Dogs, Bogs, and Slogs: Inside the Island Wolf Project
Kayla Fratt of K9Conservationists wraps up her Alaska fieldwork mini-series with a deep dive into life on the Island Wolf Project. She shares what a day in the field really looks like from loading the boat at dawn, hiking through temperate rainforests, relentless rain, and working with the Barley, Niffler, and Itooma across 25+ remote islands.Kayla answers Patreon questions about how she chooses search routes, when to work dogs on- and off-leash, how to stay safe around bears and wolves, and how to navigate the somewhat unpredictable logistics of boat-based surveys. She also breaks down what she packs, how her and the team collects data, and how the dogs’ different search styles shape the team. Barley’s veteran brilliance, Tooma’s breakout finds, and Niffler’s scat sprint days.And of course: wildlife highlights! Breaching humpbacks, puffins, swimming black bears, playful wolf pups on camera, and the thrill of finding fresh wolf tracks. Kayla also shares preliminary diet and DNA results from her 2024 samples. Then looks ahead to next season as Barley transitions to “professor emeritus” and her new dog Skipper begins his paw-pprenticeship to fill Barley’s big paws.Host: Kayla FrattEditor: Sara Fangton Guest logistics: Brooke Schoeder Interns: Evelyn Combs and Grace KoskiWebsite: Meg du BrayMentoring group: Madison Davis
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A conservation dog book for kids?! With Alison Pearce Stevens
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 websitehttps://apstevens.com/ Get a signed copy! Don’t forget you can personalize your copy, just put your desired personalization in the comment box when ordering.https://francieandfinch.com/ Host: Kayla FrattEditor: Sara Fangton Guest logistics: Brooke Schoeder Interns: Evelyn Combs and Grace KoskiWebsite: Meg du BrayMentoring group: Madison Davis
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Mythbusting with Meg Barnes and Paul Bunker
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 Barneshttps://www.instagram.com/detectionforgood/ Paul Bunker https://www.instagram.com/chironk9/ Host: Kayla FrattEditor: Sara Fangton Guest logistics: Brooke Schoeder Intern: Evelyn Combs Website: Meg du BrayMentoring group: Madison Davis
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How volunteer conservation dog teams are making a difference
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 methodshttps://parasitesandvectors.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13071-024-06519-8 Sally Dickinson - Virginia TechSally’s publications https://data.lib.vt.edu/authors/Sally_Dickinson/11235291 Instagram https://www.instagram.com/vtcals?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=MW5kN2puMzY1MDQ2bg== Kyoko Johnson and Marlee Monahan - Conservation Dogs of Hawaii Instagram https://www.instagram.com/conservationdogshawaii?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=MTIyOTljbzF6bjJ3Yw== Website https://www.conservationdogshawaii.org/volunteer/ Arden Lumenfall - New York-New Jersey trail conference Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/nynjtc_conservationdogs?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&igsh=YWQ5Y3VjcjlsdGs= Website https://www.nynjtc.org/conservation-dogs/
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Alaska Storytime 02: When Dog Preparation Goes Sideways
In this episode K9 Conservationist co-founder, Kayla Fratt, continues her story about her PhD research and Alaskan field season with a raw and honest look at what “ugly training” really means and why it matters. Kayla shares the realities of working detection dogs in unpredictable weather, adapting when field plans fall apart, and facing the heartbreak of realizing that not every talented dog is a fit for every project. From rough and rain-soaked boat rides to joyful breakthroughs in the field, this episode dives into the art of balancing research, intuition, and compassion in conservation detection dog work.
Welcome to the K9 Conservationists podcast, where we’re positively obsessed with conservation detection dogs! Join us every week as we discuss detection dogs, ecology, conservation, dog behavior, training, and much more.
K9 Conservationists is hosted by Kayla Fratt, CDBC and co-founder of K9 Conservationists. Along with her two co-founders, she trains dogs to detect data. Support the work we do at patreon.com/k9conservationists.
South Africa