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Who We Are

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Team Member Positions

Dog & Handler Team

We train our family dogs as working animals. This means that in addition to being pets, our dogs have an important job to do. As handlers, we study dog behavior and stay current with positive reinforcement, drive-mode training practices. Our dogs must be excited enough to focus on the search task, which means that as handlers, we find ways to make each of our dog’s favorite game the same thing: “Take Scent”- “Ready?”- “Go Find!”

Track Setters

We need people to volunteer as track-setters. Even if you can only do it once, or once in a while, we need to have continuously changing scents for the dogs to follow so that they don’t become bored finding only people whose scent profiles they have completely memorized! Of course, we can also use people who show up more often, and can help us motivate our dogs by being fun to find.

Logistical Support

We can use all the help we can get! If you would be willing to help us work on the organizational side, whether it’s on the phone, on the web, or organizing demos and other outreach activities for us, we’d love to hear from you.

Interested?--Come Join Us!

Contact: info@metrodogs.net

Our Team consists of people who train their own dogs to search for people who are lost. We train after work on Tuesdays, and every other Saturday all together as a team. In between team practices, we all work at home to build and maintain the working relationship with our dogs. Our dogs are trained to be scent specific--that is, to follow the scent of a single person through all the other scent in the area. This allows us to follow the path of a single person down a sidewalk or through a park, where many other scents are present. The first step is to get the dog excited about the task ahead...

( c ) 2008, The Washington Post. PHOTOGRAPH BY MARVIN JOSEPH. Reprinted with Permission. Above: Bilbo anticipating his reward.

We are always looking for new dogs to join our team. If you have an active dog with working characteristics such as retrieving or herding, this may be the right career. Although all dogs have great noses, not all dogs are willing to work on cue to let you know what they smell. We will gladly work with you to determine whether your dog might like Community Canine SAR work.

It's all in the name ...

The name MetroDogs conveys that our dogs are comfortable in our Metro environment… homes, parks, office buildings, downtown streets, and open spaces.

Community indicates our focus on being a valuable resource, made up of members of our community willing to volunteer their time to help their neighbors.

Canine noses are extraordinary in their ability to follow scent. As handlers, we strive to utilize each dog’s skills in the most effective way possible. Each canine team is unique, bringing all sorts of challenges to this activity!

Search and Rescue (SAR) exists in several forms. Our Community SAR focus, on rapid responses and short tracks over variable surfaces, distinguishes us from our fellow K-9 SAR volunteers on wilderness and urban disaster teams.