Cadaver Searching

[DogGoneGood]

Cadaver Searching Dogs:

Any breed of dog can be trained to find cadavers. Smaller breeds aer used mainly for searching in water while bigger breeds are used for on land.

Doing a Puppy Aptitude Test will show if the dog will be good at Cadaver Searching.

When starting cadaver searching training, you need to ask yourself several questions...

Different types of Pseudo Scents:

I would suggest NOT using the first three but rather the last two. The first three are all harmful to the environment and the dog.

Training Process:

Water Work:

The colder the water is that a body is in equals less decomposition.
When searching for a body in cold water; it's best if the dogs been trained to find human scent rather than cadaver scent because the body will be preserved more rather than decomposed.

Questions you should Ask:
You should always ask many questions when called out to a search for a missing person. The more information you have the better, faster and easier it will be to find the person. Here are soem questions you should ask:

• Why are you seraching this area?
  
• How big is the area?
  (if possible, narrow down the area to where the person was last seen)
  
• If an informative is involved, talk to them and askt hem several questions.
  
• Is the soil soft or hard?
  
• What is the physical condition of the area?
  
• What were the weather conditions when the person went missing? What has the weather been like since?
  
• Was the moon out?
  

Remember that snow slows down decomposition. You should search first without the dog for visual signs (ie: foot prints). You should wait until spring when the snow melts and decomposition begins and then bring your dog in to search for the cadaver.

Evidince:
Physical disruption to soil and vegetation are evidence that the person has been through that area if it's only been a few days since they went missing. If it's been more than a few days and the person is dead; the vegetation will grow back more due to fertilation.

A soil probe can show if a dead body's been brried. Smell and soil layers being mixed can indicate a grave.

Putrification happens with wet conditions.

Mummification happens with dry conditions. Keeping a dogs nose wet in dry conditions gives him an extra advantage.