Breed dogs for water search and drowned victim search dogs? Advertise here
Buyers and trainers use this page to find breeders whose lines do this work. List your kennel free, tick the industries your dogs work in, and advertise litters and stud dogs from proven working lines.
No breeders are listed here yet, so the first profiles get the page to themselves.
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Is it free to advertise here?
Yes. A breeder profile and your litter and stud dog adverts are free. Premium profiles, featured placement and sponsored articles are optional paid extras; see pricing.
Do I need a licence to advertise puppies?
In England you need a dog breeding licence from your council if you breed three or more litters in 12 months or breed and sell dogs as a business, and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own schemes. Licensed breeders show their licence number and issuing council on every advert. Puppies must be at least eight weeks old before they go to new homes.
Is my listing already here?
We add licensed breeders from councils' public registers. Search for your kennel name; if it is listed you can claim it and edit everything.
About water search and drowned victim search dogs
When someone is believed to have drowned, finding them quickly matters to families and to investigators. A water search dog can narrow a search area from a boat or the bank by detecting scent rising to the surface. This page explains how drowned victim search dogs work in the UK, who trains them and which lines show aptitude for the job.
What this work involves
Water search dogs, also called water cadaver dogs or submerged victim detection dogs, detect human scent coming off the water. Wind, current and water conditions all move that scent, so the dog works from a purpose-built platform on a boat or along the bank and typically shows its strongest response closest to the source. The handler notes every indication. Handlers do not usually find the person themselves, because a drowned person is often submerged or deep under water; instead they give positional information to the police and recovery agencies. Specialist Search Dogs, for example, combines its dogs with side-scan sonar and underwater drones to prioritise search areas and support verification.
Dogs are deployed when a person is believed to have drowned, entered the water in a vehicle, or been deposited and submerged. The work covers streams, rivers, lakes and other open or still water.
Who trains and supplies these dogs in the UK
There is no national supplier of water search dogs. Dogs are trained within the teams that deploy them:
- Specialist Search Dogs is a volunteer team, registered as a Scottish charity, that assists the emergency services and Category 1 responders without charging a callout fee. Its water cadaver dogs work from boats or search from the bank, and its qualified water dogs include NASDU Level 3 Water Submerged Cadaver Detection Dogs.
- NASDU (the National Association of Security Dog Users) runs a Level 3 accredited learning programme for the Victim (Water Submerged Cadaver) Detection Dog. NASDU is an approved centre with the awarding organisation Highfield, which is regulated by Ofqual and SQA.
- NSARDA Water Search Dogs, a probationary member association of the National Search And Rescue Dog Association, trains and qualifies dogs and handlers to detect and alert at any human scent coming from the surface of the water, working along the bank or from a small boat. Its handlers are unpaid volunteers, usually operational members of their local search and rescue team.
- Police forces run their own dog units and train their dogs in-house. The police, along with the fire service, coastguard and lowland and mountain rescue teams, are among the services that call on the volunteer water search teams.
In the volunteer groups, dogs train with their own handlers. A breeder supplies a puppy; any qualification is earned later by dog and handler together.
Breeds and lines
Water search needs a dog that stays calm and focused on a moving boat rather than one that wants to leap in. Dogs listed by NSARDA as water search dogs include Labradors, a spaniel, a collie and a Hovawart, and Specialist Search Dogs’ water cadaver dogs have included a Newfoundland, a Spanish Water Dog and a working Cocker Spaniel. Look for strong hunting drive, a precise nose, good balance and steadiness around engines, wind and waves.
What to ask a breeder
- Have your dogs or their relatives gone into detection, search or gundog work?
- How do the parents behave on boats or near water: do they stay focused or want to swim?
- What are the parents’ hip, elbow and eye results, and which breed-specific DNA tests have been done?
- How strong is the parents’ hunting drive and focus on scent?
- Will you let an experienced handler assess the litter, and will you support the buyer if the dog does not suit the role?
Frequently asked questions
What does a drowned victim search dog actually do?
It indicates where human scent is rising from the water so that the search team can focus sonar, underwater drones and other resources on a smaller area. It does not recover the person itself.
Do water search dogs swim while working?
They search from the boat or the bank rather than in the water. On a boat the dog usually moves around the craft looking for scent, and handlers want a dog that stays on board and concentrates on the job.
Who can call out a volunteer water search team?
Emergency services and authorised responders request volunteer teams. Families worried about a missing person should always contact the police first.
Breeders whose dogs work in water search, or whose working lines have produced detection dogs, are welcome to list on the site.