Dog Operations Unit

The South Australian State Emergency Service (SES) is immensely proud of its Dog Operations Unit. This Unit has been operational since 1997 and as a functional arm of the State Special Operations Group, is required to maintain a state of preparedness to respond to emergency incidents and allied activities in accordance with defined standards of response.  The Unit currently comprises 9 members and 4 different breeds of dog, being three Labradors, one German Shepherd, one Border Collie and one Golden Retriever.
 training the ses dogs

The Dog Operations Unit is located at the Royal Society for the Blind, Gilles Plains. Training occurs at metropolitan and rural locations such as Mount Crawford and Para Wirra.

The Unit conducts two training sessions a week, on Thursday evenings from 7.30pm and Sundays from 8.00 a.m.

The primary role of the Unit is to support the SAPOL Dog Operations Section in searches involving tracking and air scenting for both missing persons and articles with human scent contamination. In addition, the unit is active in assisting rescue Units in the conduct of reconnaissance work at times of major flood or storm damage. It also has an active participation at public events such as the Royal Adelaide Show, Police Expo and various rural Field Days.

About our members

Members within this Unit, participate either as Dog Handlers or Support Members. Both roles are very important to the success of the unit.

Dog Handlers are matched with a suitable dog which is owned and registered by the SES. To be assigned a SES Service Dog, prospective handlers must be prepared to commit to the daily responsibilities of exercising, training, grooming and provision of general needs in accordance with Unit procedure. In addition, the intending handler must be able to demonstrate he/she can provide safe and secure housing for the dog. Expenses for the dog such as working equipment, food and veterinarian care are provided by SES.

Dog Handlers need to have a keen interest in dog training and the enthusiasm to maintain their training with the dog while at home. Regular Dog Operations Unit training and continuous assessment of dog teams is carried out on  Thursday evenings and Sunday mornings and these are an integral part of the training commitment required of the SES dog handler. 

Support Members are trained to work side-by-side with the Dog Handlers and the dogs to carry out search and rescue operations and allied duties. The support member, although not having responsibility for training or care of the service dog, must be committed to participating in regular training and operational response to achieve and maintain the required standards of competence as a support member.  

Both Support Members and Dog Handlers have training which includes:

  • SES Dog Operations Unit Induction
  • map reading / GPS navigation
  • communication
  • land search operations
  • Reconnaissance
  • first aid
map reading

 

There is no maximum age for members of the Dog Operations Unit. However, a good level of health and fitness is required for both Support Members and Dog Handlers as they are required to walk long distances and often over rough terrain whilst training or in operation.

 

Join Us

If you are:

  • over 18 years of age,
  • have reasonable health and fitness
  • keen to work with dogs and learn new skills,
  • available for training sessions and incident callouts
Dog Jumping


enquire about joining the Dog Operations Unit.

 
You can telephone the SES Volunteer Management Branch on 1300 364 587 during office hours, or email “I want to be an SES Member” and write "Dog Operations Unit" in the comments section.

Dog Operations Unit Dog Operations Unit Dog Operations Unit    
Dog Operations Unit Dog Operations Unit Dog Operations Unit    
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