Two of the East Cornwall Search and Rescue team’s newest canine recruits took part in a Mountain Rescue Search Dogs England course on Dartmoor.

Mac and Teg’Or met other dogs and their handlers and dogsbodies from across the country and received some top quality training on their journey to become fully qualified search dogs.

(Dogsbodies are people who volunteer to help out with the training – and lie under hedges, in ditches, behind trees and between boulders until the dogs find them!)

“Wet was an understatement, but over the three days the boys coped well, trying out their find sequence and indication, which follows many months of local training. This involves a number of dogsbodies scattered over a small area.

“The handler and dog won’t know where each one is, so the dog has to find them and then repeatedly shuttle run between the handler and the dogsbody with a woof at each end to indicate their find, until the handler reaches the dogsbody. This continues until all bodies are found and it tests the reliability of the find sequence and indication.”

Once they’ve completed this stage, Mac and Teg’Or will move on to open area searching, with most courses taking place in the Peak District, Yorkshire, Wales and the Lake District - a huge commitment by the handlers and their families.