bite work involved in the sport.Melissa describes how tracks ranging from the beginner to the advanced level are designed for different scenarios, from rubble, avalanche, and water search all the way to man trailing. She also gives her thoughts on training your dog to strike the right balance between obedience and independence.As Melissa illustrates in today’s discussion, even if you have no plans to compete in search and rescue sport, training RH involves challenges that, more often than not, lead to improvement in your ability to thrive in your operational setting.Key Topics:An introduction to Melissa Stagnaro and ARSA (00:58)Bringing RH into the United States (07:57)How to learn more about search and rescue sport (15:20)Physical requirements for training and trialing RH (17:32)How Melissa got interested in search and rescue sport (21:34)The surprising speed of progress experienced by dogs training RH (26:15)Obedience and dexterity elements in different scenarios (33:43)Differences between beginner, intermediate, and advanced tracks (36:51)Training your dog to have the right balance of obedience and independence (44:42)Potential new club locations in the U.S. (49:09)Our takeaways (52:05)Resources:Learn more about ARSA at www.searchandrescuesport.org23rd IRO World Championship for Search and Rescue Dogs (video)We want to hear from you:Check out the K9 Detection Collaborative FB page and comment on the episode post!K9Sensus Foundation can be found on Facebook and Instagram. We have a Trainer’s Group on Facebook!Scentsabilities Nosework is also on Facebook. Here is a Facebook group you should join!Crystal Wing K9 Coach can be found here!You can follow us for notifications of upcoming episodes, find us at k9detectioncollaborative.com to enjoy the freebies and tell your friends so you can keep the conversations going.Jingle by: www.mavericksings.com Instagram: @mavericktasticAudio editing & other podcast services by: www.thepodcastman.com Instagram: @the_podcast_man
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