Dogs Help Track Threatened Turtles in Iowa – via Herp Digest

The dogs are trained to find ornate box turtles and bring them to researchers—part of an effort to save the struggling species

by Brigit Katz, 6/6/19 SMITHSONIAN.COM 

The ornate box turtle gets its name by being an introvert: the small reptile can completely close its shell, hiding away in a self-made box. But it’s not just their tendency to retreat into their own shells that has made the turtles hard to find. The prairie-dwelling species is experiencing a worrying decline. This spring, conservation researchers in Iowa, where the ornate box turtle is considered threatened, received a helping paw from four dogs specially trained to sniff out the highly camouflaged species.

Meet Rooster, Jenny Wren, Jaybird and Mink, the canine counterparts of John Rucker, a retired schoolteacher from Montana. As NPR’s Kate Payne reports, these turtle-finders are Boykin spaniels—a dog once bred to hunt waterfowl and wild turkey in South Carolina.

Dick Hakes of the Iowa City Press-Citizen reports that Rucker stumbled upon the turtle-tracking business accidentally; he was trying to train his dogs to find birds when one of them started bringing back turtles, gently gripping them in its mouth. Rucker used the turtles’ scent to train his other dogs, and now travels the country in a van with his band of Boykins to help researchers in need. And the spaniels are good at their jobs: In 2010, scouting out turtles in Illinois over 10 days, they outpaced human volunteers, retrieving 85 turtles to the humans’ 12.

Rucker’s “super dogs,” as he calls them, recently pitched in to find turtles in Iowa, where conservationists are anxious to assess the population so they can better manage the creature’s habitat. “The turtles are very camouflaged and not easy to find,” Jason Taylor, property stewardship specialist for Iowa’s Bur Oak Land Trust, tells Hakes. So it was helpful to have the dogs join the search on lands owned by the Trust. Once they got their command from Rucker—“Find turtle”—Rooster, Jenny Wren, Jaybird and Mink set off on their reptile-sniffing mission.

“[A]s they strike a scent trail their tails will start wagging furiously, and then their whole demeanor becomes extremely excitable,” Rucker tells Payne of NPR.

When the dogs found a turtle, they brought it unharmed to researchers from Cornell College, who would then weigh it, measure it and photograph the unique markings on the underside of its shell, which helps conservationists identify and track individuals in a given population.

Habitat destruction threatens the ornate box turtle’s survival in Iowa. The animals make their homes in the sandy prairies, where the turtles like to burrow. But as Taylor tells Hakes, “[o]ne of the problems is that sandy prairie is also a good place to build a house.”

While it is illegal to remove the threatened turtles from the wild in Iowa, people continue to take them to sell as pets. And the animals’ numbers are so low that the removal of just one female could spell the end of a given area’s entire population, Taylor says in an interview with Shannon Moudy of Fox28.

NPR’s Payne reports that Rucker’s dogs were able to locate 137 turtles over just three days in the field. Each reptile the dogs find, Rucker tells Moudy, is important to the effort to save them. “They’re part of the richness of the wilderness,” he says, “and we want them to stay here.” 

Scat sniffer dogs tell researchers a lot about endangered lizards

Date: January 31, 2017

Source: York University

Dogs can be trained to find almost anything (people, drugs, weapons, poached ivory) but one York University researcher had them detect something a little unusual -- the scat of endangered blunt-nosed leopard lizards. The scat detection dogs helped biology PhD student Alex Filazzola discover not only scat, but the importance of shrubs in preserving lizard populations in the face of climate change.

"The loss of these lizards would likely have a cascade effect on other species," said Filazzola, the study lead.

The research team geotagged 700 Ephedra californica shrubs in a 32.3-hectare area of the Panoche Hills Management Area in San Joaquin Valley, California. They then took two scat detection dogs from Working Dogs for Conservation on the hunt for lizard scat in 2013 and 2014.

In 2014, there was a drought during which time lizard scat was found more frequently under shrubs, especially those with dense canopy cover, than out in the open. The shrubs proved instrumental in providing critical micro-environments for the blunt-nosed leopard lizards, in particular, shady places to regulate their body temperature in extreme heat, as well as refuge from predators. The lizards use rodent burrows, most often found under shrubs, to escape predators.

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Specially trained dogs help researchers sniff out salamanders – via Herp Digest

9/23/13, By Chris Quintana, The New Mexican

Like most dogs, Sampson excels at finding poop, but he does so with a higher purpose.

He’s usually searching for the waste of endangered animals, the discovery of which allows researchers to learn more about the critters without disturbing the animals or their habitats, explains his handler, Julianne Ubigau.

And while Sampson has found scat from animals ranging from mice to moose, he and Ubigau — who are with Conservation Canines, a subdivision of the University of Washington’s Center for Conservation Biology — most recently have been in Northern New Mexico searching for the endangered Jemez Mountain salamander.

On a recent chilly morning in the Jemez Mountains near the Pajarito Mountain Ski Area outside Los Alamos, Sampson at first is a quiet dog. He’s not the type of creature that licks people or seeks a pat on the head. But when Ubigau puts him in his red working vest, the dog’s personality suddenly changes. Ubigau pulls out a red rubber ball, and Sampson barks for a moment before rushing into the thick forest. Ubigau follows closely behind, directing the dog to inspect a rotted log or to ignore others.

Sampson paws into the wet dirt when he tracks down a scent, and if the scent is strong, he sits down and waits for Ubigau. As she catches up, his tails starts wagging. After years of training, Sampson knows that Ubigau will toss the ball if he has found a good scent. Usually, two field researchers follow behind the dog and handler, inspecting the creature’s potential finds.

This time the scent is good, and Ubigau, who has worked with Conservation Canines as a handler since 2007, launches the red ball. Sampson leaps from his squatting position, bounds after the ball, scoops it up in his mouth and then drops the slobbery toy at Ubigau’s feet. Without wiping it off, she tosses the ball again and playtime continues until Ubigau redirects Sampson.

Last week’s run was merely an exercise, and Sampson didn’t track down any new salamanders. The population of the Jemez Mountain Salamander has declined rapidly in recent years thanks to a combination of wildfires and drought.

The amphibians are tiny — between 2 and 4 1/2 inches in length and less than an inch wide. The creature’s large eyes make up a quarter of its head. Brown skin helps the salamanders blend into their wooded surroundings, and, accordingly, makes them hard to find.

That’s part of the reason Conservation Canines was brought in, said Anne Bradley with The Nature Conservancy, one of the groups looking for the Jemez Mountain salamander.

Bradley said the amphibian’s habitat is rapidly shrinking because of recent wildfires. The goal, she said, is to find where they live to learn more about the secretive creatures.

Last year, crews found only one salamander. This year, they have managed to track down 13 of the critters since July. That increase is partially due to increased rains and accompanying humidity — ideal conditions for the salamanders to emerge from rotten logs or cavernous rocks.

Sampson has certainly helped this year’s expedition, too, but it should be noted Conservation Canines sent Sampson and another dog in 2012 as well.

Before he was searching for salamanders, Sampson was trained to find excrement from wolverines, lynx, moose and gray wolves, to name a few. The black Labrador mix also can find live animals, as he did when he tracked sea turtles’ nests off the coast of Alabama.

The working dog first joined Conservation Canines in 2008. When Sampson was only 4 years old, he was discovered at The Humane Society for Seattle/King County, where he had been passed over because his nearly indefatigable energy turned off many potential families. But that boundless desire to play was useful for Conservation Canines’ purposes, Ubigau said.

Ubigau said most dogs used by the program are Labrador mixes or cattle dogs — canines that could work for eight hours straight, if necessary. But the main criteria, she said, include high energy levels and singular focus on playing. Those traits translate to a dog willing to do what’s asked of it.

The training process, Ubigau said, is fairly simple. The dogs enter a field where there is wolverine excrement, and when the canine finds and sniffs the waste, a trainer immediately presents the dog with a ball to fetch. That process is repeated until the four-legged creature understands that finding the right scat equals playtime.

Now 9 years old, Sampson can’t work like he used to and is nearing retirement, Ubigau said. When he retires from field work, he’ll likely have a home with Ubigau. The handler explained that most, if not all, of the dogs that go through the Conservation Canines program are adopted by one of the many handlers, who have experience with high-energy dogs. Each handler usually has a favorite, and Ubigau’s is Sampson. Ubigau has already adopted another dog that retired from the program, a Jack Russell terrier named Casey.

With a job, most of these dogs end up doing great in the end,” Ubigau said.

Dogs trained to detect diabetes

SAN ANTONIO - A Texas organization is training puppies to detect diabetes.

Drey's Alert Dogs, in Jasper, trains the animals to paw at people when they can smell that their blood sugar is below 80 or above 180.

The puppies are first placed with children to socialize them.

The alert dogs are already helping people all over the United States.

http://www.woai.com/news/local/story/Dogs-trained-to-detect-diabetes/NT-4fP03wkCv7Hoc0ZDg_w.cspx?rss=68

Meet Nano, the nut-detecting, allergy-busting wonder-dog

A dog named Nano has become the first in Europe to be trained to sniff out nuts and snuff out allergies.

Nano (Picture: SWNS)

The four-year-old poodle can pick up nut odours in both food and the environment, following his training by a medical dog charity in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire.

The pup has been paired with severe nut allergy sufferer Yasmine Tornblad, 30, and his nose for nuts has dramatically transformed her life.

Ms Tornblad, from Malvern, Worcestershire, can go into anaphylactic shock from just the smell of nuts and has been rushed to hospital 15 times within the last eight years.

The IT worker now takes Nano everywhere she goes including the office, business trips and even flights saying.

‘It has given me a bit of independence back. I can’t imagine life without him,’ she said.

The Medical Detection Dogs charity has also taught dogs to sniff out cancer and help people manage conditions such as diabetes.

http://metro.co.uk/2013/07/04/meet-nano-the-nut-allergy-detecting-wonder-dog-3868490/

Rescue Dogs Sniff for Salamanders to Save Rare Species and Help People – via Herp Digest

Posted by Bruce Hill, Santa Fe National Forest and Ellita Willis, Office of Communication, US Forest Service, on December 12, 2012 at 3:19 PM

Shelter dogs that are often rejected are getting a new lease on life. Plus they’re helping wildlife and people!  These conservation canines climbed the Jemez Mountains, clambering over rocks, running from smell to smell, to track where rare Jemez salamanders, a species found nowhere else in the world, are living in New Mexico.

This summer, the Santa Fe National Forest, along with many partners collaborated to bring two trained canines to the forest to locate the salamanders. The dogs were deployed to the Jemez Mountains during a monsoon as salamanders can be found more easily during the rainy season. The furry tracking specialists’ service is critical to the future of Jemez salamanders and our forests. The warmer, drier climate in New Mexico has impacted the habitat, threatening their survival.

Because salamanders are succumbing to warmer temperatures and drought conditions, their population has drastically declined. Between the two dogs, and with human assistance, only seven of the salamanders were found during the latest search effort.  By mapping the salamanders, scientists will be able to create a land management plan that will help salamanders, as well as the forests we all depend on for clean water supplies and recreation. The work includes restoring the forest, woodlands and streams.

Project partners plan to bring the dogs back in the spring or summer of 2013.  The partnering agencies involved in the effort include: Santa Fe National Forest, The Nature Conservancy, New Mexico Department of Game and Fish, US Fish and Wildlife Service, University of Arizona, the Pueblo of Jemez, New Mexico Forest and Watershed Restoration Institute and the Valles Caldera Trust in the Jemez Mountains.

Dogs Can Accurately Sniff out 'Superbug' Infections

Dec. 13, 2012 — Dogs can sniff out Clostridium difficile (the infective agent that is responsible for many of the dreaded "hospital acquired infections") in stool samples and even in the air surrounding patients in hospital with a very high degree of accuracy, finds a study in the Christmas issue published on bmj.com today.

The findings support previous studies of dogs detecting various types of cancer and could have great potential for screening hospital wards to help prevent C. difficile outbreaks, say the researchers.

C. difficile infection most commonly occurs in older people who have recently had a course of antibiotics in hospital, but it can also start in the community, especially in care homes. Symptoms can range from mild diarrhoea to a life-threatening inflammation of the bowel.

Early detection is vital to prevent transmission, but diagnostic tests can be expensive and slow, which can delay treatment for up to a week.

Diarrhoea due to C. difficile has a specific smell, and dogs have a superior sense of smell compared with humans. This prompted researchers in the Netherlands to investigate whether a dog could be trained to detect C. difficile.

A two-year old male beagle (called Cliff) was trained by a professional instructor to identify C. difficile in stool samples and in patients with C. difficile infection. He was taught to indicate the presence of the specific scent by sitting or lying down.

The dog had not been trained for detection purposes before.

Continued:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121213193143.htm

Sniffer dogs catch ivory smugglers in Nairobi

Success for the latest tool against wildlife trafficking

December 2010. Two suspects were arrested at Nairobi Airport with 101 ivory chopsticks weighing 900 gramme. The illegal cargo, found amongst 10 boxes on the way to Milan, was detected by Kenya Wildlife Service Canine Unit sniffer dogs based at the airport. The cargo had been disguised as handicraft and other ornaments.

The two arrested arrested are both Kenyan nationals. To combat illegal trafficking in wildlife trophies at Nairobi Airport, The Kenya Wildlife Service has deployed sniffer dogs at the airport on a full-time basis.

http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/ivory-dogs010.html