PetLvr.com - [The Blog]

How To Find a Search and Rescue Dog Training School

by Melissa Buhmeyer

There are many things dogs can be trained to do but, of all the tasks a working dog can perform, search and rescue ranks the highest for needing qualified, professional trainers. A Search and Rescue (SAR) dog’s performance, quite literally, can determine life or death to a human in need.

As shocking as it may sound, there is no set of standards for rescue dog training. Subsequently, rescue clubs, teams, and individuals emerge as trainers, when, in fact, they may know little, or nothing at all, about training a SAR dog. Attending seminars and reading books on the subject are worthwhile endeavors, but they do not constitute being a SAR dog trainer. Sadly, in a large percentage of cases, this is an assumption not only made, but followed, and replicated. In some cases, those touting themselves as SAR dog trainers scarcely have enough knowledge to teach a dog simple parlor tricks, let alone promptly and accurately scenting or tracking skills, where a human life hangs in the balance.

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Hematoma In A Dog’s Ear (Pinna) and How The Surgery Is Done In ThePetCenter.com

Aural Hematoma… A Blood Filled Pocket

A hematoma is any abnormal blood filled space. An Aural Hematoma is a collection of blood under the skin of the ear flap of a dog or cat. (The ear flap itself is called the Pinna.) Much more common in dogs than in cats, a hematoma generally is the result of trauma to the pinna from an injury or from the dog or cat scratching at the ear. The itchy ear can result from ear mites, allergies, infections or foreign matter in the ear canal. Frequent scratching at the ear, or even vigorous shaking of the head, can result in a rupture of small blood vessels beneath the skin of the pinna. Since there is little strength or depth to the tissues of the pinna, clotting may be delayed… especially if the dog or cat continues to upset the clotting by additional self trauma.

The entire ear flap can become swollen, infected and severely uncomfortable to the dog. Hematomas can heal themselves but will leave behind a scarred, crinkled and shrunken pinna. And since the original cause is usually an infected ear canal, the original cause needs to be treated as well as the hematoma itself. Veterinarians generally will recommend surgery to open and drain the hematoma and remove dead and degenerating clots and fibrin. Then sutures are used to tack the skin layers over the thin cartilage center tight to the cartilage to eliminate any space for more blood or serum to accumulate. Of course this is done only under general anesthesia, and antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medication is used post operatively.

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