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Quantifying Search Dog Effectiveness in a Terrestrial Search and Rescue Environment
Ian Greatbatch1, Rebecca J Gosling2, Sophie Allen1
1Faculty of Science, Engineering and Computing, Kingston University London, London, UK (Dr Greatbatch and Ms Allen).
Wilderness & Environmental Medicine
|May 23, 2015
Summary
This study quantified the effectiveness of search and rescue (SAR) dogs, finding an overall success rate of 76.4%. Dog age showed a slight positive correlation with effectiveness, while environmental factors did not significantly impact performance.
Area of Science:
- Canine behavior and performance
- Search and Rescue operations
Background:
- Dogs are widely used in land search and rescue (SAR), with their effectiveness generally accepted.
- Limited scientific research quantifies SAR dog performance in realistic environments.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify the effectiveness of search and rescue dogs in a realistic SAR setting.
- To establish a repeatable experimental framework for evaluating SAR dog performance.
Main Methods:
- 25 experiments were conducted with 10 dog/handler pairs.
- Randomized target placement was used to calculate hits, misses, and false positives.
- GPS receivers tracked dog paths, and environmental data (temperature, humidity, wind) were recorded.
Main Results:
- The dogs achieved an overall success rate of 76.4% and an effectiveness of 62.9%.
- No significant correlation was found between environmental factors (humidity, temperature, wind) and dog effectiveness.
- A small positive correlation was observed between dog age and effectiveness.
Conclusions:
- This study provides a quantitative understanding of lowland search dog performance.
- The established experimental framework can serve as a foundation for future research in SAR dog evaluation.
