Last Saturday I was one of 4 instructors for a Level 1 Avalanche Class. (Snow Science/Companion Rescue etc) I decided to take Cooper on the Field session. We were out in the snow at the edge of Timberline Ski area for about 6 hours. I was a little concerned that I might have to pay too much attention to Cooper and not enough to the students, but Cooper was just great. She stayed within about 100ft of the group the whole time, and mostly stayed fairly close to me, when the group was spread out doing beacon searches. Late in day when the students dug and examined snow pits, (Two groups and two pits) she stayed right with my group and almost looked like she was taking in the lesson. One of the other instructors brought his Siberian Husky, but he had to be on a tether the whole time because he was inclined to wander. The two of them played some in the beginning, and had a good time. Before I went I was concerned that Cooper might be too much of a distraction, and I was prepared to put her back in my car if I had too, but she could not have done better. She was friendly to all the students and instructors, but not a nuisance or in the way. There were a number of other climbers and skiers withing sight of us during day, including a couple of large Mazama Climbing Classes, but Cooper stayed with us and did not bother anyone else.
That's wonderful, go Cooper! You've got to love when you go in expecting the worst and then they exceed expectations, it's a brilliant feeling!
Thanks I was not expecting the worst, or I would have left her in the car, but she was definitely a little better than I expected.
We tried to get her focused on that but she was more interested in catching snowballs. I think she could be trained to be an Avy search dog, but it is way to much work and too big a time commitment. Mt Hood Meadows has a number of Avy dogs, but none of our other areas have them.
Ah, a friend of mine uses her black Lab as an Avy dog in New Zealand. We have lots here; maybe one day when I have time (heh), I'll look into seeing what's necessary to take part. I think Willow would love it!
It is a huge amount of work, and the dog is only useful if they are stationed at the top of the mountain all day. The continued training involves burying a live person every week or so for the dog to find. Avy dogs have to be able to differentiate between the smell of someone under the snow (gives off gasses only) and someone on the surface (gives off gasses and rafts)
