Someday, one of those dogs may well save your life.
During the weekend, about 25 LandSAR search dogs and their handlers were based in Glenorchy for the first time, completing training, both for dogs which were already operational in wildnerness tracking, air scenting or avalanche and those in training to become operational.
Organiser Vladka Kennett said volunteers travelled from all over the South Island for the weekend.
Another training weekend was held simultaneously in the North Island.
The weekend would not have been possible without the support of the Glenorchy community, who gave access to training areas, discount food and accommodation and provided a helicopter.
Ms Kennett said having the training camp in Glenorchy provided more challenging terrain for training "urban" dogs.
LandSAR trainer Mark Allen said the weekend was like "bomb-proofing" the dogs.
"The dog will always take a short cut to get there [to a hidden subject]. This is bomb-proofing."
During the training the dogs were separated into two groups - air scenting and avalanche search dogs and wilderness tracking dogs.
The aim was to ensure the dogs were working correctly, identifying "missing objects" and alerting their handlers to their find.
Mako, a 3-year-old black Labrador, from Nelson, is likely to be assessed to become an operational air scenting dog later this year.
She had located the first two subjects, hidden behind a rock beside a river, in less than 10 minutes on Friday and had her second subject about 10 minutes later.
Kerri Gray, of Mosgiel, had her 15-week-old Labrador-cross Echo at the training camp.
It was the first time at a camp for both of them.
Ms Gray said she became involved in LandSAR because she needed "something else to do" in her spare time.
"It's something that's worthwhile, it's not a waste of time," she said.
Rachel MacDougall, of Alexandra, hoped her 2-year-old collie, Jasper, would become operational later this year as an air scenting dog.
"I met a guy that had trained a search dog, so I said I'd really like to get into that. I just thought that would be so cool. I would love to help people and work with animals at the same time.
"We got the puppy and got involved in Wakatipu SAR.
I guess it's [preferable] that people are good at SAR before they get a dog.
"Now, I'm with the Central Otago SAR group and Jasper will, hopefully, be operational in September."
Ms Kennett said one of the biggest misconceptions about the LandSAR search dogs was that it was "fun".
The reality was hours of training and working with the dogs - for some that amounted to about 20 hours a week.
The benefit, however, was the satisfaction in locating someone in trouble, or bringing closure to family who had lost a loved one.
