Dogs are playing an increasingly important part in search and rescue missions across New Zealand.
Canterbury handlers have been honing their skills as they prepare for a busy summer season ahead.
In hot and blustery conditions and beneath a noisy helicopter, it's a race against time for the dogs.
"When teams are out looking for the lost, missing and injured, it's really important for us to have teams as comfortable as possible and ready to deploy as quickly as possible," LandSAR NZ volunteer dog handler Murray Bowden said.
Today there's a little more wriggle room as LandSAR dog handlers train up ahead of the busiest time of the year.
"We could be doing it in the dark, in the rain and conditions could be really challenging," Bowden said.
"When we are deployed by a helicopter we need them to be ready to go to work. The last thing we need is for them to be a bit stressed."
The first test is a low sweep of the chopper, getting dogs familiar with the noise and the wind and eventually the flight.
"The hardest part of any flight is when the helicopter comes into translation," Bowden said.
"The machine shakes and the dog feels that, so getting them used to those shakes and shimmies."
It's vital as the last four jobs have all included helicopters and search dogs are fast becoming essential members of the team.
"The dog teams are there to help eliminate an area, to help include an area and help find clues," Bowden said.
There are 17 operational search dogs scattered from Whangarei to the Catilins - together they've responded to 115 callouts so far this year. On average a dog team is deployed every three days.
Today's training is as much for the animals as it is for the pilot.
"It's really important for the dogs to get conditioned to the aircraft as well as for the handlers to see how they react to the situation," Christchurch helicopter pilot Tim Murdoch said.
"The pilot needs to know how the dog is going to react."
So that they are prepared when the lost, missing or injured need them most.
