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Mission
Core Values
Our core values are collaboration, Humane Hierarchy-based training, and enthusiasm for sharing knowledge about the conservation detection dog methodology.
We pride ourselves on creative solutions for challenging projects, top-notch dog welfare, and safety in the field.
Our conservation detection dog teams travel the world finding the samples you need.
We specialize in the inter-mountain west of the USA and Latin America. Hablamos español!
Carcasses
Dogs excel at locating bird and bat carcasses around wind energy facilities, even in dense vegetation or rugged terrain. Their ability to detect small or scavenged remains makes them far more effective than human searchers alone, helping researchers gather accurate fatality data for wildlife impact assessments.
Scat and Animal Sign
Dogs are incredibly useful for finding scat and other animal sign across challenging landscapes, enabling researchers to collect genetic, dietary, hormonal, and pathogen data without ever needing to capture or disturb the animal. This non-invasive method is ideal for population monitoring, food web studies, and ecological health assessments.
Insects, Mussels, and More
Our team has experience screening all types of watercraft for invasive mussels with speed and accuracy. Dogs can also locate rare, remnant, or pioneer populations of hard-to-find invertebrates and plants—supporting rapid response efforts.
What We Do
We train dogs to sniff out your data -- or train you to work with your own dog. From carcasses on wind farms to invasive mussels on boats to the scat of jaguars in the Guatemalan jungle, our teams are up to the challenge. We specialize in the Great Plains, Rocky Mountains, and Latin America.
We offer a variety of creative services to meet your needs and budget.
Our dog training methods are rooted in the Humane Hierarchy of dog training. Wherever possible, our dogs go through double-blind odor recognition trials using relevant distractor odors prior to deployment.
Learn more about how conservation detection dogs work on our blog.
Why Dogs?
Let's be honest: there are other species whose olfactory capabilities rival dogs'. But dogs have been bred for thousands of years to collaborate closely with humans. The dogs we work with are insatiably obsessed with toys, making every day in the field feel like another day at the park for them.
Our dogs are highly motivated bio-sensors that are readily "calibrated" to new target odors. They're all-terrain, all-weather "vehicles" that are more enthusiastic about their work than the world's best intern.
Best of all, they're charismatic conservation ambassadors who happily hold down the couch in our homes.
Why We Do It
Our dogs bring boundless enthusiasm (and charisma) to the dirty side of data collection. Their joy (and accuracy) for finding hard-to-find data keeps us coming back for more.
Our founder dog, Barley, is a rescue. We're passionate about giving high-energy dogs the best life possible through work while providing top-notch ecological detection services to our partners and clients.
These Dogs Love Their Jobs — And You Will Too
- Our dogs are able to search for multiple targets at once and collect data non-invasively.
- Our dogs are mobile and hardy, even in challenging field conditions.
- Our dogs are highly trained and able to work on or off leash for the safety of wildlife and the public.
- Our field biologist team is woman-led, young, enthusiastic, and dedicated.
- We train our dogs using the Humane Hierarchy framework of dog training. We are at the forefront of working animal welfare.
- Our teams complete double-blind odor recognition tests prior to fieldwork, whenever possible.
- Donors, school groups, and other education groups love hearing about and meeting our ambassador conservation detection dog.
