USE OF DOGS IN WILDLIFE RESEARCH AND MANAGEMENT 1 David K. Dahlgren, R. Dwayne Elmore, Deborah A. Smith, Aimee Hurt, Edward B. Arnett, and John W. Connelly Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism, Region 1 Office, Hays, KS 67601, USA

Prologue “My dog, by the way, thinks I have much to learn about partridges…” Aldp Leopold. Aldo Leopold with Flick (German shorthaired pointer) at the Riley Game Cooperative. Photo Courtesy of the Aldo Leopold Foundation,

Introduction ► Dogs may seem like an outdated tool, and use of dogs may seem elementary, however using dogs can provide many types of field-based data collection otherwise unavailable to human-observers. ► Dogs can offer a unique skill set in collection of data: Scenting abilities and ground coverage/speed. ► New techniques (e.g., GPS) are available that improve the quality of data collected by dogs

Types of Dogs Sporting and Hound Breeds ► Innate interest in Game ► Selected/inherited traits that are desirable ► Must consider breed differences ► Show vs. Field Lines within a breed (field lines more useful) ► Individual traits may vary more than breed traits Herding Breeds ► Have been used for other wildlife tasks ► Herding or protection ► High intelligence and cooperation ► Can be used in non-game data collection (e.g., Scat and tortoise detection)

General Information on Use of Dogs Uses: ► Far superior detection abilities ► Climatic conditions affect scenting conditions ► Individual dogs differ ► GPS Units designed for dogs: Examples -Garmin TM Astro, RoamEO TM ► Safety Concerns 5 Scientific Standards ► Same dog (s) ► Physically fit and trained ► Similar Climate ► Restrict search period (time of day) ► Balance search efforts: equal number of dogs and researchers per unit and area

Locating Wildlife Objectives: ► Counting Animals ► Distribution of Animals ► Habitat Use ► Demographic Info ► Density Estimates Techniques ► Distance Sampling ► Belt Transects Rare or declining species Yellow rail are more easily located by pointing dogs

GPS Data Example Collected with a Garmin TM Astro Unit E GPS Data Example Collected with a Garmin TM Astro Unit Example of a transect within a 40.5 ha plot to monitor greater sage-grouse using pointing dogs on Parker Mountain, Utah, Data was collected using Garmin™ Astro GPS units. Transect line spacing was designed to reduce redundancy in the dog’s path, and to allow for distance sampling procedures. A problem with this design is that grouse detected at the corners do not have a perpendicular distance to transect line.

Example of Frequency Data Collected by Dogs An example of greater sage-grouse use data collected with pointing dogs in 40.5ha experimental plots on Parker Mountain, Utah, 2003–2004 (see Dahlgren et al. 2006). These data show a preference for Tebuthiuron (spike; a chemical treatment) treated plots for both grouse in general, and broods specifically. Using dogs allowed the classification of sage-grouse by age and sex, which benefited this project specifically designed to improve late brood-rearing habitat.

Author’s Dogs Used to Find Greater Sage-grouse Leks in Utah

Specimen and Carcass Collection Examples of Uses: ► Carcass detection  Wind Farms  Fence Mortality  Poison or Disease Events  Example: Dogs used to collect ducks dying from botulism, and were able to quickly select live specimens Advantages ► Dogs have been show to find 92% of sparrow carcasses compared to 45% for human searchers. ► Bat carcasses around wind facilities where dogs located 71% and 81% of carcasses at two sites, while humans only found 42% and 14%, at the same sites, respectively

Carcass Collection Example Researcher Ed Arnett, Bat Conservation International, searches for dead bats and birds beneath wind turbines with his Labrador retriever at a facility in south- central Pennsylvania Researcher Ed Arnett, Bat Conservation International, searches for dead bats and birds beneath wind turbines with his Labrador retriever at a facility in south- central Pennsylvania.

Scat Detection Overview: ► Emerging Field (see MacKay et al 2008) ► Scat of many different mammalian Predators ► Find more and quicker than human searchers Characteristics ► Sporting and Non-sporting Breeds, even mixed breeds ► Takes high reward drive from dog much like law enforcement dogs (not all dogs make good candidates) ► Specialized training needed

Scat Detection Example After alerting her handler to bear scat (upper center of photo) by sitting next to the sample, the scat-detection dog now ignores the scat while chewing on her reward toy while her handler prepares to label and collect the sample.

Capturing and Marking Wildlife Advantages: ► More effective and efficient ► Used for birds, mammals, and others Examples: ► Mountain Lion capture (hounds) ► Bear Capture (hounds) ► Grouse chick capture (pointing dogs)

Studies of Wildlife Behavior ► Underutilized Technique ► Predator Simulation ► Can be used in Wildlife Damage Management

Wildlife Damage Management Uses: ► Livestock Guard Dogs ► Predator Management ► Urban Geese Control ► Detection Dogs Examples: ► Pyrenees and Akbash Livestock Dogs ► Border Collies chasing geese on golf courses ► Dogs used to detect brown snakes in Guam to control invasion ► Bear Control  Karelian Bear Dogs and Laika Dogs

Training and Handling ► Most important issue with field data collection! ► Lack of training is the most prone issue for frustration in the field! ► Proper use of Electronic Collars (seek professional advice) ► Many books available ► Scat Detection: takes specialized training ► Consider using a professional training, may be worth the cost ► Bond formed with the dog can be highly rewarding

SUMMARY ► Dogs bring a unique skill set to field-based data collection ► Dogs can be used for many techniques including: Locating, Carcass Collection, Scat Detection, Capturing and Marking, Studying Wildlife Behavior, and Managing Wildlife Damage ► Many breeds and types of dogs can be used, however, sporting, hound, and herding breeds are most popular ► Training is the number one need before heading into the field for data collection