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1.1 This guide defines the knowledge, skills, and abilities required for a dog crew or team to perform an area search.

1.2 Area search dog crews or teams perform searches on the surface of the land, including open urban or wilderness areas, as well as mountainous terrain, and alpine environments.

1.3 This guide does not include the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to search in partially or fully collapsed structures, confined spaces, or on bodies of water, inland or oceanic.

1.4 Area search dog crews or teams trained to meet the requirements of this guide may operate in urban and disaster areas that may be isolated, or have lost their infrastructure.

1.5 Area search dog crews or teams must work under qualified supervision deemed appropriate by the AHJ.

1.6 This guide does not provide a theoretical basis for how an area search dog crew or team functions.

1.7 Search dog crews or teams are eligible to be members of Type I and II SAR crews or teams of the following Kinds, as defined in Classification F1993:

1.8 Further training may be required before an area search dog crew or team can fully participate on a particular Type and Kind of team or crew, based on specific local need, regulations, or policies.

1.9 This standard does not purport to address all of the safety concerns, if any, associated with its use. It is the responsibility of the user of this standard to establish appropriate safety and health practices and determine the applicability of regulatory limitations prior to use.

4.1 An area search dog crew or team is required to have, at a minimum, the knowledge, skills, and abilities outlined within this document.

4.2 This guide only establishes the minimum knowledge, skills, and abilities required for an area search dog crew or team to perform area searches. No other skills are included or implied.

4.3 This guide is an outline of the topics required for training or evaluating an area search dog team or crew, and may be used to assist in the development of a training document or program.

4.4 This guide can be used to evaluate a document to determine if its content includes the topics necessary for training area search dog crews or teams. Likewise, this guide can be used to evaluate an existing training program to see if it meets the requirements in this guide.

4.5 The knowledge, skills, and abilities presented in this guide are not in any particular order and do not represent a training sequence.

4.6 Though this guide establishes minimum training requirements, it does not imply that an area search dog team or crew is a “trainee,” “probationary,” or other similarly termed part of an organization.

4.7 An area search dog crew or team shall document training by completion of a position task book, compliant with ASTM F3068, or by field demonstration under qualified supervision. Where proficiency in a skill or ability must be demonstrated, unless stated otherwise it shall be demonstrated for initial qualification, and then as often as required by the AHJ.