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Ski dogs trained for avalanche rescue Mail Tribune / Drew Fleming Lopi, a playful Labrador pup, is in training to sniff out and locate victims buried in snow. She is the second dog to join Mount Ashland�s ski patrol. Puppy Lopi joins veteran Kaya on Mount Ashland ski patrol By JILL BRISKEY Lopi, a 5�-month-old black Labrador retriever, is too busy having the time of her life to notice she�s actually on the job. Atop Mount Ashland, Lopi spends her days rooting through the snow, scrambling up and down the slopes and frolicking with humans of all ages. The newest addition to SkiAshland�s avalanche patrol dog team, Lopi�s endless hours of fun and games are all part of a complex training regimen designed to train, socialize and build her stamina. "She�s got a lot of field dogs in her family tree," Ski Patrol Director Doug Volk said of the frisky puppy. "I�m hoping that she will have a nose that goes along with that." Swiss Army first trained avalanche patrol canines Experts speculate that the Swiss Army originally started the first organized effort to train dogs to rescue victims buried in avalanches in the early 1930s. According to Hatch Graham of the California Rescue Dog Association, rescue dogs often use a combination of air scenting and ground trailing in order to track the missing person. Graham said air scents arrive at a dog�s nose according to the laws of thermodynamics, affected by convection, wind, terrain or plant barriers. Ground scents, he added, are essentially lying on the ground. The breed of dog chosen for search and rescue training programs is selected for their temperament and their highly developed sense of smell. Search and rescue dogs can cover one hectare of land in about 30 minutes, according Kim Gilmore, author of "Introduction to Avalanche Rescue Dogs." It would take 20 trained searchers � on foot and using probe poles � about four hours to search about 2.5 percent of the total area the same dog could cover, according to Gilmore�s research. Lopi�s nose, usually topped with a dusting of snow, has amazing potential, Volk said. With proper training, Lopi will one day be able to find and free avalanche victims buried under mounds of snow. It will take Lopi about three years before she�s fully trained, Volk said. Until then, Lopi�s training will progress one step at a time, starting with exercises such as digging up objects buried in the snow and learning basic obedience. "She�s just a little kid, running around and getting used to everything," Volk said. "She�s just going to get better and better." Dog handlers at SkiAshland use positive reinforcement, a training method in which a dog�s performance is rewarded with praise and games. The canines are not trained through the use of fear or intimidation, Volk said. "You want to make it fun. You want the dog to want to please you while it�s having a good time," he said. "She gets huge praise if she does something right." If Lopi misbehaves � as many puppies are likely to do � Volk said the puppy receives a verbal correction, a tug on her harness or her silly antics are just ignored. Lopi joins fellow patrol pooch Kaya, a 6-year-old Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever and black lab mix. Trained by assistant patrol supervisor Zac Kauffman, Kaya is now the veteran avalanche patrol dog at Mount Ashland. Kaya is able to find avalanche victims by "scenting" along the ground, Kauffman said. "It�s pretty much through ground-percolations (scents coming up through the snow) that they are able find somebody," Kauffman said. Both Kaya and Lopi are hunting dogs, Kauffman said, descendants of breeds known for a highly developed sense of smell. Not only do the dogs perform well but they enjoy their daily tasks, Kauffman added. "It�s in their blood. Instead of hunting game, they are hunting people," he said. "They love what they do. It�s nothing but a big game." Fortunately, neither Kaya nor Lopi have needed to rescue an avalanche victim, Volk said. At the end of the work day, Volk said Lopi and Kaya return home with their owners, usually wiped out after a day of running up and down the slopes. When they are on Mount Ashland, Volk said Lopi is his constant shadow, romping and running circles around him while he patrols the boundaries of the ski resort. "She�s my sidekick now. We�re joined at the hip," Volk added. Reach reporter Jill Briskey at 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.