Mice detection dog success for MITIE

We trained a specialist detection dog for MITIE Pest Control and we are delighted to hear he is continuing to be successful.- the project was innovative and Pioneers and wagtail UK ltd and conservation dogs are proud to be part of it. We regularly see Archie and we can not believe how proud he has made us.

below are details taken from MITIE website regarding Archie and the solutions called CARE.

http://www.mitie.com/services/specialist-services/pest-control/rodent-control/care

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CARE PROJECT

Studies have shown that mice are developing behavioural and chemical resistance to common methods of extermination which include traps and rodenticides. We have labelled these as 'super mice'.

One of our solutions is called CARE, which stands for Canine Assisted Rodent Eradication, or other words, Archie.  Archie is a specially-trained sniffer dog who has been trained to indicate exactly where a mouse enters and exits a building, and to identify specific areas of high use, such as regularly-used mouse ‘runs’. When Archie finds current mouse infestations, he will indicate by pointing his nose and standing very still in the exact location of the mice. 

This method allows our rodent control technicians to place traps and rodenticides much more accurately, avoiding any guesswork. This reduces the quantity of toxic poisons, and can significantly reduce the time required to achieve eradication.
Ultimately you get a clearer view of where the infestation lies and the extent of the mice infestation.
Archie is able to:

• Identify and specifically locate active mouse infestations with a high level of     accuracy compared with other methods;
• Ignore old infestations and focus only on current activity;
• Ignore the scents of other types of rodents and sniff out only mice.

FOR MORE DETAILS PLEASE CONTACT MITIE:-

http://www.mitie.com/contact-us

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POSITION FILLED

Thanks to everyone whom applied for the position of handler/trainer for our Africa project. We have been inundated and we have been spoilt for choice. We have not successfully employed our new member of staff whom is delighted to be on our team now, especially during this very exciting project/task.

We also have new dog in training now and he is amazing and really impressing us every day. He is motivated, excitable, focused and has amazing high drive and is very willing to please.
He is just the perfect dog for this project.

Conservation dogs attend Hydrotherapy

Twister at Hydrotherapy- yes our bat ddetection dogs loves visiting hydrotherapy. He is like a duck to water, the only problem is he doesn't like to get out. We try to visit regularly as now Twister is getting older its always best to maintain his fitness and well being using different methods. We always supplement the dogs with vitamins, but hydrotherapy is great.

Twister enjoying his exercise at hydrotherapy.

We want to thank Beachin hydrotherapy for all the help and guidance they give us when we visit, especially as we have brought many dogs, that have many problems also from behavioural problems to health issues. they are such a great help and hydrotherapy is vital for the well being of our dogs....especially as they love it.

http://www.dogtherapypool.co.uk/

Pine marten sighting in Wales

Jenny from The Vincent Wildlife Trust contacted me regarding some Pine Marten Sighting in Aberystwyth over the last weekend of Septmeber. Two individual sightings that where very accurate had been reported and therefore a quick accurate and efficient method of scat searching was needed.

The weather was horrendous and very wet and rainy... this makes the chances of finding a scat in tact, and not washed away very unlikely so we needed to act quick to hopefully find anything that would be of interest.

Luna did wonderfully again, despite the rain the wind and the mist. as well as poor Luna cut her foot also whilst searching but this was only that evening that I saw her foot after doing a health check on her- she didn't let it affect her work though. as a result I did have to reduce our hydrotherapy trips until her foot was healed.

BIOBLITZ presentation Shropshire Mammal Group

I was kindly asked to attend Shropshire BIOBLITZ at Walford College in September to demonstrate Luna's capabilities as well as show a presentation about Conservation dogs and what we do.
The turn out was fantastic and myself and Luna and my other dogs where all made to feel very welcome.

Luna's demonstration went well "OK" as it was typical Luna was so excited she didn't want to cover the small demonstration area I had laid out, but she wanted to cover the huge area. So firstly trying to pin her down to a smaller area took some effort but eventually she located the scat and indicated for all the audience to see. But she did do a great job in the end and showed how much quicker and more accurate a dog can detect Scats in comparison to humans.

We were very please to be involved in this years BIOBLITZ and want to thank all involved. Luna and the rest of the dogs enjoyed themselves. I hope everyone enjoyed the demonstration and keep watching out for more demonstrations soon.

I was also honoured to meet Mr Johnny Birks, Chairman of the Mammal Society. After hearing alot about Johnny as well as reading his books it was great to finally meet him.

We will be working with Shropshire Mammal group again very soon, as we have been hired to conduct Pine Marten Scats which is very exciting.

Watch this space.....

Ireland Filming for "Living the Wildlife" Series.

After my trip to Ireland with Luna, Emma Sheehy told me of a wildlife documentary that where very interested in filming Luna in action, so after speaking with the presenter Colin Stafford-Johnson I arranged to travel back to Ireland a couple of weeks later.

The filming was conducted over a day period in the same woods that we had searches a few weeks early. Luna did absolutely wonderful, she was fabulous in front of the camera.



Luna with her own microphone on.



Luna with her own Go Pro Camera

Luna With Film Crew Behind her

We had a wonderful day with Colin and the rest of his Crew as well as with Emma again, it was such a great experience and Luna was such a star. She was very accomodating to the camera man and sound crew and we hope to work together again with conservation dogs.

Living the Wildlife will be aired next year in Ireland so keep an eye out.

Ireland Searches September 2012

Over the last few years I have been in contact with a PHD student from Ireland whom is researching Squirrel activity. Emma Sheehy has been interested in using Pine Marten scat dogs for a while now as she needed to know more about the Pine Marten diet- for example are Pine Marten partial to a bit of Grey Squirrel for tea? So the best way to find this out is to find Pine Marten Scat and run tests on the scat.

Over the 6 months Emma has been relentlessly searching for scat she has been successful in collecting 16 samples. However she was in desperate need to increase her sample size. So Luna and myself where asked to visit Ireland and to search three large forests.

We had two days of very successfully searches with Luna in the first 3 minutes of being off the lead found a pine marten scat immediately which we would have simply walked past. Luna covered miles of ground and was so eager to find as many scats as possible. The weather was rather warm and little breeze but Luna's motivation and enthusiasm never falters and always makes me proud.

Luna Found a scat here that was disgusted by Pheasant Droppings.

Over the two days Luna was successful in detection 8 pine marten scats. This was amazing and we didn't expect her to find as many as she did. Luna was always enthusiastic about continuing to search once we collected a scat, sometimes it was rather hard to keep up with her.

Over the two days Luna possibly worked 12 hours which looking back was rather ambitious. She didn't  look sad or need motivating but really from an energy point of view 3-4 hours searching a day is the maximum a conservation dog should do. Due to the terrain the dogs work in, the area the dog covers, the agility required to cover the area sufficiently and ultimately that olfaction takes considerably more energy than merely walking a dog around, so 3-4 hours should be maximum time worked.

A scat being taken to be DNA Sampled.

Luna also had difficult terrain to deal with, as well as many people attending to help with searching which could have been a distraction to Luna but she didn't seemed bothered in the slightest. Also we had to transport Luna on the back seat of a 4 x 4 which she loved. no problem with.

Me and Luna on our final day in Ireland. 





JOBS AVAILABLE AT CONSERVATION DOGS:-
Experienced detection dog handler/instructure required

Wagtail and Conservation Dogs are pleased to announce that we have a vacancy for a trained and experienced dog handler and dog trainer.

This once in a lifetime opportunity is located in Central Africa, and for a period of up to 6 months.
Accommodation and food will be provided.
Salary – TBC

Requirements:-
Experienced handler and trainer of specialist detection dogs.
Experienced trainer and instructor of search dog handlers.
French Speaking essential
English speaking essential
Experience in hostile environments.

Passionate about conservation and wildlife
Passion for working with dogs and good team leader.
Full driving licence.

Please forward your CV and a covering letter to -

info@wagtailuk.com
FAO: Louise Wilson

SPRINGWATCH MAY/JUNE 2012



Hafod- Me and Luna with presenter Martin Hughes-Games, with Cameraman and producer.

We did filming for Springwatch with Luna our Pine Marten Scat Detection dog in Hafod woods, in Aberystwyth. There has been some potential Pine Marten sightings in this area recently and the Vincent Wildlife Trust in conjunction with Springwatch 2012 where interested in seeing if Luna could detect some Scats.

Whilst filming we conducted some searches of the area and viewed some unusual behaviours off Luna. These where not indications but areas of interest where Luna showed lots of activity in curtain areas as though she was trying to locate a scat or a scent.

For filming, Martin the presenter had brought along some scat that they had found in Scotland whilst filming recently and wanted to see if it was Pine Marten scat and placed this down for Luna to see what her behaviour would be like.

 This was unexpected for me however I was confident in Luna's ability that if the scat was Pine Marten that Luna would indicate positively. We had to run this section on film which was a little nerve racking, however Luna did a fantastic job and indicated amazingly, even with a camera positioned right in front of the Scat would could have put her off but didn't. I was so pleased with her behaviour. she did me very proud.

During the filming day we didn't have enough time to adequately cover the designated area so a week later we went back (29th May) to spend a whole day searching the area the best we could. Myself, Luna and Colleague Aran returned and we were accompanied by Jenny Macpherson of the Vincent Wildlife Trust who helped us navigate the areas and directed us to particular areas of interest.

Once again we had no scats located however we did witness Luna showing interest on a few areas and at one point she attempted to climb a tree and claw at a tree. She also showed numerous interest at the base of many tree's.

 This was noted by Jenny and GPS location recorded, and Jenny was also able to photograph Luna's attempted climb (see above). It turns out that one of the areas that Luna showed interest was where a potential sighting had been recorded recently which was very positive information.

Areas where Luna had shown interest or odd behaviours we checked the surrounding area visually for any scat, we did find one scat that is being sent off for sampling but it was squashed into a tree, Luna hadn't pinpointed this scat in this area she had show interest. But it is definitely worth sending off for sampling to see what it is.

We will most definitely visit the area again looking for scat, as if there is a low abundance of Pine Marten in this area to find one or two scat in this very large area will take time but I think a scat dog is the best method possible. so fingers crossed we come across a scat in our next visits.

Don't forget to watch us on Springwatch and see the amazing Luna in action. I have been informed that Luna should be on Springwatch- Monday 4th June at 8pm BBC 2

However if its not on tonight it will be on this week, so keep your eyes peeled....

Tomorrow Wednesday

23rd May 2012

LUNA our Pine Marten scat detection dog is being filmed for ..

who are running a large story about Pine Martens.

We have been asked to help with Scat searches in Wales in an area where last last scat was found in 2007, but since then there has been no physical evidence.

However there as been sighting in this area, it is vital to try to find more physical evidencee that Pine Martens are present.

Even if they are present in low abundance.

This is where Luna will come into her own by helping increase the area searched for scats. Luna can search much larger areas quicker and more accurately. and even better Luna is not biased to where she looks for the scat...her Nose will take her to the source.

WISH US LUCK FOR TOMORROW IT WILL BE AMAZING IF WE FIND A SCAT.....

NEWS FLASH....

Conservation Dogs have been asked to be involved in many projects that hopefully will develop in the next few months...

• Products of animal origin Detection dogs-Africa

• Ivory Detection Dogs-Africa

• Pine Marten Scat Detection with Springwatch. May/June 2012 TBC- ales

• Geometric Tortois detection dogs consultation for Cape Town.



Contact us for more detail.........







Dormouse Nest Detection Dog Training

We have had a few enquiries over the last couple of years related to detection of Dormouse nests and whether it is possible. so we wanted to put the idea to the test.
Working along side Cheshire wildlife Trust, whom kindly provided some captive Dormouse nests/bedding.
We were also invited to a Dormouse box cleaning and monitoring event. This was ideal to attend as we were able to acquire some potential fresh dormouse nest to train our Pilot study dog on.

www.cheshirewildlifetrust.co.uk/join_now.html

The dog in Question is Kim, a German Shepherd, she is actually one of our staff members personal dog. Emma Parker has 4 dogs and Kim has been chosen to assist in this project. Kim has a great nose on her as well as an eagerness to work for her owner/handler.
She isn't the breed we would normally choose, nor does she have the exact characteristics we would like for a conservation dog but for this pilot study we wanted to be able to PROVE that dogs could detect dormouse nests accurately and safely.

"Emma Parker's- Four dogs. Kim, Mickey, Lucy and Topaz."

Kim has been in training for quite a few months now, on a combination of Captive Dormouse nests/bedding scent, as well as potential fresh Dormouse nest scent. We have had some obstacles to overcome, such as when we have be provided with the Captive Dormouse nest/bedding the composition of the bedding was paper towels and more man made fabrics. To ensure we are only harnessing the Dormouse scent we had to detrain Kim on the blank Paper Towel scent.Therefore proving  it wasn't this paper towel scent she had learnt to indicate on.

All of Kim's training and handling has been done by Emma Parker- a dog trainer and animal enthusiast that works for us here at Wagtail UK and Conservation dogs. Her own domestic dog training that she conducts can be found here:-

http://www.brynhedydd.com/

We had two obstacles to overcome during this pilot study training, firstly the handler hasn't trained detection dogs before and is an untrained detection dog handler, secondly the dog is not a breed we would use for this work and she hasn't done scent work to this capacity before. But Kim has done obedience work and other training that could work against us with our particular training. we will discuss these difficulties in the next Dormouse update.

Kim pictured above indicates passively on a dormouse nests, which isn't even visible to the camera or the handler. This proves how efficient and accurate a dogs search technique is in comparison to human search teams. We have been surprised on various occasions in training now, when a nest has been placed out by myself and then Emma and Kim have commenced searching- and even when the dog shows an accurate and marked change in behaviour such as a sit indication, the handler- as well as myself can not see the nest or even work out where it is...Even though I had placed it out!!!
 The nests just disappear so amazingly into the foliage and hedge line so unbelievably well. The possibility of dogs being used to help increase detection of dormouse nests in UK and Wales could help gain a better more accurate reading of Dormouse population, territory size and reintroduction success monitoring.

We are continuing to train Kim but access to new Dormouse nests now is very unlikely so we may have to wait for more old nests and captive dormouse bedding to be acquired before we can take the project to the next level. But it is very promising already with the success and accurate indications that Kim has given to us in the training scenarios in difficult terrain.

Contact us if you are interested to hear more about Kim and other Projects we have......

louise.wilson@conservationdogs.com