Odor Discrimination Part 4: Moss Discrimination with Caroline Finlay

For our fourth episode of our odor discrimination series, Kayla speaks with Caroline Finlay from Conservation Detection Dogs Northern Ireland about moss discrimination. Science Highlight: Relative abundance of endangered San Joaquin kit foxes (Vulpes macrotis mutica) based on scat-detection dog surveys Links Mentioned in the Episode:  Canine detection of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in laboratory and field settings Where to find …

Odor Discrimination Part 3: Mud Snails with Conservation Dogs Collective and Auburn University

For our third episode of our odor discrimination series, Kayla speaks with Laura, Morgan, and Jo from Conservation Dogs Collective and Emily from Auburn University about a fascinating project undertaken to detect New Zealand Mud Snails.  Science Highlight: None this week!  Links Mentioned in the Episode:  Discrimination learning with and without “errors” Errorless learning  Where to find Conservation Dogs Collective: Website …

Odor Discrimination Part 2: Training an “All Clear” for Detection Dogs with Paul Bunker

In the second episode of the odor discrimination mini series, we revisit an older episode of K9 Conservationists where Kayla speaks with Paul Bunker of Chiron K9 about all clear procedures. Science Highlight: ⁠An assessment of the effects of habitat structure on the scat finding performance of a wildlife detection dog⁠ What is an all-clear response? What is a go-no-go response? What’s …

Odor Discrimination Part 1: Signal Detection Theory with Simon Gadbois

In the first episode of the odor discrimination mini series, we revisit an older episode of K9 Conservationists where Kayla Fratt speaks with Dr. Simon Gadbois to talk about signal detection theory and his conservation work. Discussed in this Podcast: Links Mentioned in the Episode: Signal Detection Theory Where to find Dr. Gadbois: Website | Lab Facebook Page | Lab Facebook Group You can support …

Data Dogs Can’t Detect with Toni Proescholdt

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks to Toni Proescholdt from Utah State about the data that dogs can’t detect. Science Highlight: Can volunteers train their pet dogs to detect a novel odor in a controlled environment in under 12 weeks? Links Mentioned in the Episode: You can support the K9 Conservationists Podcast by joining our Patreon at patreon.com/k9conservationists. K9 Conservationists …

Certifications with Robin Greubel

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Robin Greubel from K9Sensus about certifying detection dogs. Science Highlight: None Links Mentioned in the Episode: Where to find Robin: Website | Facebook | Instagram  You can support the K9 Conservationists Podcast by joining our Patreon at patreon.com/k9conservationists. K9 Conservationists Website | Merch | Support Our Work | Facebook | Instagram …

Predation Substitute Training with Simone Mueller

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Simone Mueller about Predation Substitute Training. Science Highlight: Performance of Pugs, German Shepherds, and Greyhounds (Canis lupus familiaris) on an odor-discrimination task What is predation substitute training? A force free protocol to stop predatory chasing. What are the steps? Management/prevention: stay in contact with the dog while out, keep the dog …

Airports to Moors: Invasive Species Mitigation with Grant Blackley

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Grant Blackley from Orkney Native Wildlife Project about transitioning from airport screening detection dogs to working with conservation detection dogs. Science Highlight: Olfaction-based Detection Distance: A Quantitative Analysis of How Far Away Dogs Recognize Tortoise Odor and Follow It to Source What is similar between airport detection and conservation detection? Dog care …

Making a Detection Dog Team: Assessing Volunteer Teams in Various Working Conditions

Thank you to Madison, who volunteered to write this article. As the world of conservation detection dogs grows, finding or creating more dog and handler teams becomes necessary. Let’s face it, working dogs are expensive! This can cause a barrier for smaller conservation projects and organizations that would benefit from having some conservation dog teams at their side. This is …

Growing as Consultants for Scat Dog Teams: A Co-Founder Conversation

In this episode, we sit down with Heather Nootbaar and Rachel Hamre, cofounders of K9 Conservationists. We dive into the work we did in Kenya, especially what Heather and Rachel worked on after Kayla went home. We also discuss what we found surprising, inspiring, challenging, and fun about working with Action for Cheetahs in Kenya. We talk about our future …