INNOVATION AND CREATIVITY AWARD WINNERS!

Collin Singer MD- Louise Wilson Founder of Conservation Dogs &Aran Clyne Specialist Trainer and Handler.

Well, how happy are we? 

Ecstatic! 

Conservation Dogs has won the “Innovation and Creativity Award” at the 2014 Flintshire Business Awards in recognition of our pioneering projects in conservation using our specially trained wildlife detection dogs to assist with conservation needs, ecological surveys and wildlife crime detection.

In the largest category of the night, Conservation Dogs fought off 9 other nominees to win the prestigious "Innovation & Creativity Award". Sponsored by Glyndwr University, the award was to identify and reward the company which launched the most innovative and new product/service

The award recognises Conservation Dogs initiatives to help stop the illegal wildlife and ivory trade by becoming the first UK Company to win a contract in Gabon to supply and train dogs to detect ivory, leopard skin, iboga root and pangolin scale all of which are under threat from the illegal wildlife trade in Gabon.  It also recognises the work that we done with conservation projects here in the UK, with the detection of the scat of pine marten, dormice, great crested newt, bats and mice for surveying purposes which give conservationists a huge amount of information of the species, its health, habitat, breeding and population.

Of course, none of this would be possible without the hard work and amazing abilities of our CONSERVATION DOGS ...

 So to our fantastic dogs; 

Twister, Luna, Kim, Kim2, Ned, Sasha, Lumi, Cooper, Charlie ... Well Done.

Keep an eye on this blog... we will have more exciting news to share soon...

NEW K9 RECRUITS

Conservation dogs are looking for some new K9 Recruits to join our expanding teams. We have a special anti-poaching project starting overseas and we are looking for two dogs to meet this amazing new project. ideally like our last project in Gabon we would like a Labrador and a Cocker spaniel or Springer spaniel. These dogs need to be light in colour, ages from 10 months to 2.5 years old.

These dogs will be part of an amazing elite sniffer dog team working abroad with a large wildlife organisation and National Park. they will be housed with the handlers and have 24/7 kennel hands to tend to their needs. They will be loved and cared for better than any dog and the welfare standards are amazing.

This project is a very important one, helping to curb the smuggling of illegal wildlife products, therefore we are eager to find the right dog for the job. We need the typical ball mad, enthusiastic and fearless happy dog.

If you can help with helping us give a dog a forever working home and an amazing job please contact us for more information.

Louise.wilson@wagtailuk.com

Lumi and Cooper- trained by Conservation dogs for the Gabonese Government.
On the hunt for illegal wildlife traders and smugglers.
(seen here with Handlers and driver.)

Harper Adams University visit

On Friday we had a big day presenting for Harper Adams University and we also carried out a demonstration. 

First part of the day we presented our PowerPoint to the students and answered any questions in relation to the use if dogs in wildlife research and conservation.

The second part of the day we carried out demonstrations with Twister our Bat Carcass Detection Dog to show how much more quicker a dog can retrieve bat carcass's in comparison to human search teams. 

Then we used Luna to show how quick a dog can find Pine Marten Scat (faeces), from old scat to wet scat and in all different terrain with low abundance in an area. 

The demonstrations where well received and everyone including the dogs seemed to enjoy it. 

We then where interviewed and had to have a few photo's done which Luna as per usual loved. 

We where very happy to have been asked to visit Harper Adams and hope to visit again with our :-

*Great Crested Newt Detection Dog 

And our 

*Dormouse Nest Detection Dog 

Thanks again to all those we met and for Nicky Hunter's Hospitality . 

Tanzania trip success

We have just returned from Tanzania working once again with WCS. We were asked to carry out presentations and write feasibility study to review the possibility of the use of detection dogs working in national parks, road blocks as well as sea and air ports! Thanks to Tanzania for your amazing hospitality and we hope to work with you all soon. 

Ivory detection dog success!

Conservation dogs involvement in this amazing Gabon project is outstanding and we are so very proud and hope to do the same in other African countries also. 

Luna's involvement in fighting grey squirrels invaders!

Great article here about the work Emma Sheehy did in Ireland and she was so innovative and pioneering to use our amazing Pine Marten Scat Detection dog in Ireland. Great article we are so happy. 

Happy New Year- News From 2013!!

2013 has been an amazing year for all dogs and staff at Conservation dogs. We could not have dreamt of having the response we have had from setting up a dog section for the detection of smuggled animal products and wildlife in 2011.

We continue to be called out to help search for the elusive Pine Marten in Wales and Shropshire and I am happy to say this working relationship is to continue into 2014 with more pine marten scat searches already booked.

Luna whilst searching for Shropshire Mammal Group.

Luna has made her new years resolution to never give up looking for Pine marten scats in the Shropshire area as she determined to prove their existence there. 

In January 2013 we deployed the worlds first Ivory, Pangolin scale, Leopard Skin, Shark Fin and Iboga Root detection dogs to Gabon and started the gruelling 3 month handler procurement and training program for the Gabonese Government; 

• Gabonese National Park Agency = Agence Nationale Des Parcs Nationaux (ANPN)
• The Ministry of Water and Forest =(MINEF)
• Wildlife Conservation Society = WCS

Cooper and Lumi with Handlers and Dog Vehicle Driver

To date the success of these dogs has been shocking, in such a short time of there operational searches they have had numerous find - thus helping stop the illegal wildlife trade and helping prevent illegal poaching. 
This is the blue print of more dog sections to come and with Lumi and Cooper leading the way- soon the fight against Wildlife Crime and illegal wildlife Trade will come to a head! We all need to try to help make a difference in regards to wildlife conservation.

New projects have been initiated and have had great success- our Dormouse Nest Detection Dog Kim is fully trained and ready to trial. Its now a matter of setting up the right project with Cheshire Wildlife Trust and other Trusts around the country to utilise Kim in the best way possible.

Our other dog Kim, a Springer spaniel- has been trained to detect Great Crested Newts. this training process due to the sensitive nature has taken much longer than usual sniffer dog training. However we are on the road to having a fully trained GCN detection dogs. She will initially be used for research surveys and for a specialist report that is planned with experienced Ecologists. Once this Study is done we should have available a GCN Dog and Handler team a for hire. 

Kim our New GCN detection dog.

The worlds First Great Crested Newt Detection dogs- that has a good ring to it!!!

That is not the end of our interesting new projects or exciting requests, from illegal fishing net detection dogs, to Big Cat scat detection dogs- we have inquiries daily to help assist with wildlife projects or wildlife crime prevention  in the UK and Abroad.

Conservation Dogs were kindly invited to attend and exhibit at The National Environmental Crime Conference in London in November. This was a honor to be invited and it was a thrilling event to be present at. Conservation dogs were the only detection dog experts at this conference and we made many new contacts and hopefully some more future clients as well. Watch This Space!

Our display area at the NECC 2013.

https://www.facebook.com/NationalEnvironmentalCrimeConference

So a quick round up of some of this years news links and videos, please see below some of our best article this year and some great footage of our dogs working.

ENJOY!!

http://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/25/world/africa/poaching-stinks-dogs-sniffing/index.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDlfuq9dpfA
http://www.worldsecurity-index.com/pressdet.php?id=5265
http://blog.petplan.co.uk/11/2013/pet-people-features/the-conservation-efforts-of-luna-the-labrador/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sD6nzbi-VIg
http://www.co-operative.coop/join-the-revolution/our-blog/biodiversity/people-and-pine-martens-in-wales/Pine-marten-update---July/

Poaching stinks ... and now cute dogs are sniffing it out!!!

Conservation dogs are pleased to announce that the dog section in Gabon that we assisted with setting up, training the dogs and handlers- for ANPN -  Gabonese National Park Agency, MINEF as well as assistance from WCS has proven a great success and fully operational.

Please see this article for more details.
http://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/25/world/africa/poaching-stinks-dogs-sniffing/index.html 

We have been so very busy in the last 12 months the blog has had to suffer. but i think everyone would agree it is worth it. as now the fully functional dog section in Gabon is proving a great success and having a great impact on the illegal trafficking of wildlife products.

The blog will be updated regarding the latest developments with Conservation dogs UK and worlrdwide, with training Lumi and Cooper, training of the handlers in Gabon, visits to Gabon and surrounding areas,  Pine marten scat searches, Great Crested Newt detection dog training project launch, Dormouse nest detection dog working update and much much more.

Keep your eyes peeled.....

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....