Skilled dog has spot on Hasty Team

The startling sight of Jake, a magnificent 100-pound shepherd playing with a herd of miniature horses might seem odd to some, but not to owner Mark Hilgart.

"Jake loves it; they're his friends," he said.

Hilgart and his wife live on property just outside Sisters and raise miniature horses, miniature donkeys and goats.

"It's my Gentleman's Ranch," he said.

Jake Von Logan is a handsome, 3-year-old German/Dutch shepherd mix assigned to the Jefferson County Search and Rescue group called the Camp Sherman Hasty Team. He's a dual-purpose trailing and personal- protection dog, ideally suited for high mountain rescue in rough terrain. His noble surname refers to the breeder's kennel name and pedigree lines, and must be used in all formal announcements or paperwork.

The Dutch shepherd is an old herding breed not commonly seen in the United States, but used extensively in Europe as a working and service dog for the military. Affectionate and alert, they excel in any police work, crowd control, search and rescue, and bomb sniffing.

"I've been involved with dogs and training them for 30 years. The Dutch shepherd is extremely smart and reliable. When you train them they pick things up quick," said Hilgart.

"We got Jake as a puppy up in Washington. My wife and I have always had cats and dogs and we were looking for a good livestock dog. He started formal puppy training at four months and completed foundation obedience classes at the beginner, intermediate and advanced levels."

When Jake was 7 months old, Hilgart came home from work and found all his pond plants pulled out of the pond.

"I put them back in, filled up the pond and added coloring to make it look deeper so he couldn't seem them," he said. "Then I hid and watched Jake come back, sniff the water surface and pull them all out again. I gave up and decided no more pond plants."

Hilgart did some research on how canines smell, and learned Jake was locating the plants by minute traces of gas seeping up from the water.

"I realized he was demonstrating special abilities and wanted to develop them to their potential. It takes a huge amount of dedicated training and time to produce a good dog. I looked into search and rescue operations and wanted to make sure there would be a place and a job for him to do."

After graduation from obedience school, Jake was enrolled in service dog and protection training.

There are two types of search and rescue dogs: trailing and tracking. A trailing dog works "on-leash" and follows a specific scent it is given. Tracking dogs work "off-leash" and look for any human, period.

"A protection dog is not an aggressive dog," Hilgart explained. "It's a stable companion dog trained to only act on commands should a threatening or dangerous condition arise. Jake will do everything he can to push a person or threat away before escalating to more force. In normal situations he's just a fun-loving friendly dog, perfectly safe around kids, crowds and other dogs."

Hilgart estimates Jake knows close to 50 specific words and commands besides the basic sit and stay orders.

Should Jake sense or see something he doesn't like, he will start with a low, soft growl to alert his owner. Hilgart will then assess the problem and either ask Jake to stay on focus or quit. The next levels involve loud barking, the baring of teeth, and a threatening posture.

"At this point a person will usually back down fast because a bite will come soon. Dogs can sense bad people. They are attuned to fear and danger.

"I will always have a protection dog," Hilgart said. "Things come up and situations arise that you could never anticipate. We live in a remote area of Sisters and if we had to call the police it would take them a while to get here. A lot can happen in that time."

When Hilgart was living in Portland years ago, a bank robber fleeing the police jumped into his backyard. His three dogs, a German shepherd, two American Eskimo dogs, and a setter mix disarmed the bandit and took his money sack. Hilgart's wife, doing laundry in the basement, heard the barking and came out to investigate. She was surprised to find bundles of money strewn about the lawn and the robber gone.

"She called me at work and said there was money all over the backyard. Being in Oregon, I immediately thought of D.B. Cooper and imagined cash falling from the skies. Police arrived and eventually found the gun and returned all the money. The bank that had been robbed was my own local branch. I went in later that day to see if there was any reward but there wasn't. We changed banks after that," Hilgart said.

Advanced rescue training involves extensive knowledge and methods of search in a variety of scenarios, factoring in wind movement, water currents, and teaching the dog scent discrimination.

"When out on a search, people can contaminate an area without even knowing it. I can rub a sterile wipe on a steering wheel or piece of clothing and get enough of a scent to track. A dog can smell down to two or three parts per million. It's really amazing. Whenever a person walks, they shed dead skin cells, and that will end up in their tracks for a dog to follow."

As far as search and rescue cases go, Jake has yet to be called into action, but he is mission-ready for work with the Camp Sherman Hasty Team.

"Tracking is a game to him. He loves it," Hilgart said. "He has a special tracking harness and leash, padded up front for protection. He'll drag me through the woods when he's locked in on a scent. He's going all out. It's hard to hold him back. We do a lot of practice sessions, playing hide and seek, to maintain his skills until the emergency call comes in."

And until then, Jake also has his gang of miniature horse and donkeys to occupy his time.

Hilgart encourages anyone interested in training a dog like Jake to research the subject and talk to knowledgeable trainers and professionals before undertaking such a task.

"It may seem exciting and glamorous, but it's a lot of work and money. Start them young. Expose them to lots of different environments. Consistency is the key. Any dog, any breed can be a good dog if you train them right."