Australian Search and Rescue K9

17/09/2026

You’ve probably noticed our teams regularly train in pine plantation locations.

So, why are pine plantations such a great training environment for our teams?

They offer a huge variety of challenges including uneven ground, gullies, navigating over, under or around large fallen trees, bodies of water and wildlife distractions, just to name a few.

These terrains help build endurance in both our K9s and their humans!

They also provide valuable opportunities to work through scent challenges. Our K9s learn to work through changing terrain and scent conditions, while handlers and helpers develop their understanding of *scent pooling, scent direction and how different objects and terrain can cause scent to swirl, disperse or behave unpredictably rather than simply travelling in one direction.

There are so many factors that can influence scent detection, and these are just a few of the elements we incorporate into our training.

By exposing our teams to challenging and varied environments, we help prepare them for the unpredictable conditions they may encounter when operational.

Train hard. Train smart. Be operationally ready.

HVP Plantations

05/09/2026

Congratulations to Talia & K9 Sol for successfully completing their operational recertification this weekend!

To maintain their operational status, Talia & Sol were required to successfully complete multiple operational searches involving an unknown number of missing persons, as well as demonstrate the control and obedience required of an operational team.

Importantly, these assessments were conducted by external assessors from Victoria Police. Independent assessment is an important part of maintaining the integrity and credibility of our operational standards, ensuring our teams continue to demonstrate the proficiency required to remain operational.

We are incredibly proud of Talia & Sol and their continued dedication to maintaining their operational capability and remaining ready to assist Victoria Police in missing person searches.

Congratulations Talia & Sol on an outstanding performance!

05/09/2026

Congratulations to Andy & K9 George for successfully completing their operational recertification this weekend!

To maintain their operational status, Andy & George were required to successfully complete multiple operational searches involving an unknown number of missing persons, as well as demonstrate the control and obedience required of an operational team.

Importantly, these assessments were conducted by external assessors from Victoria Police. Independent assessment is an important part of maintaining the integrity and credibility of our operational standards, ensuring our teams continue to demonstrate the proficiency required to remain operational.

We are incredibly proud of Andy & George and their continued dedication to maintaining their operational capability and remaining ready to assist Victoria Police in missing person searches.

Congratulations Andy & George on an outstanding performance!

31/08/2026

Ang, Talia and Lindsay recently had an amazing opportunity to participate with their canines in the renowned Im-PECK-able Discrimination course, run by Dr Sally Dickinson and Craig Schulz TRACE Institute for Working Animals . The course gave us so many great learnings to take back and share in Victoria, as well as new ideas for best practice in training moving forward. We cannot thank VRA Rescue NSW Search Dogs enough for the invitation and look forward to future collaborations!

25/08/2026

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25/08/2026

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This International Dog Day, we’re shining a light on our work with the Australian Search and Rescue K9 Unit (ASAR-K9).

ASAR-K9 are a team of committed volunteers dedicated to training dog teams to respond to emergencies and find missing people in bush or country areas.

They work together with Victoria Police, VICSES and VicEmergency to play a vital role in search and rescue activities.

Today, we thank the four-legged heroes (and their volunteer partners) who are happy to lend a paw when we need them most. 🐾

Photo: SES Monash Unit

21/08/2026

ASAR’s latest training session took us to beautiful Kinglake West, where the team put an important operational skill into practice: adapting to the unexpected.

Following the recent weather, access to some of the roads we needed to use was restricted, requiring teams to reassess their plans, re-map areas and identify alternative access points.

Unexpected challenges are a reality of search and rescue. Conditions can change quickly, roads or tracks may become inaccessible, and the original plan may no longer be workable. Being able to safely adapt, overcome these challenges and continue training and or deploying is an essential skill for both our handlers and dogs.

Our teams also worked through a range of search scenarios, including area searches, pathway searches and article finds often in challenging terrain.

Training for the unexpected ensures our teams are better prepared to respond when it matters most.

10/08/2026

ASAR-K9 at Lake Eppalock Multi-Agency Exercise

Over the weekend, ASAR-K9 had the opportunity to participate in a large multi-agency emergency services exercise at Lake Eppalock, alongside Victoria State Emergency Service, Victoria Police, CFA (Country Fire Authority), Ambulance Victoria, Marine Search and Rescue, Fire Rescue Victoria and Life Saving Victoria.

In weather that truly delivered all four seasons, Talia and K9 Sol, Andy and K9 George, with Ang and Alicia supporting, participated in two challenging land search scenarios involving multiple casualties and item searches.

We’re incredibly proud that all teams successfully located their targets within their designated search areas and were also on hand to assist our partner agencies with casualty evacuation.

A massive thank you to everyone involved in putting together such a well-run, realistic and productive exercise. Opportunities like this are invaluable for building relationships, testing our capabilities and strengthening interoperability between emergency service agencies.

A special thank you to Justin Navas for the invitation and for his ongoing support of ASAR-K9. We truly appreciate the opportunity to be involved.

08/08/2026

Huge congratulations to Jaxx and K9 Reign for passing their Preliminary Skills Assessment 2 today! These assessments are to ensure our teams are on track for future operational assessments.

Demonstrating a clear bark alert (including barking for 4.5 minutes!), Jaxx and K9 Reign successfully:
- Located an unknown number of missing people within a 30 acre area in under 40 minutes
- Located an unknown number of missing persons along a 1km path search in under 20 minutes
- Identified two articles in a 30 x 30m area.

Congratulations Team! We look forward to seeing you succeed through to the next step of Preliminary Skills Assessment 3 and then on to Operational Assessment!

21/07/2026

Working and training alongside our emergency services colleagues at VICSES provides a valuable opportunity to practise vital land search skills while developing a greater understanding of how our organisations can integrate seamlessly during a missing person emergency.

Last Thursday, our team welcomed the opportunity to train our search dogs in a new environment at Windy Hill alongside the SES Essendon Unit. Training in unfamiliar locations helps ensure our teams are prepared to respond effectively, no matter where they are called upon to assist.

K9 George and Andy, K9 Kosmo and Brian, K9 Renn and Kate, and K9 Archie and Kai, along with Kerry, all did a fantastic job staying focused and working through a range of challenging scent problems.

Last night, we continued our joint training with the SES Malvern Unit, conducting a simulated search exercise involving two missing persons across a 60-acre area. K9 Sprite and Ang, supported by K9 Phoenix and Alex, with Andy assisting, successfully located both missing persons. The SES crew then moved in to provide first aid and assist with evacuation.

Exercises like these are invaluable in building strong working relationships, improving interoperability and developing a clear understanding of each organisation’s skills, capabilities and role during a real-world emergency.

We thank our Victoria State Emergency Service colleagues for their continued collaboration and commitment to working together to improve outcomes for missing people in our community.