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conservationdogshawaii

Leaping into the weekend like… 🐾 🐾 📸 K9

Leaping into the weekend like…
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📸 K9 Toad loves invasive plant surveys!
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#blueheelersofinstagram #australiancattledogsofinstagram #herdingdogsofinstagram

Below are a few of our favorite “bird” account

Below are a few of our favorite “bird” accounts, which share everything from amazing photos to interesting facts about Hawai`i’s birds.
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@hawaiiwildlifecenter and @saveourshearwaters both rehabilitate injured and sick birds such as the endemic pueo featured in this photo. These accounts post about avian anatomy and feeding/breeding habits as well as videos of the birds that will melt your heart. You’ll also learn about seabird fallout and how you can help reduce it.
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@endangeredhawaii and @hobatross have beautiful photos of Hawai`s birds, including forest birds, waterbirds and seabirds. @endangeredhawaii features pics and info about many species from various Hawaiian islands. @hobatross has more of a presence on Facebook and you can follow her at “Hob Osterland” or look for her posts in the FB group “Hawaii Bird Lovers.” Her annual albatross mōlī-do contest (hairdos as chicks are losing their down) is our favorite.
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@birds_hawaii_pastpresent has a variety of historical and ecological posts about native birds, and you’ll also learn about the ways that you can help facilitate important policy changes that will help protect the birds such as @birdsnotmosquitoes
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That’s all for now!
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#hawaiibirds #nativebirds #hawaiiconservation

Part 1 of Factors that Affect Project Success 🐾

Part 1 of Factors that Affect Project Success
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The only constant in conservation dog work is change. Or so it seems because there are literally thousands of potential target species, types of survey areas, and environmental challenges, all of which can require creativity in training and adjustments in deployment prep. This is the first of a 3-4 part post where we’ll discuss the factors that may affect a new project or the feasibility of a potential project.
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Site visit availability and/or details of the site are hugely important when planning a new project. We’ve participated in projects where we only got to visit a future survey site for 30 minutes, and we definitely underestimated the environmental challenges that would be involved. Sometimes, access to a site isn’t possible due to its remote location, and other times it’s accessible but we have made the mistake of not requesting a longer visit to make a better assessment. Lessons learned! When a site visit isn’t possible, we make sure to come up with a list of questions for our collaborators such as:
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~ What are the environmental hazards - sharp rocks, steep cliffs, stinging wasps, etc.
~ Are there sights or sounds that could be major distractions for the dogs - wildlife, low flying planes overhead, etc.
~ Can the dog teams work freely without negatively impacting the plants and animals in the area?
~ What weather challenges might we encounter - extreme heat/humidity, high elevation, pouring rain, etc.
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Two of our certified seabird detection teams will be deploying to a remote location soon. Fortunately they were able to do a couple of full day site visits prior to the deployment, thanks to the project managers. Our next posts in the series will discuss scent training materials, funding/time allotted for project prep, and more. Stay tuned!
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📸 by @tor.johnson.photography of K9 Solo at Johnston Atoll, where stinging wasps were one of the environmental challenges! 🦟

We spent the morning with non-profit @protectandpr

We spent the morning with non-profit @protectandpreservehawaii and their awesome volunteers who were there to spend time in nature, learn about native species & the ecosystem, and help with its restoration through pulling invasive plants and planting native ones. We got to share with the group a little about what we do with our conservation dogs. It was so inspiring to connect with local folks who are so passionate about the ʻāina! If you’re on O`ahu check out their monthly volunteer outings in Honolulu. Guaranteed you’ll learn a lot, have fun and meet some amazing people while contributing to the environment!
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www.protectpreservehi.org
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#hawaiiconservation #malamaaina #outplanting #ecosystemrestoration #nativeplants #hawaiinativeplants

Happy Aloha Friday! K9 Qana and her handler @betab

Happy Aloha Friday! K9 Qana and her handler @betabitzer spent the morning surveying a mesic forest on the North Shore for devil weed. We suspect there are some targets here due to the dog’s behaviors but the terrain was very steep and conditions challenging, so we had to turn back after a certain point. It’s the nature of field work that you can’t always confirm suspected targets. We’re grateful that dogs like Qana work so hard and keep driving to odor, even after challenging days like this. 🙌
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📡 Pathfinder GPS collar by @dogtraofficial
#malinoisofinstagram #belgianmalinoisofinstagram #conservationdog #devilweed #chromolaenaodorata #DemolishTheDevilWeed #invasivespecies #invasiveplants

Last but certainly not least in our series is nēn

Last but certainly not least in our series is nēnē or Hawaiian goose, the official bird of the state of Hawai‘i. Its Hawaiian name comes from its soft call. The nēnē is an herbivore that will either graze or browse, and therefore, of the 5 species in this series, is the least susceptible to avian botulism.
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Stickers, drinkware, and face masks are available at the link in our bio (or visit our website). All purchases will help raise funds towards training K9 teams for avian botulism surveillance. Mahalo for your support!
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About the Artist @nimzoid - Ilana Nimz is an “artistic marine ornitharborist,” or a seabird biologist and arborist that uses art to tell conservation stories. She especially loves communicating about the fragile and unique species in Hawai‘i, and the organizations working to protect them.
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About the Dog - Koa, a Labrador Retriever, is one of the 3 dogs in the volunteer K9 program at Hanalei Refuge.
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#nene #hawaiiangoose #hawaiiangoosenene #waterbird #labradorretriever #labradorsofinstagram

Our 4th waterbird hat is `alae `ke`oke`o, or Hawai

Our 4th waterbird hat is `alae `ke`oke`o, or Hawaiian coot, recognizable by its white forehead, often seen coasting along the water and dipping its heads in the water in search of small fish, insects, and other water creatures. They are known in Hawaiian mythology for their chattiness and warning cries. Xena is an Australian Shepherd, and is one of the 3 dogs in the avian botulism K9 task force at Hanalei Refuge.
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Stickers, drinkware, and face masks are available at the link in our bio (or visit our website). All purchases will help raise funds towards training K9 teams for avian botulism surveillance. Mahalo for your support!
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About the Artist @nimzoid - Ilana Nimz is an “artistic marine ornitharborist,” or a seabird biologist and arborist that uses art to tell conservation stories. She especially loves communicating about the fragile and unique species in Hawai‘i, and the organizations working to protect them.
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#avianbotulism #hawaiiancoot #alaekeokeo #endangeredspecies #waterbird #australianshepherdsofinstagram #australianshepherd

Koloa maoli, or Hawaiian duck, is the species that

Koloa maoli, or Hawaiian duck, is the species that prompted the use of detection dogs for avian botulism surveillance here in Hawai`i. A non-migratory waterbird found primarily on Kaua‘i, this species is the most susceptible to avian botulism due to feeding primarily on invertebrates, which can concentrate the botulism toxin.
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Stickers, drinkware, and face masks are available at the link in our bio (or visit our website). All purchases will help raise funds to train K9 teams for avian botulism surveillance. Mahalo for your support!
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About the Artist @nimzoid - Ilana Nimz is an “artistic marine ornitharborist,” or a seabird biologist and arborist that uses art to tell conservation stories. She especially loves communicating about the fragile and unique species in Hawai‘i, and the organizations working to protect them.
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About the Dog - Bodhi, an O‘ahu-based WhiPitador (Whippet/Pit/Lab mix, we think!), participated in the 2018 study to determine the efficacy of detector dogs for avian botulism surveillance and mitigation.

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#avianbotulism #hawaiianduck #koloamaoli #endangeredspecies #waterbird #whipitador #wildwahineowaimea

Happy Aloha Friday! Here is our next waterbird hat

Happy Aloha Friday! Here is our next waterbird hat, featuring the ae‘o, or Hawaiian stilt, a slender wading bird that has the second-longest legs in proportion to its body of any bird, exceeded only by flamingos. Australian Shepherd Luna is one of 3 dogs in the K9 program at Hanalei Refuge, and is currently conducting weekly surveys.
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Stickers, drinkware, and face masks are available at the link in our bio (or visit our website). All purchases will help fund the training of K9 teams for avian botulism surveillance. Mahalo for your support!
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About the Artist @nimzoid - Ilana Nimz is an “artistic marine ornitharborist,” or a seabird biologist and arborist that uses art to tell conservation stories. She especially loves communicating about the fragile and unique species in Hawai‘i, and the organizations working to protect them.
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#avianbotulism #hawaiianstilt #aeo #endangeredspecies #waterbird #australianshepherdsofinstagram

Huge mahalos to @nimzoid for drawing this waterbir

Huge mahalos to @nimzoid for drawing this waterbird hat series for us! This is the first of 5 that we'll post in the next few days, with each one featuring a different bird species and dog. Featured here are the ‘alae ‘ula, or Hawaiian gallinule, with K9 Solo. We hope these quirky images will help raise awareness about Hawai‘i's native waterbirds and the dogs at Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge that are working to protect them.
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Stickers, mugs, stainless steel bottles, and face masks are available at the link in our bio (or visit our website). All purchases will help raise funds for our program that trains K9 teams for avian botulism surveillance. Mahalo for your support!
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About the Artist - Ilana Nimz is an “artistic marine ornitharborist,” or a seabird biologist and arborist that uses art to tell conservation stories. She especially loves communicating about the fragile and unique species in Hawai‘i, and the organizations working to protect them.
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About the Bird - ‘Alae ‘Ula or Hawaiian gallinule is a secretive bird that feeds on aquatic insects, mollusks and plants. It is known for its red forehead and cackling call. According to Hawaiian legend, the gallinule brought fire from the volcano home of the gods to the Hawaiian people.
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About the Dog - Solo, a Labrador Retriever, participated in the 2018 USGS study to determine the efficacy of detector dogs for avian botulism surveillance and mitigation.
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#alaeula #hawaiiangallinule #endangeredspecies #waterbird #labradorretriever #labradorsofinstagram #wilddogofwaialua

A Tongue Out Tuesday message from K9 Ula: CDH is s

A Tongue Out Tuesday message from K9 Ula: CDH is seeking volunteers on O`ahu to assist our devil weed dog/handler teams with trail navigation and plant pulling during hotspot surveys! If you’re an active person who likes to hike and has a passion for the environment, this could be a fun opportunity for you to also learn about conservation dogs by shadowing them in the field. Please email info@conservationdogshawaii.org for more info or to sign up. Mahalo!
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#tongueouttuesday #chocolatelabsofinstagram #labradorsofinstagram #conservationdog #devilweed #chromolaenaodorata #DemolishTheDevilWeed #invasivespecies #invasiveplants #birddog #birddogsofinstagram #huntingdogsofinstagram

Training in the Kaʻū Desert of the Big Island of

Training in the Kaʻū Desert of the Big Island of Hawai`i today. The Hawaiian islands might conjure up images of palm trees and sandy beaches, but the microclimates and terrains here are actually quite varied, including this area of dried lava remnants, volcanic ash, sand and gravel. We’ve been looking into and testing out different protective booties and musher’s wax for the dogs for an upcoming project. Please comment below to tell us about your favorite paw protection tools and what you like about them!
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📸: K9 Panda and handler/trainer @michelle.reynolds.142

Ace is the place with the helpful (and dog-friendl

Ace is the place with the helpful (and dog-friendly) hardware folks! Guinness got a cookie from the kind Ace cashier while waiting for the humans to check out. Since we were already here, we also got video footage for a K9 certification, to show that the dog is under control and not a danger to people or the handler. Guinness is certainly no danger, but he might kill them with his charm. 🥰
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#gmanflyingnun

We often get asked for photos of the dogs in actio

We often get asked for photos of the dogs in action to accompany magazine and newspaper stories. Capturing photos in the field is not easy, because it can be quite disruptive to the team that’s conducting a survey, not to mention the lighting and surroundings are not always photogenic. On this day, we decided to shadow handler Sandi and her dog Ruger, and promised to only do a couple of staged pics. We found a well-lit path towards the end of the survey when we were winding down, so we asked Sandi to walk back and forth a couple of times. Imagine our surprise when Ruger suddenly veered to the right and alerted on a devil weed plant. Scroll right to see the sequence, and Sandi’s surprised look at the end. This plant happened to be right off the trail (which is not always the case) and what’s funny is that the humans were so focused on taking pictures that we didn’t even notice the large plant. But Ruger did. Good boy! 😄
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#weimaranersofinstagram #weimaraner #devilweed #chromolaenaodorata #DemolishTheDevilWeed #invasivespecies #invasiveplants #birddog #birddogsofinstagram #huntingdogsofinstagram #workingdogwednesday #conservationdog

A white-tailed tropicbird rests on a sailboat, cro

A white-tailed tropicbird rests on a sailboat, crossing from Fiji to Vanuatu, as CDH founder Kyoko steers. (Yes, our staff and volunteers have lives outside of training and working dogs!)

According to @americanbirdconservancy this graceful bird is built for life on the wing. Its taxonomic name, Phaethon, is the ancient Greek word for sun and refers to the young charioteer who dared drive the chariot of the sun god high over the ocean.

The species, like other pelagic birds, comes to land only when nesting. In Hawai'i, they are seen mostly on Kaua'i island, where it is known as koa`e kea.

We have been working behind the scenes on training three of our dogs for seabird detection. As expected with protected species work in remote areas, there are environmental and training challenges to overcome, but we look forward to contributing to the protection of and data gathering for the birds!

📸 by @tor.johnson.photography

#whitetailedtropicbird #koaekea #seabird

#MondayMotivation message from Hanalei National Wi

#MondayMotivation message from Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge!

The primary target for the avian botulism detection dogs is koloa maoli, or Hawaiian duck. This species feeds on wetland invertebrates, which can concentrate the botulism toxin and cause the ducks to get sick. However, the dogs have also been trained to find the carcasses of other less susceptible waterbird species including ‘alae ‘ula, ‘alae ke‘oke‘o and ae‘o (Hawaiian gallinule, coot and stllt).

The pandemic has shifted a lot of people's job descriptions. We all seem to be doing the work of two—and sometimes three—people these days. The dogs are doing their part too! Birds that die of non-botulism causes may still contribute to a disease outbreak. The dogs are providing additional benefits toward the refuge's mission by expanding their job description to detect additional targets and species.

📸 by @kimsrogers
NOTE: Bird feather got stuck in K9 Xena’s muzzle when she sniffed it on the ground, and was not the result of a dog-bird interaction. All work on the refuge is done with endangered species permits and specialized training.

#kokuaforkoloa #avianbotulism #hanaleinationalwildliferefuge #conservationdogs #australianshepherdsofinstagram #australianshepherd #aussiesofinstagram

K9 Ruger waits patiently while handler Sandi marks

K9 Ruger waits patiently while handler Sandi marks a GPS point for the target that he just found. There were several other finds today, from small to large; and right off the trail, to 30+ feet from the trail in thick brush.
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We’ve been absent from social media lately because we’ve been busy working on permit applications, estimates, and planning for some exciting new projects. We look forward to sharing them with you soon!
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#weimaranersofinstagram #weimaraner #devilweed #chromolaenaodorata #DemolishTheDevilWeed #invasivespecies #invasiveplants #birddog #birddogsofinstagram #huntingdogsofinstagram

Happy World Seabird Day (July 3rd)! The Hawaiian

Happy World Seabird Day (July 3rd)!

The Hawaiian islands provide habitat and nesting grounds to a variety of seabird species, including `iwa and `ā (great frigatebirds and red-footed boobies featured in this photo). In addition to these tree nesters and other ground nesters, there are nocturnal burrowing birds that are especially vulnerable to feral cats and rats (also nocturnal). Due to the cryptic nesting habits of these burrowing seabirds, it can be hard to know where their nests are, which it turn can make it challenging to protect them from predators.

Seabirds are a huge conservation priority in the islands, and CDH is excited to turn its efforts towards seabird detection this year to meet this important and ongoing need. Other applications for seabird detection include locating downed seabird chicks in suburban areas, a result of the birds getting confused by artificial lights, and sometimes injured, when fledging. If they are promptly rescued from their hiding places, they have a higher chance of avoiding predators, illness and death.

We look forward to sharing more updates about our new program in the coming months!

📸 by @tor.johnson.photography of male `iwa with gular pouch, used to attract females during breeding season. Johnston Atoll 2020

#worldseabirdday #frigatebird #seabirdconservation

We wanted to follow up on our previous post about

We wanted to follow up on our previous post about the @dogtraofficial Pathfinder TRX GPS dog collar which a few of our teams have been using in the field. So far we’re really happy with how the collar and phone app work, including the ability to easily email the dog track file to oneself or others.
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During our surveys we pin a lot of points, whether it’s found targets or areas of interest. The Dogtra app currently doesn’t support the ability to email those waypoints as files, but it’s something their R&D team is looking into. We’ve been impressed with how responsive and friendly Dogtra’s customer service is - it’s actually possible to talk to a live person to ask questions!
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For the time being, we’ve been using a combination of the Dogtra app (to record/email dog track and view dog location) and the @gaiagps app, which can record and email the waypoints, associated photos, and human track. A convenient feature when adding a waypoint is that you can either mark a spot on the map, OR add a waypoint “in current location,” so you don’t have to zoom in on the map and select a precise location.
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The GPS recording works well for both Dogtra and Gaia apps in locations with no cell reception, which is great because field surveys tend to be in remote locations.
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Let us know if you have questions, and please feel free to share your own feedback about these products!
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📸 K9 Qana sporting a Dogtra Pathfinder TRX collar in front of beautiful hibiscus 🌺
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#gpstracker #gpsdogtracking #belgianmalinoisofinstagram #conservationdogs

Mahalo @hawaiinewsnow and reporter Jim Mendoza for

Mahalo @hawaiinewsnow and reporter Jim Mendoza for featuring our organization on your news segment today! We hope that this helped raise awareness about invasive species such as devil weed, and the work that many organizations on the island do to mitigate their impact including @oahuisc and Army Natural Resources. We were stoked that they also featured our developing biosecurity program to detect invasive rodents/mongooses, as well as giving the audience a teaser about our conservation sniffer rat project, which they hope to feature in a separate story in the fall!
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Mahalo also to volunteers @tailsticks @sandi.sue1 and K9s @h50eddie and Ruger for participating in the shoot. And can someone tell Kyoko to be a little less serious and smile when being interviewed?? 😆

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