A Dog's Best Friend

“Small but mighty” accurately describes Halo, a Dutch Shepherd puppy. Despite being the runt in her litter, Halo showed drive and intelligence at a young age. So when Halo was just a few months old, Fire Captain Cat Labrada handpicked Halo to train as a Florida Task Force 1 search and rescue dog. The Task Force had high expectations for the pup, and Halo had big shoes — or, more accurately, paws — to fill. Animal trainer Labrada had the job of preparing Halo for the elite team.

Flooding from hurricanes, collapsed buildings after an earthquake, or tangled cars in a massive crash. Labrada and her specially-trained dogs are there, searching disaster zones for victims. To prepare for this life-saving work, Labrada and Halo trained around the country. They even spent time at Disaster City, a fake town designed for response teams to practice in life-like, challenging conditions. After three years of tireless work, Halo must pass a rigorous national exam to serve as a Florida Task Force 1 search and rescue dog.

CONSISTENCY, SENSITIVITY, AND TRUST

When asked what it took to train Halo, Labrada shared, “Positive reinforcement and consistency — over and over.” Labrada taught Halo by disguising training as a game of hide-and-seek. In this training game, one trainer hid while Labrada worked with Halo to search using her incredible nose, which can detect scents 100,000 times better than human noses. Once Halo found the trainer, she barked, and the hidden trainer popped out to reward Halo with ear scratches, praise, and playtime. As Halo’s searching skills grew, Labrada ratcheted up the difficulty. She added noise or food smells so Halo could learn to ignore distractions and focus on the lost person’s scent. Labrada and Halo played hide-and-seek on repeat for three years. On average, training a search and rescue dog takes over 600 hours, and trainers must practice consistency and patience as dogs learn.

As a dog, Halo cannot advocate for herself, so Labrada must be sensitive to Halo’s needs. She notices when Halo is tired, frustrated, or overly excited. Labrada decides when to challenge Halo to build her skill and stamina and when Halo needs a break. Labrada also helps manage Halo’s stress during missions. Searches and rescues are grueling. Once Florida Task Force 1 worked countless hours over six days to find eleven people hidden in rubble. And sometimes searches fail. Dogs hunt but are unable to recover victims. Both dogs and trainers feel defeated. Labrada uses her relationship with Halo and observations of her behavior to help Halo manage stress and pressure.

Halo is more than a search and rescue dog. She is Labrada’s beloved pet and her respected teammate in saving lives. “My dog and I are a team,” explained Labrada in an interview with KidPost. “Together, we can do things that we can’t do separately. The bond, that trust, is actually the real superpower.” Trainers need to develop a strong relationship and mutual trust with their animals. Halo needs to trust that Labrada can lead and protect her. Likewise, Labrada needs to trust that Halo will obey and follow the training.

TRAINERS OF ALL KINDS

Training search and rescue dogs is just one type of animal training. Trainers prepare animals for all kinds of special jobs, from working with the disabled, performing for audiences, acclimating wild animals to zoo life, and teaching pets obedience.

Service dog trainers prepare canines to assist people with disabilities. These trainers look for dogs with balanced personalities — not too timid but not too strong-willed, not overly aggressive or submissive. They chose dogs that are focused and eager to please. Some service dog trainers train guide dogs to assist the blind or the visually impaired. Other trainers prepare dogs to help people with epilepsy. These dogs learn to bring medication, alert a caretaker of a seizure, or push a button to call for help in an emergency. Still other service dog trainers prepare emotional support animals as companions to people suffering from anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Show trainers work with animals that perform for audiences, like dolphins at SeaWorld or animals that act in movies. While filming the movie Nim’s Island, show trainers worked with sea lions, pelicans, and lizards on the movie set. The two sea lions, who together played the role of Selkie, arrived trained and ready to woo audiences with flipper waves,  flirtatious eyes, and blown kisses. But these show trainers had to prepare the sea lions to perform under the intense lights and cameras of a movie set. And the trainers had to help them build a fast friendship with co-star Abigail Breslin, who played Nim. Their greatest challenge was keeping the sea lions excited about performing the same trick repeatedly as camera crews filmed multiple takes before finally shouting, “that’s a wrap.”

Other animal trainers work with exotic animals at zoos, wildlife parks, and aquariums. One of their responsibilities is teaching animals how to respond during veterinary visits. For example, they teach elephants where to place their feet during a medical exam to keep both elephants and veterinarians safe. Zoo trainers use positive reinforcement to teach animals to step on and off scales, to cooperate with ultrasounds, and to say “ahhh” when getting their teeth cleaned. In addition, zoo trainers feed and exercise animals, clean their habitats, keep records of their behavior, and lead animal demonstrations to educate visitors.

The most common type of trainer is an obedience trainer. Obedience trainers work with dogs and their owners to help dogs learn to behave and listen to commands. Obedience trainers have a deep understanding of dog behavior and use rewards and practice to train dogs incrementally or break bad habits. A  major part of the job is educating owners and helping people change their behavior so that their dog's behavior will change too.

Training animals may sound exciting, but the job isn't always games and glamour. Trainers work irregular hours, including nights, weekends, and long shifts. And trainers handle a lot of poop.  They often are responsible for animal hygiene and cleaning habitats. For elephant trainers, that’s moving 300 pounds of dung each day. Animal training is physically demanding. Trainers need to lift, bend, run, crawl, and kneel alongside animals as they train. Trainers of marine mammals like dolphins and whales must be strong swimmers, and some jobs require trainers to have a scuba certification.

TRAINING FOR TRAINERS

Just like there are many kinds of trainers, the qualifications for training animals vary as well. At a minimum, trainers need a high school diploma, but many seek additional schooling and credentials. Currently, 44% of trainers have a high school diploma, and 31% hold a certificate or associate’s degree. Before training search and rescue dogs, Labrada worked as an animal trainer at SeaWorld. Then after a stint at a veterinary clinic and falling in love with an adopted dog, Labrada completed an Associate's Degree in Emergency Medical Services and joined the Miami fire department.

Zoo trainer Lora Gillock earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Zoology from Colorado State University. But she admits most of her learning came through on-the-job experience. In an interview with the Denver Zoo, Gillock shared, “I highly recommend that anyone interested in becoming a zookeeper do as much volunteering or internships in the field to gain experience and knowledge about the job.”

As for Halo, Labrada’s dedicated training paid off. Halo passed FEMA’s search and rescue exam and now serves on the Florida Task Force 1, saving victims from natural and man-made disasters.