Types of search with dogs

This page clarifies the technical differences - including the classic confusion between trailing and tracking - and shows you when each is used. For how a real operation unfolds, see the guide on how a search works, or go back to the big picture.

The dog starts from a scent article and follows the unique scent of one specific person, distinguishing them from everyone else who has passed by. It is the reference discipline for finding out where an identified person went, even in a crowded urban environment - see how scent work changes between city, forest or mixed terrain. It is also the most natural foundation for any search dog - see why mantrailing.

Here the dog is not looking for a specific person. It scans the air within a sector and reacts to the airborne scent of any living person. This is the right method when there is no scent article or starting point - for example a large forest area where someone is lost. The dog works freely, in a zigzag, to move into the scent cone.

Although both "follow a trail", they are different. In tracking, the dog follows the physical disturbance left by footsteps (trodden earth, crushed grass) with its nose to the ground, step by step, very precisely. In trailing, the dog follows the individual scent of the person, which can drift slightly to the side on the wind, so it works more freely and naturally. In short: tracking follows the footsteps; trailing follows the person.

A specialisation for areas hit by earthquakes, explosions or collapses. The dog locates people trapped under debris, working on unstable and dangerous surfaces. It is the discipline of teams that respond to disasters, often alongside international USAR structures.

Avalanche dogs detect people buried under snow, essential in mountain areas where time is critical. Water dogs detect, from a boat or the shore, the scent carried by currents from a person underwater - a niche discipline with highly specific training.

The cadaver detection dog (human remains detection) is trained on the specific scent of human remains, not living people. It is a completely separate discipline, used when deceased people are being searched for. The target scent and training differ radically, which is why it is usually kept distinct from searching for living people.

The choice of discipline depends on the situation: if there is a starting point and an object belonging to the person, mantrailing retraces the route; if a large area with no reference points must be searched, the area dog comes in; after an earthquake, the rubble teams; in winter, in the mountains, the avalanche dogs. Mantrailing remains the common foundation - which is why we document it in detail across the site. See also the certifications for each discipline.