news - 30/06/2004
SAR Dogs World Championship 2004 - Germany
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by Gabor Szalanczi
World Championship of Search and Rescue Dogs
The International Rettungshunde Organisaion (IRO) held the 10. World Championship of Search and Rescue Dogs, on 1.-4. of July in Germany, in Wittstock, in Brandenburg county. The WCH competitors arrived from 15 countries, from 28 rescue dog organisations. There were more groups from Austria, Czech, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Slovenia, and one organisations from Switzerland, Denmark, France, Finland, Japan, Korea, Sweden, Slovakia. There were 123 entries, but 102 dogs started the WCH only (few dogs did not came). In the visitors there were other rescue dog teams, who are not a member of the IRO, per example, the Polish team.
This is a small town, about 13000 people live here, about 100 kilometers far from Berlin, to north-north-west. Wittstock is a very small town, the history find it only once, in the „30 years long war”, the Swedish army attacked, the Germans defended it, from this reason the city held the Swedenfest in every year, when the citizens play the battle in every year. The town, in the center, is a full of old small houses built from red bricks (some was built in the 17. centuries), but in out regions are a lot of ugly, cube houses from the Eastern-Germany times. The WCH was a very unusual event in the small town, the opening ceremony was in the town’s main squere, and after this, the major gave a party for the competitors. At the closing ceremony there were a lot of citizens, about a thousand people.
The north-German area is a lowland, with small hills, on the hills a lot of wind generators, what were all time in use, because all time were windy. The land was full of cereal green crops, wheat, rye, corn, and small islands of forest. The weather was very variably, the change from sunshine to stormy wind and raining and sunshine again about in half our, what was unusual for us.
The WCH competitors arrived from 15 countries, from 28 rescue dog organisations. There were more groups from Austria, Czech, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Slovenia, and one organisations from Switzerland, Denmark, France, Finland, Japan, Korea, Sweden, Slovakia. There were 123 entries, but 102 dogs started the WCH only (few dogs did not came). In the visitors there were other rescue dog teams, who are not a member of the IRO, per example, the Polish team.
The entry’s condition was very simple, the dog (and the handler) have to got the highest level of the International Rescue dogs examination, per example in Hungary 10 dogs got it, in France about 150 dogs have. The French team was only one dog and his handler, Carmel Tambuzzo, with Malouk, Malinois, they are the team of the Paris’s Firefighters team. – We have the highest, red colour standing by situation, from the possible terrorist attack reason. My boss allowed only one competitor here, me – said Tambuzzo.
There were a lot of several dog breeds. The most was German Sheperds, with 28 entries, the second the Belgian Sheperd Malinois, with 12, the third „breed” were the mixed dogs, with 11 entries. After them, there were 10 Golden and 10 Labrador Retrievers, and 7 Border Collies. Together 25 breeds were here, incuding more „exotic” and unusual breeds, too: Pudelpointer, Chodsky Pes (Czech sheperd dog, not FCI recognised yet, look like as a small long haired German Sheperd), Markiesje, Zwarte Mechelaar, American Staffordshire Terrier, Staffordshire Bull Terrier, American Cocker Spaniel. The competitor dogs were well expereienced, older dogs, the youngest was only 3 years old, the oldest was Leo, a mix dog, 12. The dogs’average age was about 6 six years.
On the WCH the dogs can enter to three different scentworks: track following, disaster or area search. The scentwork is the most important, it means maximum 200 points, and beside the scentwork have to go to obedience and dexterity work, both for 50 points, so the total maximum can be 300. If at the end of the competition two dogs has same points, the dog win, who has higher from scentwork. From all three phase have to get the 70% of points, for the value work.
The obedience work is similar with the IPO test, with a few differences. The dexterity means special obstacles, the dog have to stand, walk, jump, the obstacles imitated the different conditions of the ruins and special situations.
The track following was very hard, the track was 2000 steps long (about 1500meters), three ours old, the dogs have to find the first obejct in a 10m*10m square, and start from this. On the track were more six use objects (metal, plastic, wood, cork-wood, skin) and a men at the end of the track. Just 3 dogs could finish the track out of the 10 entered dogs.
The area searching was in a young forest, a mixed from pine and birch. There was a car wide forest path, the handlers had to send the dog to searching both side of the path, just in 20-25 meters depth. This exercise was unusual for the dogs and handlers, more dogs did not understand why they have to go back very soon, why they could not search free, in their own style. On the area searching 26 dogs were value work, 13 not, but the valued dogs’ points were unusual less.
The ruin searching was very difficult and hard too. There was a 100*60meters square a full of ruins, with three small buildings (one of them was a full of empty plastic bottles), there was a hills of bricks, concrete building parts, used car tyres. As disturb, there were three metal barrels, with in small fire, too. In this chaos had to find five victims in 40 minutes. The problems were with the weather, not was rare the stormy wind or heavy rain. The most hard thing was, the dog handler could not go to the ruin, he had to be stand out of them. And the area was so big, there were places, what the handler could not see from the side, the handler could not know what the dog does there. The few dogs could did it well, who was very good experience, and the handler could to sending to directions. There were only 21 dogs valued work, 32 not, this number was more less, then previous years.
The organisation of the WCH was very good, typical German organisation. Everything was good and in time, but there were a lot of rules, and without any little change ability. The disaster and area searching – opposite as in previous years – could see, the ruin from a high hill, the area searching 30meters back from the dog handler and judges. The catalogue was super good informative quality, we could find everything in it. There were buffets on all places (not just on the obedience and dexterity field, but on the ruin and area search too). There were soft drinks, cheap beers, with few sandwiches.
The teams have a little bit of free time, if somebody wanted, could go to visit Berlin (100 kilometres only), or more small tows on countryside. We (our Hungarian team) went to the seaside near Rostock, to walk with dogs and swim in the sea, my dog saw the sea first time, and more of our handlers and dogs, too. The organisers did other programmes too, on thursday was „international evening” we could meet with the citizens, and the local press. Saturday night was an official gala dinner, in the Wittstock city building.
The winner of the track following was the Czech Tomas Strouhal, with Drago Cerny Obelisk German Sheperd, (190-44-46) 280 points. The area search World Champion is Johan Hol, from Netherlands with Halushetha's Rosie, Malinois (last year they were 2.), (189-45-47) 281 points. The disaster searching winner is an Austrian, Erwin Payreder, with Staffordshire Bull Terrier, Dominator Dagos Famil (192-42-42) 276 points. The teams’ winner was the Czech SZBK team. The winner of the English Sheepdog Club of Hungary’s trophy was the best Border Collie, 6. placed in area searching, Lenka Chachova (CZ), with Aneas Black Chevers. Now, we have known, the next WCH of SAR dogs will be in South-France, in Le Grande Motte, near to Montpellier, and in 2006 will be in Switzerland.
The all dogs who were here, the best rescue dogs of their country. They established their capability in many times worldwide, the WCH is a competition only, in real work all dogs and their handlers work with a maximum safety and successes. Most of the dog handlers are volunteers, training their dogs in their own private time and from own money. We are the youngest rescue dog team in Hungary, and we have always the problem to find supporters who help our work. I think, I know, this is same in every country. Please if you can, support your countries’ (or in more countries) search and rescue dog teams, they always help the people in trouble worldwide.
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