The search and rescue dogs and their owners took part in a mock rescue situation in the hills near Henley yesterday morning, searching for two "missing people" who needed saving.
The handlers, who also do not know where the missing people are, work out a search plan for the area before the dogs head out to find the people.
The dogs were then rewarded with a toy for their efforts.
Novice search dog handler Richard Warrington said the team trained for about 20 hours every week, on a volunteer basis.
There was one operational dog in the Dunedin area, another operational dog was currently injured, and two dogs were in training, he said.
The operational dog and handler were called out about once a month on average, he said.
They were keen for fit and healthy members of the public to give them a hand during future training sessions.
"Our dogs need different people to find, otherwise they get used to finding the same person all the time," he said.
