Your dog may get excited when it spots a tennis ball or leash, but it’s the sight of a red vest that gets some dogs raring to go.
That vest signifies it’s time to go to work for a group of dogs trained for any number of highly specialized and unique jobs: Sniffing out invasive plants, identifying elusive species of animals, intercepting illicit wildlife poaching, and more.
“When the dogs see the vest come out, they are so excited,” said Breanne Black, the outreach and development coordinator for Working Dogs for Conservation (WD4C). “They really enjoy the work.”
The work in question is for a Missoula-based nonprofit founded in the mid-1990s by a group of four women, all professional conservationists, whose first mission was to identify a species of bear in Canada.
While experimenting with different methods for species identification, the founders landed on training dogs to detect the scat of these bears — and that type of training has since proven to be an effective way to do all sorts of ecological monitoring, Black said.
In the past quarter century, these working dogs have been trained on more than 100 scents.
Ongoing projects in recent years have seen the dogs sniffing out evidence of invasive species of mussels and non-native plants like salt cedar, perennial pepperweed, and Dyer’s woad to help prevent their spread, along with identifying endangered animal populations like the San Joaquin kit fox, the leopard lizard and the black-footed ferret, which are primarily concentrated in Wyoming, Montana and South Dakota.
There are typically 10-15 dogs living at the WD4C facility in Turah, about 10 miles east of Missoula, in addition to a handful of dogs in other places like Laos and Alberta and 50-plus dogs that are working in various places in Africa, Black said.
Whether deployed on projects near or far, the dogs play a valuable role in a wide range of conservation efforts.
“Because of their noses, the dogs can smell things that we can’t see,” Black said. “They’re a lot more effective and accurate than humans.”
Success Stories
One of the organization’s best success stories has played out in its backyard.
On Mount Sentinel in Missoula, home to the “M” seen in the backdrop of photos of the University of Montana, Working Dogs for Conservation has played a key role in a 30-year project to eradicate Dyer’s woad, a yellow flowering plant.
The WD4C dogs have proven far more effective than the humans that were trying to tackle this problem before them, and the plant has been 99.6% eradicated from the mountain, said Black.
“We can only see the plant once it starts to grow, but the dogs can detect the seed,” she said.
The dogs will travel wherever a project takes them, and they’ve frequented different areas of Wyoming over the years. In the Grand Tetons, the WD4C dogs have worked to sniff out the presence of salt cedar and perennial pepperweed, along with monitoring the population of black-footed ferrets.
With most animal species, the WD4C dogs are trained to detect scat, but the goal with the black-footed ferret project is to identify where these types of weasels are living so that a camera can be set up to monitor and count the population, Black noted. “The dogs stick their head in the hole and alert their handler if there is a ferret in the hole.”
Training To Sniff Scents
Most dogs enjoy a good sniff, sure, and some species have noses that are particularly suited to this type of work, but the job of a conservation dog takes a lot of training and practice.
When a request for a new project comes in, the human handlers will collect samples of the plant or the scat of the animal to be identified and then start training the dogs at the Turah facility, Black said. In most cases, it will take between six months and one year of training before the dogs are ready to head out in the field for that project, she said.
The nature of field work varies and could entail one or more dogs depending on the project. Most work is done in the spring, summer and fall in the mornings and dogs generally are out working for no more than three hours.
The WD4C dogs are trained to put their nose on the intended target and are encouraged to then look at their handler and, as a further cue to the humans, the canines typically lay down or sit, Black said. “Some dogs have their own flair.”
Wicket And Ruger
One dog that was particularly well-suited for the job could be trained on new scents in as little as three months.
That dog, Wicket, has become particularly legendary in the organization’s history. A rescue black Labrador mix, Wicket was trained on a record 32 different scents and she spent 14 of her 16 years working in eight countries and 20 states.
Another one of WD4C dogs that became famous was Ruger, a Labrador retriever and German shepherd mix. Rescued from Browning, on the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana, Ruger was sent to Africa where it was discovered he was almost completely blind, Black said.
Still, he put an estimated 150 poachers out of business, Black said. “He was probably the most successful dog in Africa.”
The WD4C dogs in Africa are trained to detect any indication of poaching, including ammunition or snares, with the goal of stopping illegal poaching before it happens. Once poachers are detected, Black said, the dogs and their handlers can get on their trail and call in law enforcement to take it from there.
Among dogs that are currently working, Black said she’s “a bit obsessed” with Moose, the latest addition to the crew of conservation working dogs. He is another rescue that has been put to work on a project in California tracking down the presence of island spotted skunks.
One In 1,000 Dogs
Rescue dogs are common among the WD4C crew, though sometimes the organization also gets working dogs that weren’t suited for other jobs because they got spooked by loud noises, for example, Black said. The ideal age range to begin training the dogs is at about 1 or 2 years old, she added.
A high drive and lots of energy, mixed with obsessive qualities, are traits that make for successful conservation dogs. Sometimes people will come in with their toy-obsessed dogs thinking they may be a good fit for this work, Black said.
“The question is: Will they be obsessed with the ball for an hour?” Black said of this aspect of the evaluation process.
What’s more, dogs need to be able to adapt to different situations — certain projects might see them lowered into ships or riding on the back of an elephant — and they have to be comfortable being crated during long transportation rides and then out in the field working.
“It’s about one in 1,000 dogs that makes the cut,” Black said.
Retirement Benefits
Making the cut does, however, guarantee the dog is cared for by WD4C throughout their working days and beyond. “We are responsible for their retirement and their care as they age,” Black said, likening it to the post-service treatment of veterans.
But retirement doesn’t typically come until well after the age of 10 for most of the WD4C dogs, and while working, there’s a rigorous exercise regimen that involves stretching and physical therapy to ensure the dogs are ready for any variety of field work, Black said.
While conservation is the overarching goal of the organization’s work, the wellbeing of the dogs is paramount. “We’re constantly worried about their health and safety,” she said.
Working with dogs doesn’t inherently create any unique challenges — “it’s a lot easier than working with people” — but there are logistics to contend with, including how to safely get the dogs to and from their worksites, Black said.
Funding Challenges
One of the new challenges the organization is contending with is funding, as some contracts with federal agencies like the National Park Service have been put on hold, Black said. For now, however, the organization has tried to keep all previously scheduled projects on the calendar and proceed as planned, she added.
The organization’s work is also funded through private donors, foundations and grants. The dogs have been recruited for one-off projects like detecting a rare cactus in Texas, while the Wild Sheep Foundation in Bozeman recently deployed the dogs to sniff out the presence of a deadly respiratory pathogen so they didn’t have to eradicate an entire herd of sheep, Black said.
