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conservationdogshawaii

Rather than asking for donations on this Giving Tu

Rather than asking for donations on this Giving Tuesday, we want to thank partners who helped us achieve our goals this past year through their grants: @thecoconuttraveler @patagoniahonolulu @hkl_castle @bayerestate @hillspet and Kaua`i County

Here are some of the projects we were able to fund in 2024:

🐜 Training new dog teams for little fire ant (LFA) detection on O`ahu to prepare for operational surveys in 2025

🐦 Seabird surveys on Mauna Loa, Hawai`i island (grant money supplements the fees we receive for our work)

🪲 Training dog teams on Kaua`i for downed seabird surveys and for proof-of-concept projects like CRB (coconut rhinoceros beetle)

🌞 Purchasing field gear such as UV shirts and hats for new dog handlers

Mahalo for the support! 🙏

📸1: Kaimana @fromkai_to_sea and K9 Valkyrie training for LFA detection
🎥2: K9 Zephyr on a seabird survey in Mauna Loa
📸3-4: Debra and K9s Luna and Xena on a CRB training survey on Kaua`i
📸5: Renee @425nona and K9 Poppy training for LFA detection

Seabird Series Post 3: What’s the process of fin

Seabird Series Post 3: What’s the process of finding and confirming a seabird nest that a detection dog finds? It’s actually a multi step process, and getting the final confirmation is super fun, like opening a Xmas present! 🎁 @tri4conservation #conservationdog #detectiondog #seabirdconservation #seabirdsofinstagram #blacklabsofinstagram #aussiesofinstagram

Seabird Series Post 2: We’re grateful for all th

Seabird Series Post 2: We’re grateful for all the seabird technicians we’ve worked with over the years. We couldn’t do our field work without them! 🐧 #hawaiiconservation #seabirdconservation #wildlifetech #fieldtech

Seabird Series Post 1: Over the next few weeks we’ll do a series of posts about interesting field finds and other experiences related to our seabird work.
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In these video clips are a couple of large caves that were formed from collapsed lava tubes. They’re an amazing geological phenomenon and we learned something else that’s interesting about them.
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While out in the lava fields searching for the nests of endangered seabirds, we noticed that a couple of dogs showed strong (sniffing) interest in these caves but didn’t alert. When we talked to the avian biologists, they told us that while `apapane, a Hawaiian honeycreeper, is mostly associated with native forests, they are also known to nest in these caves. Honeycreepers apparently have a musky sweet odor. Seabirds have a musky fishy odor. Could there be a common denominator in the odor profiles that piques the dogs’ interest? Or do the dogs just think these caves smell amazing? 😉

🎥 1,3: Deep caves on Mauna Loa, Hawai`i island
📸 2: Screenshot from Google. I don’t know who the photographers are but please let me know if you do so we can give credit. 🙏
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#CDHseabirdseries #apapane #zephyrdasniffer

One of the benefits of using dogs to find elusive

One of the benefits of using dogs to find elusive species is that they can range a lot farther and faster than a human can. Check out how much more distance Zephyr the dog covered compared to his handler. 🐾 #endangeredspecies #conservationdogs #quartering #huntingdogsofinstagram #gpstracking

We are so proud of Pāua, who recently deployed to

We are so proud of Pāua, who recently deployed to Wake Atoll for her first big remote island rodent detection gig, and is also now regularly doing biosecurity inspections aboard vessels. 🚢 Here she is after inspecting the NOAA ship Okeanos Explorer, which is headed to Papahānaumokuākea this week. 🐶 @paua_da_hawaiian_rat_dog
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#rodentdetection #pestcontrol #biosecurity #terriersofinstagram

Mahalo to Team @tailsticks and Deanna of @hawaii_d

Mahalo to Team @tailsticks and Deanna of @hawaii_dog_training_services for visiting this former hot spot to monitor the status of new devil weed plants. It’s a good thing they went because they pulled 468 plants! 🎥 by Deanna Nieves 🌱 #invasivespecies #invasiveplants #chromolaenaodorata

A great weekend of training with our Kaua`i dog te

A great weekend of training with our Kaua`i dog teams, including downed seabird dogs and coconut rhinoceros beetle dogs. Our main focus this weekend was handler skills, and that doesn’t just mean leash handling. It’s pretty straightforward to influence an off leash dog’s general directional movements through handler body language and verbal cues, but once the dog is leashed up, dog handlers have a tendency to try to manipulate the dog with leash tension rather than with handler body language. It requires a level of mental and physical multi-tasking to work the dog on a long line with minimal leash tension, while also utilizing handler body language to influence the dog’s movements and search area coverage. Why wouldn’t you just run the dog off leash, you may ask. Below are a few reasons a handler may choose to run the dog on a long line:

- Location or city rules. For example, our downed seabird surveys are conducted in urban areas that have leash laws.
- For the dog’s safety, ie near a road with traffic or near a cliff
- Leash allows the handler to limit the search area, ie dog doesn’t run off to non productive areas and waste energy
- Leash can help tighten the search pattern for more accuracy, which can be good for certain projects or targets.

Mahalo to @anainahou for allowing us to train at your beautiful location! Your support will help our dog teams help Kaua`i’s wildlife and ecosystems.

📸1: Ally and Lolly, Kyoko and Nico, Yvonne, Karen and Sadie
📸2: Karen and Sadie (again!), Marcia and Koa, Debra and Xena
📸3: Everyone got to take turns being a handler versus dog to practice handler skills and also understand how it feels to be the dog

We love this new book by artist Caren Loebel-Fried

We love this new book by artist Caren Loebel-Fried featuring the `ua`u or Hawaiian petrel! #hawaiianpetrel #endangeredspecies #seabirdconservation @carenloebelfried

We’re so excited to launch this new custom piece

We’re so excited to launch this new custom piece by local artist @tropicalfunkhi whose work aims to raise awareness about native species, one funky illustration at a time.
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In Hawai`i specifically, the pest species we inspect vessels for are rodents, yellow crazy ants and little fire ants, with the goal of protecting the ecosystems and native wildlife of the remote islands. Seabirds are some of the most vulnerable to pest animal incursions and infestations.
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“Beasts of Biosecurity” is available for purchase at our t-shirt and sticker stores (links in bio). All proceeds will help fund our biosecurity program. Mahalo for your support! 🙏
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Featured dog: “Feisty Beast” Bear 😁
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#biosecurity #beastmode #invasivespecies

Neutrality around non-target birds is very importa

Neutrality around non-target birds is very important for dogs that are trained to detect endangered seabirds. Visiting new locations provides opportunities to expose the dogs to new species and scenarios. 🐤🐦🐧 #detectiondogtraining #blacklabsofinstagram #muscovyducks #hawaiiangeese #nene #failedbirddog #birddogoftheday

Is it just us or are you happy it’s Friday? #alo

Is it just us or are you happy it’s Friday? #alohafriday #workingdogsofinstagram #predator #rocknroll

Feisty Beast - That’s what a boat captain called

Feisty Beast - That’s what a boat captain called Bear recently 😆 Bear began training for rodent detection two years ago, and then narrowed her focus to vessel inspections last summer when Mark Vick of @workingdogsforconservation came to Hawai`i to help us start our biosecurity program. Since early 2024 Bear has inspected a variety of ships, planes and cargo to ensure there are no rodents hitchhiking on them. While that’s her main job, she’s also lent a paw to a remote island rodent eradication project. Invasive mammalian predators are one of the biggest reasons for the decline of populations of seabirds and other native species in island ecosystems.
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Bear’s human Heather is our board member and veterinary advisor. We’re grateful that she entrusts us with her dog. We’re not sure what breed mix Bear is but comment below if you have any guesses! 😃
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📸2 by @tor.johnson.photography
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#terriersofinstagram #feistybeast #biosecurity #biosecuritydog #pestcontrol #rodentcontrol #ratpatrol

Last year our dog handler Lisa Kamae welcomed pupp

Last year our dog handler Lisa Kamae welcomed puppy Pāua to her new home in Hawai`i. Pāua was gifted to Lisa by veteran pest detection dog trainer Miriam Ritchie @nzconservationdogs of New Zealand. Over the past year, Pāua has been training for live rodent and scat detection, mostly in a vessel biosecurity setting. However our goal has always been to deploy her to remote islands, as that is what she was bred for. She’s biddable, handler focused, ignores ground nesting seabirds yet she is driven to hunt for rodents. This month Pāua is on her first big field adventure and we couldn’t be prouder! Stay tuned for our next post featuring Bear.
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#rodentdetection #pestcontrol #borderterriersofinstagram #foxterriersofinstagram #terriersofinstagram #islandconservation

Teams Paua and Bear are off to Wake Atoll to assis

Teams Paua and Bear are off to Wake Atoll to assist the US Air Force and USDA with their rat eradication effort. Mahalo to US Fish & Wildlife for coordinating the effort. We will have some internet access while at Wake and will try to post updates when we can!
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#rodenteradication #pestcontrol #terriersofinstagram #patterdalesofinstagram #foxterriersofinstagram #borderterriersofinstagram #invasivespecies

Seabird detection dog in training Sophie narrows d

Seabird detection dog in training Sophie narrows down the target during a training session by working the edges of the scent cone or odor plume. It’s fun to see this “bracketing” behavior when the dog is off leash in a wide open area like this. 🐾 #aussiesofinstagram #australianshepherdsofinstagram #seabirdconservation #detectiondogtraining

We had an amazing week on Hawai`i island working o

We had an amazing week on Hawai`i island working on both Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa to search for the burrows of endangered native seabirds. These pelagic birds spend most of their lives at sea, and only return to land for short periods to breed. They’re vulnerable to predation when they’re on land, so conservation agencies work to locate their nesting areas in order to protect them.
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We’re super excited that Zephyr was able to help biologist @alcidalex confirm a band-rumped storm petrel nest, which can be particularly challenging because their nest entries are tiny, and they don’t leave any visual evidence, such as guano, outside the nest.
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In addition, we had so much fun working with @tri4conservation on detection dog training and surveys. K9 Sophie’s handler/owner is a UH Masters student with a focus on seabirds, and we have high hopes for them as a detection dog team. We will share more photos and videos in the coming weeks!

🎥1: Sophie and Zephyr the seabird dogs (and BFFs 🥰)
📸2: Zephyr sniffing a Hawaiian petrel burrow
📸3: Trap camera photo of band-rumped storm petrel
📸4: DOFAW biologist Alex Wang with his biggest fan Zephyr

#bandrumpedstormpetrel #hawaiianpetrel #hawaiianseabirds #seabirdconservation #akeake #uau #conservationdog #blacklabsofinstagram #australianshepherdsofinstagram #endagngeredspecies #hawaiiconservation

Congratulations to the Kaua`i dog teams who comple

Congratulations to the Kaua`i dog teams who completed their practical assessments for the downed seabird detection dog program. Huge mahalo to Noelle Campbell of @kauaisar who shared her valuable time and expertise as test evaluator; and to @konglungtrading for allowing us to conduct the test on their property and for supporting our mission to rescue as many downed seabirds as possible during fledging season.
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📸 L to R: Karen and Sadie, Noelle and Luna, Debra and Xena
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#aussiesofinstagram #australianshepherdsofinstagram #supermuttsofinstagram #seabirdconservation #hawaiiconservation #newellsshearwater #seabirdfallout

Stop and smell the roses 🌹 or the provisions, a

Stop and smell the roses 🌹 or the provisions, as the case may be. We did a biosecurity rodent inspection aboard a NOAA vessel today, and we caught a rare moment of Bear not moving at lightning speed.
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For those who are new to our feed - We conduct inspections for invasive ants and rodents aboard vessels (mostly ships and some planes) that are heading to the marine national monuments - Papahānaumokuākea and the Pacific Remote Islands. The goal is to prevent pests like rats and yellow crazy ants from hitching a ride to these islands, which are home to native species such as seabirds and waterbirds. The financial and ecological costs of a pest invasion are extremely high!
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#biosecurity #invasivespecies #rodentdetection #pestcontrol #patterdalesofinstagram #terriersofinstagram

We're excited to be founding members of the new wo

We're excited to be founding members of the new working group Conservation Dog Alliance! We have been working for over a year to put together a growing resource library, networking opportunities, and continuing education. There is SO much to learn in this field, and we truly believe the best way to elevate the conservation dog method is by sharing what we've learned.

Alongside our friends at @chironk9 @conservationdogscollective @detectionforgood @nynjtc_conservationdogs @momentum_k9_training @k9.conservationists @k9inscentive @sciencedogsofnewengland we'd like to welcome you to a free informational webinar on Friday, July 19 at 9am Hawaii Time (12pm PDT, 3pm EDT).

Link to the CDA website is in the Linktree link in our bio!

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