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The DVSD team searches boundaries of water from either the bankside or on the water in a boat looking for human scent particles emanating from the water.

They do not discriminate scent e.g. they do not look for specific people but will look for anyone that is in the water.

Once the dog finds the location where the scent reaches the surface, they will ‘indicate‘, usually with a bark.

On finding the scent of the missing person the handler rewards the dog with their favourite toy. This ‘game’ through rigorous training, drives the dog to find the missing person.

The difficult part of water search is the job of the dog's handler, directing the boat based on the dog’s reactions and behaviour. Just because a dog signals the presence of the scent of human remains, does not mean the body lies directly beneath where the dog is indicating. Unlike on land, a body may move up, down and diagonally in the water. Scent may be moved around by the water, particularly if it is flowing or tidal. And, to further confound things, scent on reaching the surface may then be blown around by the wind. The dog handler must therefore take all of these factors into account when relaying information of the results of the dog search on to divers.

The RNLI, Fire & Rescue Service, HART (Hazard Area Response Team), Lowland, Mountain and Urban Rescue teams all have the same remit - to save savable life - in short, to rescue. A person submerged in water for over 90 minutes, is no longer considered a savable life, so beyond this time frame rescue efforts are discontinued and the emphasis shifts to body recovery. With that said, none of the aforementioned services undertake the role of locating a deceased person as standard (emergency) procedure. The recovery effort is handed over to, and coordinated by, the Police, who in turn engage the services of specialist private recovery teams.