Debby Heller lives in California. (www.countryroadfauves.com), She saw her first Fauve at Crufts 2001 and bought one soon after. Fjordker’s Emmely, bred by Kurt Holck (see links page), was soon followed by ‘Tango’, bred by the ‘Rallye St Paul’ (Marc Augin) kennels in France. Underneath is just a short description of what this type of work involves. I can see my Fauves loving to do it but I know I would fail the map reading and fitness tests!


There are two types of search and rescue dogs used in CARDA (California Rescue Dog Association). One discipline are the air scent dogs that work off the lead, directed by the handler to find all the people within a selected area. The second discipline are the trailing dogs, such as Emmely and Tango, who work in a harness with their handler following the scent of a specific person.

Debby and her dogs train a minimum of once a week with the group and have additional training time at home. There are specific tasks trailing dogs must complete before they are certified. The activities are done with the handler and are designed to show the ability to do the work requested with the confidence and discipline needed. The dog and handler must work as a team and the handler must be able to understand their dog completely.

The requirements for a trailing dog are performed under the assessment of selected observers. The dogs must be able to follow trails that are 12, 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours old. This is done by having a person, (‘subject’) walk the same course prior to the dog and handler. The dog is given the subject’s scent and should be able to locate that person at the end of the trail, even if there are several other people present at the end, the dog must select the correct one. As a training exercise some of the trails have markers to aid the handler in correcting the dog if it starts to go off course.

In addition to this the dog must work 2 night trails that are at least 0.5 miles long, 4 hours old and take a minimum of 20 minutes to complete. These are done in the forest with no lights bar a headlamp worn by the handler. Other requirements include the dog loading, riding and unloading from a helicopter. The dog must also spend a night alone with the handler in the wilderness with only minimum supplies carried in the handler’s backpack. It must be able to ride in the back of a truck with 5 other dogs with no problems. Added to all this are swimming, agility and obedience tasks!

Handlers also have to spend many hours learning new tasks. They must attend 6 monthly workouts, complete classes in map and compass, man tracking, survival techniques, crime scene investigation, ropes and knots, 10 hours of search time WITHOUT the dog and an extensive course in first aid and CPR. First aid, CPR and physical fitness tests must be re-certified yearly.

Emmely passed her final test in Oct 2003 by completing an unmarked, unfamiliar course of 1-11/2 miles long which was over 48 hours old.

Many dogs in California used for this work are medium to large size and Debby says Emmely is one of the smallest. Many of her CARDA collegues were concerned that Emmely’s small stature would prove a difficulty as the terrain around California includes mountains, forest and high mountain meadows. Debby says that the smallness of the Fauve, rather than being a difficulty can be a help as sometimes you must carry an injured or exhausted dog during a search. Fauves are a lot easier to carry than a German Shepherd! Emmely and Debby have proved their point that Fauves are a natural for this type of work, and Tango, Debby’s second Fauve is also now qualified, proving it wasn't a one off!