K9 Conservationists

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K9 Conservationists Professional conservation detection dog teams collecting data for researchers and committed to making an impact.

We’re a little behind on promoting podcast episodes over here, so let’s rewind a couple of weeks and check out this one!...
10/15/2026

We’re a little behind on promoting podcast episodes over here, so let’s rewind a couple of weeks and check out this one!

In this episode of the K9 Conservationists Podcast, Kayla talks with Lauralea Oliver of K9inScentive about the process of evaluating and selecting dogs for detection work—and why sometimes the most important skill is knowing when to say no.

They dig into what Lauralea looks for when evaluating a potential working dog, why “high energy” doesn’t necessarily mean high motivation, the importance of sociability and project-specific fit, and how easy it can be to see a behavior you think you can “fix” rather than asking whether that dog is actually the right fit in the first place.

They also talk about what it means for a dog to opt in to the work, why methodical dogs can bring valuable skills to a detection team, and how a dog can be an excellent dog without being the right dog for a particular job.

And, of course, they discuss the idea of “no maybes.”

Lauralea also shares Built for the Field, her in-depth course focused on evaluating working dogs and making better-informed decisions about whether a dog is suited for a particular job. K9 Conservationists listeners can get a discount on the course, so be sure to check it out if you're interested in learning more about evaluating potential working dogs.

Use code "K9POD26" for 20% off!
🔗 https://k9inscentive.com/built-for-the-field-online-course/

🎧 Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

Today, we celebrate Indigenous People’s Day. As conservationists, we are honored to get to work on and cherish so many N...
10/12/2026

Today, we celebrate Indigenous People’s Day.

As conservationists, we are honored to get to work on and cherish so many Native lands. Our jobs allow us to contribute to protecting and better understanding these lands, and the animals who inhabit them, and we don’t take this great responsibility lightly. Native peoples have shown – and continue to show – us how to serve as stewards to these wonderful wild places, and we’re so grateful to be a small part of studying and advocating for the natural world we love so much.

We’ve been so fortunate to have projects on the following Native lands, and we thank the peoples of them:
Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian | (Alaska)
Tséstho’e (Cheyenne), Apsáalooke (Crow), and hinono’eino’ biito’owu’ (Arapaho), Očhéthi Šakówiŋ | (Casper, Wyoming)
Yakama, Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, Qwû’lh-hwai-pûm (Klickitat), and Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla | (Conboy Lake, Washington)
N’dakina (Abenaki / Abénaquis), and Wabanaki (Dawnland Confederacy), and Passamaquoddy | (Cutler, Maine)
Odawa, Anishinabewaki ᐊᓂᔑᓈᐯᐗᑭ, and Mississauga lands | (Michigan)

We encourage you to research and honor the Native lands you live on.
Learn more by going to native-land.ca.

31 Mile Challenge: Week 1 Recap!It's been so amazing to see all of the adventures our community has been on in the past ...
10/08/2026

31 Mile Challenge: Week 1 Recap!

It's been so amazing to see all of the adventures our community has been on in the past week, full of walks, runs, swims, and (most importantly) awesome sniffs! We're so grateful to all of our community champion fundraisers who are taking part in the challenge.

And, if you'd like to join, since the campaign runs through the entire month of October, there's still plenty of time! To get started, head to https://donorbox.org/31-mile-challenge-celebrating-barley-s-legacy

We can't wait to see all the places you go! 🐾🏃🏃‍♀️

10/07/2026

While traveling through Idaho, Skipper and Kayla were presented with a unique training opportunity: captive elk who were bugling away! We like to do this sort of exposure whenever possible. Because Skipper has such a good history with wildlife and the elk were securely fenced, we felt it was most useful to have him off-leash and not in “training mode.” Asking for obedience behaviors is helpful, but we also like to reward the dogs for freely making good choices. And that’s exactly what he did!

Almost 94% of the high-volume old growth on northern Prince of Wales Island was cut before the Roadless Rule existed (pi...
10/05/2026

Almost 94% of the high-volume old growth on northern Prince of Wales Island was cut before the Roadless Rule existed (pic 1 shows our team looking out over a decades-old clear cut).

The Rule now protects 9 million acres of the Tongass — the largest intact temperate rainforest on earth. The Tongass is resplendent in summer (pic 2) and ferocious in the winter; it is wild and glorious.

The Forest Service recently announced that it plans to repeal that Rule entirely. Comments close on October 6.

Our Island Wolf Project team crawls through the slash left behind after logging to study what happens next: no undergrowth, no forage, no deer, no wolves (pic 3). Don't let this become the whole Tongass. Explore Roadless Rules and submit a comment to the government here: https://morethanjustparks.com/roadless-rule/

10/01/2026

One of the things that Barley and I loved to do most together was hike or trail run in beautiful places. When he was young and I worked four 10 hour shifts a week at a shelter in Colorado, I took him hiking every day I could in Colorado’s high country. He trained for three marathons with me, trotting ahead of me on all but my longest runs. He and I explored hundreds of miles of trails in Colorado and later in Montana and Oregon.

When we moved to Latin America, our Ridgeline hikes and summit-bagging changed to long slow jogs on the beach and crab-hunting wanders at sunset.

We hoped Barley would still be here in October. He should be here to do this with us. But he’s not, and we still want to honor his legacy. So for the month of October, I’m honoring his legacy by getting out with Skipper and Niffler in some of Barley’s favorite places.

We want you to join us! It’s easy to sign up and create your own campaign to move 31 miles (one mile a day) your way—by yourself, with your community, or with a furry friend! You can hike, walk, run, cycle, swim, or just play. This challenge takes place from October 1-31 (or, if you start a few days late, that’s okay!). And because it’s a virtual challenge, you can participate anywhere.

The Tongass National Forest is the largest intact temperate rainforest on earth. Much of the high-value old growth has a...
09/30/2026

The Tongass National Forest is the largest intact temperate rainforest on earth. Much of the high-value old growth has already been logged.

The Roadless Rule restricts logging and new road construction across nearly 60 million acres nationwide, including 9 million acres of the Tongass. It's currently under threat: the Forest Service has announced it plans to move forward with repealing the Roadless Rule in its entirety.

This would open much of the area we study as part of the Island Wolf Project up to road construction and increased logging pressure. We've already seen where that leads: intact forest → roads → logging → a brief increase in productivity → stem exclusion → a massive reduction in carrying capacity.

The deer move on or starve. The wolves follow. Explore Roadless Rules and submit a comment to the government here: https://morethanjustparks.com/roadless-rule/

Starting a new project is always exhilarating and exhausting. This project is no exception – we relied on the Conservati...
09/28/2026

Starting a new project is always exhilarating and exhausting. This project is no exception – we relied on the Conservation Dog Alliance, literature, and long conversations with our project partners to ensure that everyone was enthusiastic and well-prepared for the fieldwork. We’re proud of how Niffler, Vara, and Anne performed very well in challenging field conditions, with high humidity, heat, ticks, poison ivy, and buried turtles all keeping us on our toes and adapting our plans.

Finding live animals, with seasonal variations in their behavior, added an additional element to this project. Turtles were sometimes found "in form," or partially buried in sand and covered in leaves. With high heat, they also were more likely to move around before the start of our survey day at sunrise. This can provide challenges for dogs new to a species!

By the last week, both dogs were finding turtles "in form" – partially buried and covered in leaves – as well as turtles on the move. One volunteer surveyor, Doug, noticed the dogs taking more time sniffing certain turtles they missed at first, even when they were released for their reward. Another volunteer surveyor, Eddie, noticed the dogs had learned on their own to check all the microhabitat areas he would think to look for turtles - along logs, under brush piles, at the base of trees, or in moister soil. Seeing Niffler and Vara learn and progress through these challenges throughout the project – and have some amazing finds in the end – was fascinating.

Both Niffler and Vara located dozens of turtles without issue. Early on, the dogs occasionally passed near turtles that humans had located without showing a hint of a change of behavior – as if they were invisible to the nose. This underlies the importance of connecting with experts in your target species early on! Experts like Dr. Kris Hoffman and Dr. Simon Gadbois have discussed intermittent apparent changes in detectability of reptiles. We are curious if the dog’s behavior correlates with age, s*x, behavior, metabolism shifts, or breeding status of the turtles.

We’re excited to share that K9 Conservationists has been named #12 on Feedspot’s Top 45 Working Dog Podcasts for 2026! ...
09/26/2026

We’re excited to share that K9 Conservationists has been named #12 on Feedspot’s Top 45 Working Dog Podcasts for 2026! 🎉🐕

We’re honored to be included alongside so many podcasts sharing knowledge, stories, and conversations about working dogs.

Since 2019, K9 Conservationists has been focused on the intersection of conservation, scent detection, and working dogs — and we’re grateful to everyone who has listened, shared an episode, joined a conversation, or contributed their expertise along the way. 💚

A big thank you to Feedspot for the recognition!

Check out the full list of Top 45 Working Dog Podcasts here: https://podcast.feedspot.com/working_dog_podcasts/

We are so excited to launch K9 Conservationists’ first peer to peer fundraiser, in honor of Barley and his indelible leg...
09/25/2026

We are so excited to launch K9 Conservationists’ first peer to peer fundraiser, in honor of Barley and his indelible legacy—including how much he loved to run, swim, and play.

The 31 Mile Challenge is an opportunity to fundraise for K9C during the month of October — by moving (an average of) one mile a day. You can walk, run, bike, swim, or just have fun by yourself, with your friends and family, or with your pup(s)! With the weather cooling down and so many fall adventures unfolding, now’s the perfect time to get outside for a great cause. Once you sign up here, we’ll provide everything you need to encourage your community to contribute to your fundraiser—or even to join you in your challenge! You’ll be able to post on social media as well as send your fundraiser directly.

Details:
What? Move 31 miles your way—with a furry friend if you’d like! 🚶‍♀️🏃‍♀️ 🚴

🗓 When? October 1 - 31

🤝 Who? You can complete the miles on your own or with your friends/family/pup!

📍 Where? Anywhere! This is a virtual challenge.

Why? To honor Barley’s legacy and support K9C’s crucial conservation efforts.

How? Click "I want to fundraise for this" to get started today!

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Ketchum, ID
83340

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