The Worcester Search and Scent Dogs, with the help of the Severn Valley Railway, are holding a number of sessions along the heritage line to train pet dogs to find specific scents.

The aim is that the dogs will be able to find missing people.

WSSD approached the popular heritage railway, which runs between Kidderminster and Bridgnorth, due to the challenges found at a heritage railway.

More details about the training sessions can be found at wssd.co.uk.

Dogs travel free on regular services at the Severn Valley Railway. For more information and tickets, go to svr.co.uk.

“The purpose of training could be to build a dog’s knowledge of a particular scent, such as gun oil,” explained instructor Gail Voyle. “In another activity, we get them to specifically track down a missing person, using the scent of an item of clothing, in an exercise that’s called man trailing.

“Although our training sessions are strictly for fun, if a dog and handler show particular aptitude, they can progress to further training with professional search and rescue organisations, and ultimately go on to do potentially life-saving work.”

“It’s a unique location,” said fellow instructor Sandra Raw, “because of the smells of the engine oil, the steam, the noises, all of which can have a distracting effect on a dog, so the more we expose them to this, the better they’ll be able to be at tracking what we want them to track. Of course, it’s also great to be here because it’s so picturesque!”

“We were really keen to get involved with hosting the training sessions,” said Richard Morris, the SVR’s health and safety manager. “We pride ourselves on being a dog-friendly place to visit at all times, but it’s particularly rewarding to work with another organisation from our community, and when you see what these dogs are able to do, it really is very impressive.”

“It’s about creating a stronger relationship between the two,” explained Gail. “When a dog takes part in scent and search or man trailing, it’s hugely enjoyable for them. They get loads of endorphins flowing through their bodies, which make them feel really good. It’s very tiring, not only because they’re running around quite a bit, but also because they’re sniffing up to six times a second.”

“It’s so rewarding for the handlers to see their dogs working and succeeding. It really helps to calm dogs down, and is especially beneficial when there are behavioural problems, or an owner has taken on a new rescue dog.”