Canine Conversations

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla provides an update on what K9 Conservationists has been up to and answers some Patreon questions. Science Highlight: Detection distance and environmental factors in conservation detection dog surveys Questions tackled in this episode include: How do you take into consideration your dog team and their strengths/motivators/style when deciding on projects that you want to pursue? How do I reinforce the alert while helping my dog keep his nose off target? In a scenario where you see that detection dogs could be a huge asset to a study or project- but the leads have never considered their use before-, how would you pitch it as a possibility? Links Mentioned in the Episode: Flying with Dogs K9s Talking Scents Keep That Odor to Itself K9 Detection Collaborative The Importance of Odor Hygeine You can support the K9 Conservationists Podcast by joining our Patreon at patreon.com/k9conservationists. K9 Conservationists Website | Merch | Support Our Work | Faceb

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Kassidi Jones to talk about antiracism and detection dogs. Science Highlight: Handler beliefs affect scent detection dog outcomes Links Mentioned in the Episode: Reading list Where to find Kassidi: 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 Kim Brophy and Mike Shikashio to answer an important question: what is a dog trainer? Science Highlight: Relationship between aggressive and avoidance behaviour by dogs and their experience in the first six months of life Links Mentioned in the Episode: Where to find Kim: Website | Facebook  Where to find Mike:  Website | Bitey End of the Dog  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 Andrew Ishimaru from RyTech about building and growing companies. Science Highlight: When the nose knows: ontogenetic changes in detection dogs' (Canis familiaris) responsiveness to social and olfactory cues Links Mentioned in the Episode: Growth Hackers Demand curve Inbound Marketing Certification Trust Me, I’m Lying Ryan Holliday course Canva  Google Analytics Where to find Andrew: Instagram | LinkedIn  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 Gael Sanchez about joining the field of ecology and conservation. Science Highlight: Curtailment as a successful method for reducing bat mortality at a southern Australian wind farm Links Mentioned in the Episode: REU Where to find Gael: 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 of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Emma Lustig about her first season as a conservation detection dog handler. Science Highlight: Effect of odorant pre-exposure on domestic dogs' sensitivity on an odorant detection task Links Mentioned in the Episode: Where to find Emma: 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 Cate Roscoe about Expertise, Accessibility, and Gatekeeping. What does DEI stand for? Can we define each term? Diversity - who is at the table Equity - diversity + inclusion = equity, what is needed to achieve equality Inclusion - who is involved/included Links Mentioned in the Episode: Why Diversity and Inclusion Are Good for Business Where to find Cate: 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 our long time patron Tayllor Pittman about selecting and preparing dogs to be demonstration dogs. Science Highlight: Detection Distance and Environmental Factors in Conservation Detection Dog Surveys Links Mentioned in the Episode: Fill in the Blank Episode All Clear with Paul Bunker Where to find Tayllor: 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 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