Under the aegis of the canine instructor, the Chief Marshal (MDC) Ludovic, of the Gendarmerie Surveillance and Intervention Platoon (PSIG) of Sathonay-Camp (69), the MDC Stéphane, of the Group of investigations cynophile (GIC) of Rennes (35), with his dog Sully, continued the course at his place of employment, with three other canine teams from his promotion: the MDC Raphaël, of the PSIG of Périgueux (24), and his dog Hagrid; the MDC Julie, from the GIC of Celles-sur-Belle (79), and her dog Saya; and MDC Vincent, from the Clermont-Ferrand GIC (63), and his dog Seïko. The four Saint-Hubert dogs know each other well, since they were born from the same litter in May 2021. The four trainees saw their dog last year, two months old, after being tested and selected by the class instructors.
The training of the Saint-Huberts focuses exclusively on the search for people. Its super-powerful flair makes it possible to considerably extend the response time (up to 7 days), including in rainy weather. It is often used as a last resort.
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Tracking exercises in “green” and “urban” areas
Thursday, June 23, 2022, tracking exercises spread over the day took place in the town of Chartres-de-Bretagne and on the site of the Air Gendarmerie Section (SAG) of Rennes.
In the morning, two tracks were played. The first was carried out in a so-called “green” zone, in a housing estate in the town of Chartres-de-Bretagne, with the female Saya, led by MDC Julie. The second tracking was carried out by the team made up of MDC Stéphane and Sully, in the so-called “urban” area, in the town’s shopping centre. A soldier from the Rennes GIC was designated to play the role of the wanted person. To do this, he marks the track and a Personal Object (OP) with his scent, which he then hands over to the instructor, before going into hiding. OP is the reference odor. The dog becomes impregnated with it before any start of tracking, retraces the trail, then finds the hidden soldier.
In the afternoon, the dogs carried out a final exercise on board the helicopters of the SAG de Rennes.
The four Saint-Huberts will be operational in their assigned unit as of January 2023, depending on the success of the exam. At the national level, twelve Saint-Huberts are currently in office. The 2021-2023 promotion will bring this number to twenty.
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