http://k9conservationists.org/, http://linktr.ee/K9conservationists, https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLWdUYJj9_upDuJ0Zd

K9 Conservationists, Ketchum, ID (2026)

06/18/2026

Sade and Simba were beloved members of the K9 Conservationists and conservation dog community, and their loss in 2024 left a deep ache in our hearts. There are no perfect words to capture the brilliance of their bond or the hole they’ve left behind, but we hope this scholarship will help carry their legacy forward.

Sade was kind, clever, goofy, and fiercely devoted to those she loved—especially her dog, Simba. Their partnership was truly inspiring; they shared a heart. Simba was a brilliant border collie with a sharp mind and a gentle soul, and together they became an exceptional conservation dog team. Sade grew into a talented handler and mentor, always ready to lend a hand, share a laugh, or support a friend in need.

Last year, we launched the Sade and Simba Memorial Scholarship in their honor. This year, we're expanding the scholarship to offer two full-ride scholarships to our upcoming live handler course. The scholarship is especially intended to support young Q***r dog trainers, though all are welcome to apply. Each scholarship covers the full $650 course tuition, and our goal is to raise $1,300 to make both awards possible.

Applications are now open. If you or someone you know would benefit from this opportunity, you can apply here: https://forms.gle/5UQGckaMh8ByXCCRA

Sade and Simba's story reminds us that great work isn't just about technique—it's about connection, community, generosity, and heart. We hope these scholarships help carry their light and spirit forward by creating opportunities for the next generation of conservation dog handlers.

If you'd like to help support this scholarship fund, you can donate through the link below:https://donorbox.org/s-s-memorial-scholarship-fundraiser

Thank you for helping us honor Sade and Simba's legacy 🌈

06/15/2026

We couldn’t be happier to share that Tooma has reached his new - and old - home! Paul Bunker of Paul Bunker is definitely one of Tooma’s favorite people. When it became clear that Tooma was not the perfect fit for our upcoming projects, we were thrilled that Paul suggested taking him back. Tooma will be continuing his contributions to science through a trace odor detection project, with hopefully more to come. Letting Tooma go has been hard for us, but is eased greatly by the confidence that he’s happy, well-cared-for, and loved. Paul reported that Tooma was leaping and crying with joy when they were reunited. We’re forever grateful to Paul for trusting us with Tooma’s future and taking him back, and to Tooma for his contributions to the Island Wolf Project and the Coastal Marten Project. We hope to visit them both soon!

06/10/2026

Gracias, Dídac! Dídac (.sniff ) is back home in Spain after his second field season helping out on the Island Wolf Project. After he came here as a volunteer last year, we knew we wanted Dídac back for the 2026 season. He’s an incredibly astute trainer, attentive canine caretaker, and sharp ecologist. He routinely steps up to take on jobs around camp before being asked, from dog walking to kitchen chores to data cleaning and management. The dogs LOVE him and he’s a joy to work with. We are so grateful for his support. Dídac is also a conservation dog handler at home, with three wonderful working dogs. He’s been working hard on his master’s program, studying some interesting training questions for these amazing dogs. We’re already missing Dídac in Alaska, but we are SO excited for where he’s going and what’s coming next for him. Gracias, Didac!

06/09/2026

🎉 Enrollment is now open for the next round of our Live Online Handler Course!

Whether you're just beginning your journey into conservation detection dogs or looking to deepen your skills, this course is designed to help you build a strong foundation while connecting with a community of like-minded handlers, trainers, and conservation professionals.

📅 13-week course: Aug 23–Nov 15, 2026
💻 Weekly live calls (recorded):
🕙 Wednesdays at 10:00 AM MT
9 AM PT • 11 AM CT • 12 PM ET
5 PM UK • 6 PM Central Europe/South Africa • 7 PM Eastern Europe

At K9 Conservationists, everything we do is grounded in dog welfare, scientific integrity, and thoughtful, ethical training.

We believe strong detection teams are built through clear communication, trust, and a deep understanding of both the dog and the work. This course emphasizes real-world application, safe and effective field practices, and the skills needed to contribute meaningfully to conservation research.

We also believe that education should be engaging and empowering. We value mentorship, open knowledge-sharing, and building a stronger conservation detection dog community together. Learning should feel motivating, and we approach complex conservation challenges with joy, curiosity, creativity, and professionalism.

Whether you're brand new to detection work or coming from an adjacent field, you'll leave with a stronger understanding of conservation detection dogs, practical training and field skills, and a network of peers and mentors to support your journey.

💡 Scholarships will be available. More details coming soon.

📅 Enrollment is now open—reserve your spot today at the link in our bio or below: https://k9conservationists.thinkific.com/collections

06/02/2026

Before coming to K9 Conservationists, Tooma was an all-star researcher at the . He contributed to research on how exercise affected olfactory acuity, which involved trotting on a treadmill while sniffing a port from an olfactometer. Tooma still loves his treadmill and you can read all about this work here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159126000614

Tooma also worked on a project detecting buried odors to see how different depths and soil type affect detection of a buried odor. According to Liza Rothkoff, PhD student at the lab, "Iitooma was the best dog on that project regardless of odor depth and soil type!"

The c4 project's goal was to measure olfactory acuity thresholds to different c4 volatile compounds (parts of the scent picture). It was found that dog detection sensitivity ranged 1000-fold.

Tooma will be an excellent sport, companion, or detection dog in a different role. The projects that K9 Conservationists has coming up are simply too remote and rugged for a dog with any physical constraints, but he is not ready to hang up his harness. This little guy is a bucket of energy who thrives on training and enrichment. He relaxes well in the house, crated or no. He's a top-tier cuddler if you don't mind some extra ear kisses, and is whip-smart. If you're interested in adopting Tooma, reach out at [email protected]

05/29/2026

Another aspect of Skipper’s apprenticeship is generalization to different diet items and discrimination between wolf s**ts and other s**ts. Even when we introduce nontarget odors at home and dozens of positive training samples, this stage is important to solidify in the field. His first few days in the field were marked with what I (Kayla) call “clarifying questions.” He would pause at a spot where a bear had munched on a salmon last fall, sniff for a while, and glance at me. Is this it? When I indicated that salmon bones don’t pay, he moved on.

While I took care to introduce Skipper to s**ts of all ages and prey contents, all of the training s**ts had been frozen and thawed, stored in plastic bags. This changes their odor profile, muddying it.

Skipper had two big wins last week as part of his apprenticeship. In one, he sourced odor and located a wolf s**t full of wiry black hair (pic 1). A large bear claw was clearly visible: these wolves had feasted on a black bear. Black bear is a relatively common diet item for Alexander Archipelago wolves, but Skipper had not been exposed to many s**ts containing bear previously. We’re thrilled that he made the leap to this new diet item without missing a beat!

Just a few minutes later, we rounded a huge cedar to see three huge piles of bear s**t. Skipper investigated those s**ts, but moved on to source odor on logs and vegetation nearby (slide 2). He started circling, body getting long as he tried to locate his target. When he stopped, an old wolf s**t lay between his paws (pic 3). This wasn’t the first bear s**t Skipper ignored, but we're thrilled to have such a clear example on video. Good job, Skip!

05/27/2026

We've been reflecting a lot on Tooma's successes. While his career was shorter than we'd like, he's make remarkable contributions to science over the years. As part of our team, Tooma was a main dog on the Dune Marten Project with PhD student Dax. As Dax was analyzing results last week, he texted co-founder Kayla this exciting finding: Tooma (and Barley) found 132 confirmed marten s**ts, which Dax said is "More than all s**ts from that area combined over previous years. That’s insane."

Tooma has an incredible nose and wonderful work ethic. He's also worked on the Island Wolf Project, and many projects with Texas Tech including a buried odor project, C4 sensitivity project, and work determining how exercise affects olfactory acuity (all 3 with Texas Tech). He had several other important roles as a younger dog.

Stay tuned for more Tooma appreciation posts as we help him search for his next adventure! If you have worked with Tooma and have memories or "wins" to share, reach out. We'd love to keep the Tooma love rolling. He's a very special dog who deserves the very best.

We envision him excelling at nosework, barn hunt, bedbug, mussel, or any number of other detection roles where it's easier to give him rest and access veterinary care than on Alaskan islands or the Guatemalan highlands. Tooma's body might not be able to keep up with super rugged, remote fieldwork far from veterinary care, but he's still extremely well-suited to a sport role or a role that is more "urban." K9 Conservationists is dedicated to finding him the perfect next home. Tooma comes with oodles of training, including in physical therapy skills to keep him chugging along.

If you're looking for a wonderfully social, cuddly, smart, and trainable dog, he's your guy. Reach out to [email protected] if you'd like to learn more about adopting Tooma.

05/26/2026

Onboarding new dogs to projects is a long process. Despite extensive screening and home-based training, there is an “apprentice” phase on a dog’s first field deployment. This period—ranging from days to weeks—helps identify gaps in training or understanding that can’t be replicated at home. Last year’s apprenticeship revealed that Niffler is afraid of some fresh wolf s**ts, a behavior not seen with frozen training samples.

Skipper’s apprenticeship has been remarkably smooth. Although he is our youngest and least experienced dog, he was hand-selected for this gig. His apprenticeship began with a week of introductions to Alaska’s sights, smells, and sounds around town.

Next, he learned to:
1. Locate wolf s**ts never handled by humans (pic 1). First, Barley locates a few s**ts, then Skipper is brought into the odor cone. Handlers support sourcing and mark correct indication. This stage was challenging for Tooma and Niffler, but Skipper showed a clear behavioral change on his first wild s**t.
2. Relax and recover during boat rides. Selected for his adaptable, easygoing temperament, Skipper slept through his first ride and has since handled Pacific swell and chop with ease (pic 2).
3. Safely load and unload from the ADFG boat. Kayla previously taught Skipper to be lifted, placed on objects, and handed between people—the boat was the final missing piece.
4. Troubleshoot complex odor pictures. While Skipper has extensive odor puzzle training, some conditions can’t be recreated. On day 1, he encountered moss-covered s**t (pic 3) and a very old s**t flattened by a vehicle (pic 4). He handled the moss well but worked HARD to source odor on the flattened sample. Soon, his search strategy became slower and more deliberate!
5. Remain focused despite wildlife distractions. Skipper has encountered river otters, a seal “periscoping,” low-flying gulls and ravens, and the calls of sandhill cranes and wolves. We've invested heavily in neutrality to wildlife, and it has paid off.

So far, he has focused on high-density s**t areas and has found 59 s**ts! Next he'll do longer searches and work in more variable weather. He still has much to learn, but his future is bright!

05/24/2026

The third year of the Island Wolf Project is in full swing! For 3.5 months every summer, Kayla heads up to Alaska with her detection dogs as part of her PhD fieldwork. Under the supervision of Dr. Taal Levi at Oregon State University and in partnership with Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Kayla is studying the diet, movement, and community ecology of the Alexander Archipelago wolves. Research questions center on the island biogeographical effects on wolf diet, logging effect on prey availability, and wolf movement between islands. Our initial results show that some wolves regularly visit four or more islands as part of their territory, while others disperse over 200km as the crow flies, crossing at least five different bodies of water in the process.

These wolves are unusually small and dark-coated, adapted for life in the “sea forest.” This study collects wolf s**t across 25 islands in the Alexander Archipelago, with the dog team commuting by boat across the Pacific ocean to reach remote study sites in the US’s largest national forest and the world’s largest remaining temperate rainforest.

This year, the dog team consists of Professor Emeritus Barley and his apprentice Skipper. Barley has been part of the team from the beginning, though as he ages he is searching the choice (easier) terrain and taking more days off to let the young guys learn the ropes. We’ll discuss Skipper’s apprenticeship phase more in upcoming posts. Kayla is joined by field technicians Didac (.sniff) and will soon be joined by Mallory (), Robyn (.robyn) and Bella () as part of our rotating cast. These field technicians aid in the care of the dogs, camera trap servicing, data collection, GPS track cleaning, and s**t sample preparation for the lab. Another group of technicians, mostly Alaska Department of Fish and Game employees, are helping to do transects searching for deer pellets to get a measure of prey availability. We are so grateful to have a wonderful team behind our amazing dogs, and thrilled to work in such a unique and exciting ecosystem.

05/22/2026

Volunteer opportunity! Niffler is looking for a ride from Missoula, MT to southern Michigan (just north of South Bend) between now and June 23 for an exciting detection project. We can offer up to $1,200 in mileage reimbursement and incidentals. We are also open to working with transport companies, but Niffler would appreciate a more family-style approach.

He is a wonderful traveler, quiet and clean in the car and hotels. He loves long walks through corn fields and digging in the sand during breaks. He plays well with other dogs and is respectful with cats.

We will be excited to share more about Niffler's new project when all details are ready. His original plans were to travel with his handler, but due to some last-minute shifts his handler is coming from a different location and is no longer able to shuttle him.

K9 Conservationists

06/18/2026

06/15/2026

06/10/2026

06/09/2026

06/02/2026

05/29/2026

05/27/2026

05/26/2026

05/24/2026

05/22/2026

Address

Website

Alerts

Contact The Organization

Shortcuts

Share

Category