Canine Conversations

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/heteronormativity Links Mentioned in the Episode:  Best practices for LGBTQ+ inclusion during ecological fieldwork  American Ornithological Society  Where you can find Nathan: Twitter Where you can find Jamie: Twitter | ResearchGate  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 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 | Merch | Support Our Work | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok

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 | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok

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 Caroline:  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

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 Where to find Canine Performance Sciences: 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 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 know there is no odor to alert to What is a go-no-go response? The dog’s NON-formal response to let the handler know there is no odor to alert to What’s a situation we may want to teach this for? Odor recognition tests Teaching them that they can still get rewarded for no odor, which reduces stress Good to check for contamination Teaches them to be confident in leaving a search area with no target present knowing they will still be rewarded What components make for a successful all clear? Ensure it is maintained and refreshed Prepare your training session in advance. Progression plans are extremely

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 performance? What’s the problem with our basic lineup for training and testing detection dogs as it relates to SDT? How can trainers at home put this to use with their dogs? Links Mentioned in the Episode: Signal Detection Theory Where to find Dr. Gadbois: Website | Lab Facebook Page | Lab Facebook Group 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 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 Conservationists Website | Merch | Support Our Work | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok

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/k9conservationists. K9 Conservationists Website | Merch | Support Our Work | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok

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 How do you combat imposter syndrome?  Make objective appraisals about what you do know, what you can do, what you’ve proven. If you compare those to your imposter syndrome thoughts, you can see that these are just fake thoughts trying to hold you back  Dunning-Krueger effect plays into it  What are the 5 types of imposter syndrome and how do we combat them? Perfectionist: people make mistakes. Mistakes help us learn. Superbeing: what does success actually mean? Can you find success in doing your best?  Natural genius: learning is normal and can take work. You bring things to the fie

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 find Julia: 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 Scott Buchanan on his work with wood turtles.  Science Highlight: A Glimpse into the Use of Dogs to Address Global Poaching, Overharvesting, and Trafficking of Aquatic Species 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 our patreon Caisa Persson Werme to answer questions about training and alerts. Science Highlight: Back to the basics with conservation detection dogs: fundamentals for success Questions asked:  During the search he might stop after a while and look at me. If I don't acknowledge it in any way he takes off to search again with the same intensity as before. Is that the right approach on my part? Is he looking for guidance or just to check in/ see where I am?  When the search happens to be too long he comes back to me and sort of stares at me,or jumps at me and isn't as excited if I tell him to keep searching for the toy. What should I do in those situations? How much help can/should I give in the sense of walking closer to the toy, calling him to get closer or to stay at a closer distance to the toy, say if he's running in the opposite/wrong direction? But I feel like that might get him to think that I know where it is?  How do you kn

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Melissa Houghton about using dogs for pest eradication on a remote world heritage island. Science Highlight: Methodology and challenges of a complex multi-species eradication in the sub-Antarctic and immediate effects of invasive species removal 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

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla is back with Ellen Dymit to talk about their experience with the fieldwork in Guatemala. Science Highlight: None Links Mentioned in the Episode: Where to find Ellen: Ellen’s Twitter | Taal’s 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

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Ellen Dymit before their fieldwork in Guatemala. Science Highlight: None Links Mentioned in the Episode: Barley’s First Find Where to find Ellen: Ellen’s Twitter | Taal’s 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

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Chris Hartnett to talk about Baw Baw frogs. Science Highlight: Obedience training effects on search dog performance Links Mentioned in the Episode: Where to find Chris: Website 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 Sho Rapley about dogs finding GPS trackers. Science Highlight: Diving in Nose First: The Influence of Unfamiliar Search Scale and Environmental Context on the Search Performance of Volunteer Conservation Detection Dog-Handler Teams Where you can find Sho: 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

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla talks about field work preparation for the upcoming project. 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 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 Website | Merch | Support Our Work | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok