‘Desi’ breed search and rescue specialists, NDRF trains first lot of stray dogs

Blaze and Tiger are trainees at the National Disaster Response Force’s (NDRF) dog squad used ins search and rescue operations. However, they are not German Shepherds

Blaze and Tiger are trainees at the National Disaster Response Force’s (NDRF) dog squad used ins search and rescue operations. However, they are not German Shepherds or Labradors but stray dogs.

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In all, the NDRF’s eighth battalion has four such strays adopted from the campus. Blaze and Tiger are the oldest aged about 17 months each, while two more puppies -- Tony and Lucky-- are aged about 50 days.

Usually, India’s forces -- be it police, defence or even rescue teams -- preferred breeds that were naturally obedient and hence easier to train. But the stray dogs had other advantages -- they were already acclimatised to Indian situations, less bulky and hence can easily push themselves through gaps and have more stamina.

So training the four strays-- sometimes called desi -- into a battalion that already has 20 well trained non-desi dogs was a unique experiment.

“The Prime Minister had earlier this month had given a call to people to go for local brands this festive season to help local business. We were also directed by our directorate to explore roping in of stray dogs. Till now, we had been training and involving German Shepherds and Labradors as part of the dog-squad for search and rescue operation,”said PK Tiwary, commandant of the eighth NDRF battalion at Govindpuram in Ghaziabad. “The strays definitely have an edge in terms that they are already acclimatised with the local environment and require less care than the other breeds.”

Both Blaze and Tiger have completed 40 weeks of training in which they underwent physical training and obstacle courses.

“Now is the crucial aspect of how to perform search and rescue operations while teaming up with German Shepherds and Labradors. This will be tough as the desi breed is not friendly to the other breeds. But they will be trained,” said NDRF dog handler Sandeep Kumar.

For now, both Blaze and Tiger are kept separate from their counterparts and have separate trainers.

“The strays are very agile and sometimes it becomes difficult to get them to concentrate. But over a period, they have become attuned to the commands. The other breed dogs are more obedient, sincere and can be handled easily even by other handlers. Strays are more like to take commands from only their own handler,” Kumar, said.

Over a period of time, dogs have become indispensable part of the NDRF always accompanying them on missions. Their training includes obedience and familiarisation with public places so that they keep their composure to do the job at hand.

The dogs from the eighth battalion had proved their mettle during Tsunami rescue operations in Japan, earthquake in Nepal and have even served in different missions across the country. They have also taken part in local operations during Akash Nagar building collapse in Ghaziabad and Shahberi building collapse incident in Greater Noida.