K9 Conservationists

Join us for a fantastic conversation with Lauralea Oliver of k9inSCENTive about the art of selecting rescue dogs for detection work.

With over 25 years of professional experience, Lauralea brings a wealth of knowledge to the table, having selected and placed numerous working dogs with handlers and conservation projects across the country. She has mastered selecting the traits that make a shelter dog excel in the field- and, crucially, knows exactly when to walk away.

The core theme of this episode is simple but vital: "Say no to the maybes" and only move forward with a dog you are absolutely sure about.

Important updates on Barley (King B), the K9Conservationists crew, and the podcast going forward. As always, thank you all so much for you support. If you would like to make a donation to Barleys lymphoma treatment you can do so here:

Kayla Fratt chats with Liza Rothkoff- a 3rd year PhD student at Texas Tech in the K9 olfaction lab- about her most recent paper, "A preliminary study on the impacts of exercise intensity and duration on gastrointestinal temperature and odor detection performance of dogs". They discuss dog selection, study design, results, and what Liza hopes handlers will be able to take from the study.

Read the full study here:

Join Kayla Fratt and favorite of the podcast, Paul Bunker to discuss his fantastic new workbook "The Detection of Buried Targets by Canines". Kayla and Paul delve into the challenges of buried hides and how just digging a hole and covering your target doesn't cut it. This workbook is fantastic for working K9 handlers or anyone who wants to become a more skilled and knowledgeable trainer. Paul brings over 40 years of K9 detection knowledge and experience not only to the workbook but to today's podcast.

( PS: There are some minor audio issues throughout the podcast due to internet issues during recording. We've mitigated them as much as possible. )

Purchase all Paul's workbooks here:

Join Kayla Fratt and special guest Caden Christopher for this somewhat unorthodox episode of K9Conservationists. Today we're stepping away a bit from conservation detection dogs and imagining what a better world for our canine companions would look like if there were no borders, no financial constraints, breeding and dog placements were truly in the best interest of the dog and people, and so on.

On this week's episode of K9Conservationists Kayla Fratt chats with Debi Deshon the pack leader of Mussel Dogs and Dogs with Jobs. Debi discusses the process of screening prospect dogs, training, and what happens when the dogs tells her that this job just isn't for them.

Connect with Debi and her amazing work!

Mussel Dogs

Join Kayla Fratt, co-founder of K9Conservationists, as she chats with Reetta Kangaslampi, a PhD researcher from the University of Eastern Finland and Dr. Natasha Underwood, an ecologist, environmental consultant, and specialist conservation detection dog handler about their journeys raising cocker and springer spaniels for detection. Reetta and Natasha discuss how they went about choosing their perfect spaniel, early training, and some of the classic spaniel hurdles they run into. Reetta Kangaslampi

Ever wonder how a seasoned handler selects their new co-woffer? Kayla Fratt, co-founder of K9Conservationists, walks through her process of how she selected her newest recruit Skipper! Kayla talks about how she went about finding potential candidates, how she screened over 70 dogs, and how she finally landed on Skipper. If you're looking to find your next detection dog and want to know all the nitty-gritty on how that happens- this is the episode for you!

Massive shout out to Thrifted Kittens Animal Rescue for their help and taking such amazing care of Skipper (then Pretzel)

In this episode of K9Conservationists, Kayla Fratt chats with Alison Pearce Stevens, author of Detective Dogs: How Working Dogs Sniff Out Invasive Species. They discuss the inspiration behind her new book, her experiences shadowing detection dog teams, and what it was like to bring the story to life.

Alison’s website

It’s time to bust some myths and challenge some hot takes of the conservation detection dog world! Join Kayla Fratt (K9 Conservationists), Paul Bunker (Chiron K9), and Meg Barnes (Detection for Good) as they tackle common claims and controversies that impact dogs, handlers, and the field as a whole. From “training your dog on Kong will ruin them”, to “good training can fix anything”, to “working a dog is unethical”. These seasoned professionals break down why these ideas persist, why they’re wrong, and what good, ethical, and evidence based training really looks like. 

Hot takes we BUST in this episode include: 

If you train your dog on Kong/essential oils you will ruin them!

Detection dogs can’t do any other sports or it will ruin them!

Good training can fix anything!

Your dog wouldn’t do ___ if you were a better trainer!

You should starve your dog to make them work harder!

Confine your dog to a small kennel for days to “build their desire to work”!

Making your dog work is unethical!!!

You can’t train directional cues without an ecollar!

Force fetch is the only way to teach a dog to retrieve!

Our guests:

Meg Barnes

Join Kayla Fratt (K9Conservationist) for a enlightening conservation with Kyoko Johnson and Marlee Monahan (Conservation Dogs of Hawaii), Sally Dickinson (Virginia Tech), and Arden Lumenfall (New York-New Jersey Trail Conference) as we learn about how organizations across the USA are engaging with their communities and using the power of volunteer detection dog teams to help further research and initiatives. Come along as they discuss how volunteers have helped further their causes, how they select dogs, and some of the challenges of using volunteers in the field.

This episode also features a science highlight on hard ticks (Dermacentor albipictus) and the effectiveness of detection dogs vs traditional tick drag survey methods

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Ruan and Tina De Flamingh form Green Trax about incursion dogs.

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In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Crystal Wing about toy play to modulate arousal. 

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In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Ryan Tate about Phytophthora and pigeons. 

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Sarah Jackson from New York-New Jersey Trail Conference about sticky sage.

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In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Jo Laurens from The Force Free Gun Dogs about gundogs.

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In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Lauren Wendt from Momentum K9 about large search area strategy. 

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In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla is back for part two with Sage Gustafson and Tiff Shao about the challenging topic of life with high-energy, high-drive, and/or high-arousal dogs who are injured or sick or otherwise cannot physically perform the behaviors that their brains want without causing pain.

Links Mentioned in the Episode: None

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla talks with Sage Gustafson and Tiff Shao about the challenging topic of life with high-energy, high-drive, and/or high-arousal dogs who are injured or sick or otherwise cannot physically perform the behaviors that their brains want without causing pain.

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In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla talks with Brett Sweezy about spatial ecology and sharks.

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In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla talks about breaking into the field of conservation detection dogs. 

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Science Highlight: None

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Brenna Aizen from the Penn Vet Wildlife Futures Program about dogs sniffing out chronic wasting disease.

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In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla is back with Dr. Charles van Rees to talk about getting into grad school.

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In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Tim Hofmann, the Scat Dog Handler, Research Manager and Research Coordinator at Cheetah Conservation Fund about his PhD research using detection dogs and other methods to study cheetahs in Namibia and beyond.

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Science Highlight: None this week! 

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Paul Bunker and Meg Barnes about hot takes in the conservation dog training community. 

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Science Highlight: None this week! 

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Kat Serafina about plants and puppies.

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In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks to Zoos Victoria Wildlife Detection Dog Officer Dr Nick Rutter and Human Surveyor Shari Barmos about Detection Dog Daisy searching for the critically endangered Tea-tree fingers fungus.

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In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Courtney Brown from Einstein K9 about search and rescue, handler scent discrimination, and sensitivity and specificity.

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In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Ellen Dymit from Oregon State University about Metabarcoding, SNPs, and microsatellites. 

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In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Nicholas Magliocca about jaguars, Central American conservation, and the drug war.

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In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Kerry Ryan from Dog Adventures Northwest about dog boarding.

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In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Naomi Hodges and Dr. Jessica Thomas about Detection Dog Kip searching for Platypus burrows within Coranderrk Creek at Healesville Sanctuary

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In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla is back with Esther Matthews to talk about succulent anti-poaching detection dogs.

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In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with James Helferich and Dr. Lisanne Petracca about the ocelot project in Texas. 

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In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla speaks with Kendra Carter about K9 field first aid.

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