K9 Conservationists

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Shelby Homer about search and rescue needs in indigenous communities.  Science Highlight: Canine (Canis familiaris) scent detection of invasive brown bullhead catfish (Ameriurus nebulosus) in lake water samples Links Mentioned in the Episode:  None Where to find Shelby: 4Corners Website | 4Corners Facebook     You can support the K9 Conserv...

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Jens Frank from the Scandinavian Working Dog Institute about teaching dogs multiple alerts to discriminate between targets.  Science Highlight: Relationships between personality of human–dog dyads and performances in working tasks  Links Mentioned in the Episode:  None Where to find Jens: University Website | SWDI Website | SWDI Instagram |...

In this episode, we discuss a day in the life of a conservation detection dog handler on a variety of projects that Kayla has worked on.

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Elizabeth Hiroyasu, Hillary Young, and Grace Lewin about their Dangermond Preserve work.  Science Highlight: None this week  Links Mentioned in the Episode:  None Where to find Hillary: Young Lab Where to find Elizabeth: Website   You can support the K9 Conservationists Podcast by joining our Patreon at patreon.com/k9conservationists. K9 Co...

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Nick Brandehoff about snake bites. Science Highlight: None this week  Links Mentioned in the Episode:  Denver Venom Conference Where to find Nick: Website | Snake Bite Support Group | Vet Snake Bite Support Group You can support the K9 Conservationists Podcast by joining our Patreon at patreon.com/k9conservationists. K9 Conservationists Web...

For this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Ken Ramirez about snake avoidance Science Highlight: Field quantifications of probability of detection and search patterns to form protocols for the use of detector dogs for eradication assessments Links Mentioned in the Episode:  None Where to find Ken: Website | Instagram | Course You can support the K9 Conservationists Podcast by joinin...

For this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Dr. Janice Baker from the Veterinary Tactical Group about heat events and working dogs.    Science Highlight: Rethinking Heat Injury in the SOF Multipurpose Canine: A Critical Review   Links Mentioned in the Episode:  None   Where to find Janice:   Website | Facebook | Instagram    You can support the K9 Conservationists Podcast by joining...

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Pine Irwin about field safety prep. Science Highlight: None this week  Classes to Consider: Wilderness First Responder, WFR Trap Release Workshop Canine CPR Before You Go: Check weather Check terrain for water access, gullies, cliffs, other hazards Learn about wildlife - snakes, predators, big herbivores, cattle, loose dogs. What are the ri...

For this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Dr. Stotra Chakrabarti about safari science and his experience working in the field.  Science Highlight: Faecal sampling using detection dogs to study reproduction and health in North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) Links Mentioned in the Episode:  None  Where you can find Dr. Stotra: Website | Twitter You can support the K9 Co...

For this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Cesar Estien about urban ecology.  Science Highlight: None this week  Links Mentioned in the Episode:  None  Where to find Cesar: Website | Twitter 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

For this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla wraps up our discrimination series with a Q&A and provides some updates. Science Highlight: None this week  Questions asked: From Megan: How to “mix” discriminants/control things into your one sample without containing it? Any good ideas for avoiding over discrimination/specification with limited samples? Should we swab the storage rooms? Any idea...

For this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Rayanne Craven about medical alert service dogs. Science Highlight: None this week  Links Mentioned in the Episode:  None  Where you can find Rayanne: Website   You can support the K9 Conservationists Podcast by joining our Patreon at patreon.com/k9conservationists. K9 Conservationists Website | Merch | Support Our Work | Facebook | Instag...

For this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Dr. Leslie Eide from The Total Canine about canine sports medicine.  Science Highlight: None this week  Links Mentioned in the Episode:  None  Where you can find Leslie:  Website | Facebook | Instagram   You can support the K9 Conservationists Podcast by joining our Patreon at patreon.com/k9conservationists. K9 Conservationists Website | M...

For this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Lily Strassberg about organizing training based on target behavior.  Science Highlight: A Review of the Types of Training Aids Used for Canine Detection Training Questions discussed: Why does it matter to think about target behavior when training? Can you give a few examples of training scenarios that you may use based on their target? How...

For this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Jamie Coon and Nathan Alexander about a paper they published about safety and inclusion for queer ecologists.  Science Highlight: None this week What unique barriers do LGBTQ+ folks face when it comes to ecology, and fieldwork in particular? Strain of identity disclosure Negative fieldwork experiences and career trajectories Cis/heteronorm...

For our sixth episode of our odor discrimination series, Kayla talks with Paul Bunker from Chiron K9 about generalization and discrimination.   Science Highlight: None this week Links Mentioned in the Episode:  None Where you can find Paul: Website | Instagram   You can support the K9 Conservationists Podcast by joining our Patreon at patreon.com/k9conservationists. K9 Conservationists Website | M...

For our fifth episode of our odor discrimination series, Kayla talks about the odor discrimination work K9 Conservationists did with Action for Cheetahs in Kenya. Science Highlight: None this week 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 | Fa...

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...

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 Conserva...

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? The dog’s formal response to let the handler kno...

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: Dr. Gadbois work in Nova Scotia What is signal detection theory? What’s the potential problem with proportion or percentage correct data as performa...

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Lauren DeGreef about the upcoming Canine Olfaction and Detection Science Conference.  Science Highlight: None this week! Where to find Lauren: Facebook | LinkedIn Links Mentioned in the Episode:  Conference Registration   You can support the K9 Conservationists Podcast by joining our Patreon at patreon.com/k9conservationists. K9 Conservatio...

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Rachel Curtis-Robles and Devin Christopher about dogs detecting insects carrying diseases.  Science Highlight: Dogs can sense weak thermal radiation Where to find Rachel: Website    Where to find Devin: Linked in  Links Mentioned in the Episode:  None You can support the K9 Conservationists Podcast by joining our Patreon at patreon.com/k9co...

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Jay Gurden about imposter syndrome!  Science Highlight: You Are Not My Handler! Impact of Changing Handlers on Dogs' Behaviours and Detection Performance Why is imposter syndrome so common in the dog world?  We care about what we do Extra pressure Young industry Success is related to our dog’s behavior No path to success like law school...

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Kristine Hoffman and Julia Sirois from St Lawrence University about their work with wood turtles, building on our conversation with Scott Buchanan. Science Highlight: Training with varying odor concentrations: implications for odor detection thresholds in canines Links Mentioned in the Episode:  None Where to find Kristine: Website Where to...