HRD Specialized K-9 Training Est. 2002

03/16/2025

Check out the information for our April Webinar Series on Scavenging! Registration is $50 and includes access to the live classes on April 14 and 17 at 7:00 PM Central Time, handouts, and a link to the recorded sessions to review. This webinar is taught by anthropologist//archaeologist Paul S. Martin, RPA, who has presented research on scavenging at multiple meetings of the American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Delve into the scavenger guild and the impact they have not only on the decomposition process, but also on the search for human remains. Participants will learn about the scavenger guild members, the distribution of the guild members, and their individual evidentiary impact. This webinar will also l...

03/06/2025

Only a few days left before the start of our second webinar of the year.

Let Paul Martin share with you the knowledge that he and other anthropologists use to identify bones as human or non-human. Participants will learn how anthropologist identify markers for s*x, ancestry, age, and disease. Field photography will also be covered regarding scale and differing views for....

02/06/2025

Check out the program that is being presented at the Society for American Archaeology by Martin Archaeology Consulting on the usage of cadaver dogs to locate human burials within archaeological context!

Send a message to learn more

10/08/2024

We have some last minute cancelations for the class in Colorado if you are interested please let me know.

10/06/2024

Please people DO NOT SELF DEPLOY! If you do deploy make sure you are deploying as part of the system that is in place. I know you want to help, but be honest with yourself about your skills and the skills of your dog. This is not normal wilderness searching! The teams that are deployed are self sustaining and are not needing to consume local resources.

If you want to do something make a donation to one of the great organizations that is on the ground. Or better yet if you feel the need to go and do something reach out to the World Kitchen or one of the organizations providing service ministry to the area and volunteer there. Handlers need to realize it is not all about their dog, but about the service to others they can provide...

Just know these mountains and rivers up there can kill you in the best of times! I say that as someone that lived there for 5 years and actually worked in the mountains with what could be carried on my back for 2.5 years.

If you feel triggered or called out by this post then maybe look in the mirror, and do some soul searching to determine is it really about helping others or is it about your own ego.

06/18/2024

As handlers our dogs have 1 shot, that is it!

You either have a dog that answers the call or you don't.

If there is an injury then it needs to be identified and taken care of, but the "oh my dog is having an off day" just fly...

What happens to the officer that pops the door when they need K9 assistance and the dog decides, "nah, not today...I want an off day."

05/26/2024

Six years ago Ronnie Martin and I unpacked the Sensors & Software Inc. GPR for the first time. In the meantime it has been used for projects and classes across the country! Martin Archaeology Consulting HRD Specialized K-9 Training Est. 2002

05/09/2024

For lunch on the 21st come join me at the online Global GPR Conference as I present:

12:05PM C3n54ql- How to Apply a Biosensor to Focus a Ground-Penetrating Radar Survey and Enhance Analysis when Surveying for Unknown or Unmarked Human Burials

Paul S. Martin, Archeologist, Martin Archaeology Consulting

Archaeology by its nature is a multidisciplinary discipline. Archaeologists often have borrowed techniques, practices, and instruments developed for other disciplines such as chemistry, climatology, geology, and hydrology. Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) was initially developed to study the thickness of glacier ice, but through time and refinement found a home as a trusted tool in the survey process to determine the location of unmarked human burials. Since the late 1960s the military and law enforcement communities have been utilizing the powerful biosensor of the canine olfaction system to locate human remains following modern decomposition events. This paper will explore how to utilize this powerful biosensor to survey for historic and precontact human burials to reduce the area required to survey for the GPR, and how to utilize RTK-GPS collected during the AHRDD survey to enhance the analysis of the results.

You can register for free here: https://hubs.ly/Q02w3sKM0

04/10/2024

Due to multiple request we will be bringing a class to New York September 11 - 15, 2024. This class will focus strictly on the training and planning/management for cold case searches. There will only be 10 working positions for this seminar, instructed by canine handler and archaeologist Paul Martin. To learn more or register for the class please visit:

There are differences in fresh decomposition odor versus the odor from skeletonized remains. Train for the difference, and plan for the differences in search management.

03/25/2024

So for the first time in 25 years I played in a concert. Some may or may not know this but music is how I originally attended school. I took dance as a child for about a decade as the only boy in the class, and I was involved in theater and played soccer for the school. But it was in Music and then Dogs and then Archaeology I kind of really found my place in this world.

Music, dance, theater all have something in common with dog training as well. That is timing. Just as we were playing the concert the other night everyone would have known if someone had played where there was a rest or an intentional break in the music because they miscounted... Well if you are slow in marking the dogs behavior, what are you actually marking and paying for?

Additionally, if I handed you my clarinet and I asked you to play my part in the concert, if you had never played clarinet or saxophone most wouldn't know where to begin with the instrument. But, what if you couldn't even read music? Sometimes in working with people it seems they want their dog to play the concerto but they haven't taught the dog how to read the music yet. Say what?

Just like the music is the road map so to speak for a musician on what notes to play and when to play them, all it is really doing is defining the expectations and boundaries. Too often handlers have not clearly taught their dog to understand odor, or how to do a trained final response.

Take the time to practice and solidify those fundamentals, just as I did as a musician 30 something years ago. I work fundamentals with my K9 every time I go out.

03/15/2024

Here are the dates and information about the October 9 to 13, 2024 class in Grand Junction, CO hosted by Melissa Kindt and Janie Merickel. This class is going to be limited to only 8 working dog spots!

Five day class focused on the training for the detection of human burials within the archaeological context.

02/27/2024

Tomorrow night we kick off our 2024 Webinars with the Introduction to Bone Identification! This webinar will be two parts and will be recorded for those that can not attend. Make sure you register today so you don't miss out!

https://www.hrdspecializedk9.com/events-1/introduction-to-basic-bone-identification-2024-02-28-19-00