The JHSP avi rescue dogs continually go through extensive training and testing.  A small- to medium- sized pure bred dog is best.  Social skills and obedience skills are a must.  Methods of transporting rescue dogs vary, depending on the location, terrain, distance, and potential hazards:  they must be able to be carried on the shoulders of any ski patroller; they must be comfortable being transported in a rescue toboggan; they must be able to board and unload from a ski lift with a patroller; and they must be manageable around helicopters.  Today's training included loading into and out of a Bell 407 ship under full power, and then staging next to the skid of the aircraft as it lifted off.  Obviously, once at the sccene of an avalanche is when the real work begins.  Having a trained avalanche rescue dog on the scene is certainly one's best chance of quickly finding a buried victim.