Canine Conversations

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla is back with Katie Brennan for part two about sourcing shelter dogs for work. Links Mentioned in the Episode: Where to find Katie: Website | Instagram | Facebook | Recruitment You can support the K9 Conservationists Podcast by joining our Patreon at patreon.com/k9conservationists. K9 Conservationists Website | Merch | Support Our Work | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Katie Brennan from Search Dog Foundation about sourcing shelter dogs for work.  How do shelters know to reach out? ie, what do they see in the dog? Energy level Age Breed: lab, golden, aussie, border collie, mal/dutchie, gsd, + mixes Reaction to strange people and dogs What do they do with toys? Cleared by veterinarian team How do you screen dogs? 6-10 foot pass between candidate dog and neutral dog or parallel walk. Remove dog from crate/kennel/car. Retrieves and possession. Field hunt Noise response/startle test. Rubble pile Links Mentioned in the Episode: None Where to find Katie: Website | Instagram | Facebook You can support the K9 Conservationists Podcast by joining our Patreon at patreon.com/k9conservationists. K9 Conservationists Website | Merch | Support Our Work | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla is back with our patron Meg Barnes to answer some of her questions! Science Highlight: None Links Mentioned in the Episode: Where to find Meg: Instagram | Facebook You can support the K9 Conservationists Podcast by joining our Patreon at patreon.com/k9conservationists. K9 Conservationists Website | Merch | Support Our Work | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Robin Greubel from K9Sensus about certifying detection dogs. Science Highlight: None A certification is a snapshot of the skills that have proven to be predictors of success in the field Some skill sets to consider during testing are refocusing after distraction, independent dogs (handler not assisting in finding the hides), and successful clears There are different kinds of detection dogs (conservation, search and rescue, cadaver, etc.), so one type of certification will not necessarily fit all others, so it would be difficult to create one kind of certification for ALL detection dogs Being certified does not make you operational, being certified is like getting your learners permit 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 | I

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Miranda Turenne from Pacific Assistance Dogs Society about Assistance Dogs. Science Highlight: Canine Olfaction: Scent, Sign, and Situation How do you prep dogs for new/green handlers? Selection of the dogs is important Dogs that are highly biddable and highly task oriented Building foundation skills to fluency Training system created with the transfer to the client in mind Clean cues, proofing, generalization How do you prep handlers for dogs? Can any handler (any dog) do this transition? Service dogs are not always the best choice, so the client must be prepared for a lifestyle change with a lot of work Proper matching helps with preparation Educational hours to ensure client is prepared with how to care for the dog In person hand off course to learn the tasks and behaviors as well as care Continuing education What causes hiccups? Training Incompatibility Reinforcement history Lack of training mechanics in clients Do y

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Dr. Charles van Rees, our conservation correspondent, about getting research published. Science Highlight: None How is getting published in academia the same, or different from other publications? There are two major misconceptions: 1) that it’s the same as other kinds of publishing, 2) that is different than other kinds of publishing (in being somehow infallible) What’s next? How do you find partners to co-author a paper? How do you assemble your Avengers team? How do you target a journal? How do you know who’s a good fit for your paper? Do you write to fit their style? How long should it be? Like do you know ahead of time, or is it just ruthlessly edited later? How do you submit? Can you just submit cold? Can you do this without a master’s or will you just get rejected immediately? How do you deal with peer review? What happens after acceptance? What’s normal for self-promotion and sharing? Links Mentioned in the Episode: Dogs, Personality, and

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Alisa Healy from Dog Forward Training about wildlife chasing. Science Highlight: Training methodology for canine scent detection of a critically endangered lagomorph: a conservation case study Links Mentioned in the Episode: Episode with Esther Mathews Where to find Alisa: 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 | TikTok

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Dr. Charles van Rees, our Conservation Correspondent, about invasive species. Science Highlight: None What makes a species invasive? Generalists Fast-reproducing Behavioral flexibility Lack predators/pressures Harmful to the ecosystem in general Why do they matter? Conservation implications Economic losses (statistics) How do they work? Arrival Propagules Establishment Secondary spread How do people deal with them? EDRR & related surveying Tier system from PRISM Tier 1 – Early Detection/Prevention – Highest level of survey efforts. Should conduct delineation surveys and assign to appropriate Tier if detected. (a) inside buffer but not in PRISM, (b) outside PRISM and buffer, but close (eastern North America), (c) Far outside PRISM and buffer (not in east NA) but introduction pathway exists. Tier 2 – Eradication – Highest level of response efforts. High impact species with low enough abundance to make era

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Sarah Owings about Stimulus Control. Science Highlight: "Reactivity to Stimuli” Is a Temperamental Factor Contributing to Canine Aggression What is stimulus control? Understanding that the environment has an influence on behavior Ex: if you’re really tired, the presence of the bed (stimulus), it’s going to be reinforcing to go lay down on it.Therefore the bed is the stimulus controlling the behavior to lay down, and the reinforcement is feeling good from laying down. It is happening all the time, every day Stimulus control is more than impulse control Fluency goes hand in hand with stimulus control as well. A behavior is not fluent if its not under stimulus control Clear rules, routine, and consistency can help with stimulus control as well Cue THEN move Similar to click then treat. Cue then present a toy, cue then throw, etc. A trick to help put a behavior on stimulus control Cue first, then move your body or present the item Links M

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla talks candidly about some mid-season musings.  Links Mentioned in the Episode: None You can support the K9 Conservationists Podcast by joining our Patreon at patreon.com/k9conservationists. K9 Conservationists Website | Merch | Support Our Work | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok

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 on-path, perimeter training Tools: calmness around wildlife, so the dog can still think and perform alternative behavior (stand and watch). The deal is you can stand/watch but not chase. All parts of predatory sequence are inherently reinforcing, so we can allow them to eye/stalk without chase/bite Alternative reinforcement, outlet through predation games Interrupter (recall) What are the first signs of predation? Observing - there is no trigger yet, but they are looking for one. This is the time to get involved. Stalking - they are focused on the prey, tense and arrow shaped bod

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Dr. Jessica Heckman from Dog Zombie about Breeding Functional Dogs. Science Highlight: Advancing Genetic Selection and Behavioral Genomics of Working Dogs Through Collaborative Science What is functional breeding? The population is no more at risk of X disease than the dog population as a whole. Also prioritizing behavioral wellness over looks or closed stud books. No elevated risk of separation anxiety, etc. What are common pitfalls breeding programs can run into? Not bringing in dogs from outside of the population You aren’t going to get to the goal and sit there - you have to keep working at it while you have it “It's not about the first generation, it’s about the population and the direction you are moving the population towards” - Dr. Jessica Heckman What tests are mission critical? It depends on the breed/mix The very first step would go to the breed club and see what tests they recommends Then start talking to other breeders in

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 is the same; health checks, etc. Training foundations are similar Educating the public is the same for both What things are different? Quick controlled rewards in the airport vs toy rewards for conservation Dogs on leash at all times in the airport, can be off leash for conservation Taught to speak a lot to airport detection dogs, but not for conservation Overall search styles are different Small differences in training elements All airport dogs are trained the same, conservation dogs trained individually Different hours of work, different work environment M

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Gregory Herin from Getxent to discuss Getxent tubes.  Science Highlight: Noninvasive Identification of Herpetofauna: Pairing Conservation Dogs and Genetic Analysis  Links Mentioned in the Episode:  University of Otago Graduate Thesis  Getxent Product Sheet Where to find Getxent: Website | Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn | Twitter  You can support the K9 Conservationists Podcast by joining our Patreon at patreon.com/k9conservationists.

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Meg Parker from the Center for Large Landscape Conservation to discuss thinking bigger in the world of conservation detection dogs.  Science Highlight: Factors That May Affect the Success of Scent Detection Dogs: Exploring Nonconventional Models of Preparation and Deployment  What does it mean to be “thinking bigger” in the field of conservation detection?  Work with academics more; ask more questions  Get more precise and better sampling  Look into better study designs  Continue expanding the field  Improve relationships with study designers, scientists, veterinarians, etc.  Improve welfare and training  Think beyond what is easiest and the way things have always been done  Where are you in the world and what are the issues there?  What can you do to help?  Think with a direction in mind and not just always going in and counting.  Where to find Meg Parker: Website&nbs

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla hosts multiple guests as they answer one of the top questions conservation dog handlers get: how did you select your conservation detection dog? You can find our guests online here: Jo Lock:     Website | Instagram | Facebook Lindsay Ware:    Website | Instagram | Facebook Conservation Dog Collective:  Website | Instagram | Facebook Rachel Hamre:   Instagram Arden Blumenthal   Website | Instagram Abby Smith     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 | TikTok

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla hosts multiple guests as they answer one of the top questions conservation dog handlers get: how do you get into the world of conservation detection? Jo Lock's reply begins at 4:27 Lindsay Ware's reply begins at 10:48 Laura Holder starts at 18:19 Rachel Hamre's reply begins at 26:55 Arden Blumenthal starts at 29:55 You can find our guests online here: Jo Lock:     Website | Instagram | Facebook Lindsay Ware:    Website | Instagram | Facebook Conservation Dog Collective:  Website | Instagram | Facebook Rachel Hamre:   Instagram Arden Blumenthal   Website | 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 | TikTok

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 hopes for the team with Action for Cheetahs and what we're hoping to do better next time we're hired as outside consultants for a scat dog program.  You can support the K9 Conservationists Podcast by joining our Patreon at patreon.com/k9conservationists. K9 Conservationists Website | Merch | Support Our Work | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla interviews co-founder Heather. They discuss how Heather got into the world of conservation detection dogs, her experience before K9 Conservationists, and how she met Kayla.  Science Highlight: Using Scent Detection Dogs in Conservation Settings: A Review of Scientific Literature Regarding Their Selection We Discuss: Heather's dad, who showed bearded collies when she was a kid Heather's history as a zoology major in college, then working in zoos and wolf sanctuaries How diving way into animal behavior and dog training landed Heather a job with conservation dogs K9 Ellie's temperament and how that challenged Heather to grow How Heather made money and survived financially through unpaid internships How Heather selected Ellie for work - and what she'll do differently next time The pros and cons of working with a dog who's more food-driven than toy-driven What Heather learned in a K9 Nosework class that helped (and didn't help) as a working dog hand

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla interviews co-founder Rachel Hamre. They discuss how Rachel first got into dog training, her many jobs as a field tech, how she and Kayla met, Rachel’s season handling Barley, and her journey with her new dog Suki. Science Highlight: Why Sniff Fast? The Relationship Between Sniff Frequency, Odor Discrimination, and Receptor Neuron Activation in the Rat (https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/jn.90981.2008)  Links Mentioned in the Episode:  You can support the K9 Conservationists Podcast by joining our Patreon at patreon.com/k9conservationists. K9 Conservationists Website | Merch | Support Our Work | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok