Our center’s Director, Dr. Sam Wasser, developed the scat detection dog program in 1997. Having pioneered the development and application of many of the fecal-based hormone and genetic techniques widely used today, Dr. Wasser realized the need for a sampling method that would increase sample acquisition over large remote areas, while reducing the bias associated with unequal capture probabilities common with other sampling techniques. He collaborated with Sgt. Barbara Davenport, Master Canine Trainer with the Washington State Department of Corrections, modifying narcotics detection dog methods to train dogs to locate scat from endangered species. Our scat detection dogs are now being used to enhance sample collections over large remote landscapes, for use in a wide variety of population-based genetic and physiological studies.  Our training methods are thoroughly described and validated in the following publication:

The ideal detection dog is extremely energetic with an excessive play drive.  These dogs will happily work all day long, motivated by the expectation of a tennis ball play reward upon sample detection.   The obsessive, high-energy personalities of detection dogs also make them difficult to maintain as pets. As a result, they frequently find themselves abandoned to animal shelters, facing euthanasia. We rescue these dogs and offer them a satisfying career in conservation research.

We have been using Conservation Canines in our research since 1997. These dogs have enabled us to non-invasively access vast amounts of genetic and physiological information applied to conservation problems around the world. Such information has proved vital for determining the causes and consequences of human disturbances on wildlife as well as the actions needed to mitigate such impacts.

Matching Dogs Can Replace DNA Analyses:  Most recently, we trained dogs to match samples from the same individual, reducing or eliminating the time and financial costs of DNA analyses.  These dogs are able to reliably match samples from individuals whose low genetic diversity may prohibit DNA discrimination at the individual level—a common problem among endangered species.  They can also accurately match samples that would otherwise have to be discarded because they are too degraded for DNA analysis. Once samples are grouped by individual, a single sample from each group can still be selected for DNA amplification to genetically mark the individual, providing more cost-effective means of acquiring the same data from more exhaustive DNA analyses.