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conservationdogshawaii

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!

Join us at Patagonia Honolulu on Saturday July 27t

Join us at Patagonia Honolulu on Saturday July 27th from 12-1:30pm. Bring your old t-shirts and we'll repurpose them into dog toys. No RSVP required.

We're grateful to @patagoniahonolulu for their support of our mission and for being an all around amazing company. 🥰

Happy Aloha Friday! We haven’t completed officia

Happy Aloha Friday! We haven’t completed official field trials for our new CRB dog teams yet but they’ve been finding wild targets during their field training, which is a good sign. Today all three dogs Xena, Luna and Sadie showed strong interest in the same two areas, including in mulch and at the base of a coconut tree, and it resulted in finding 80+ grubs. While it’s a bit scary to find so many larvae, it’s also good that we’re eliminating them from the environment. We are grateful to @kauaiisc for their partnership and support!

Link to a recent KITV story on our CRB dogs is in our bio. 😄

📸1: Sadie
📸2: Xena (L) and Luna (R) with handler Debra
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#coconutrhinocerosbeetle #invasivespecies #oryctesrhinoceros #supermuttsofinstagram #aussiesofinstagram #australianshepherdsofinstagram

Searching for endangered native seabirds is reward

Searching for endangered native seabirds is rewarding in itself but to be able to do it on these ancient powerful mountains is humbling and awe-inspiring. 🐦‍⬛🐦‍⬛
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#hawaiianseabirds #seabirdconservation #nativespecies #endangeredspecies #hawaiianpetrel #bandrumpedstormpetrel #hawaiiconservation #maunakea #maunaloa

Mahalo to @kitv4 and reporter Diane Ako for this s

Mahalo to @kitv4 and reporter Diane Ako for this segment on our biosecurity program. We appreciate sharing our work with the public, not because we want recognition, but because we feel that it helps to raise awareness about the conservation needs and challenges in the Hawaiian Islands. Our biosecurity program targets rodents (rats and mice), and ants (little fire ants, yellow crazy ants) and was developed with the guidance of @workingdogsforconservation and Mark Vick.

Link to the article and video of TV segment is in our bio.

Look what our friend and supporter Rowan made for

Happy Aloha Friday! We’re pretty excited about o

Happy Aloha Friday! We’re pretty excited about our Kaua`i dog teams transitioning from training to surveys and having success. Luna is quite proud of herself for detecting these coconut rhinoceros beetle pupae in the root cluster of rotting Guinea grass. ☺️ Luna and Xena have also detected adult beetles in addition to the main target they were trained for, larvae. Besides working with her own dogs, project lead Debra has been training additional dog teams for CRB detection. We’re hoping the dogs can help contain the spread on Kaua`i. 💪
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#coconutrhinocerosbeetle #invasivespecies #oryctesrhinoceros #aussieshepherdsofinstagram

What kind of dog works well for conservation? It d

What kind of dog works well for conservation? It depends on what you’re searching for and what kind of environment you’re working in, among other factors! #biosecurity #conservationdogs #workingdog

Debra and her dogs Luna and Xena have been conduct

Debra and her dogs Luna and Xena have been conducting field training for CRB detection over the last few months on Kaua‘i. It's pretty straightforward for a dog to learn a new target species odor, but there are many other environmental and logistical factors that can make a project challenging. This Thursday Debra and Kyoko will participate in a free presentation for Hawai‘i Invasive Species Awareness Month, and we'll discuss some of these factors.

🪲🪲 On O‘ahu, coconut rhinoceros beetles (CRB) have become more common, but on Kaua‘i the detections are still limited to a few locations. The fact that CRB is not widespread on Kaua‘i is great news, but it can be challenging to find opportunities to expose a detection dog to live targets in realistic scenarios. This is a key step in transitioning from training setups to operational surveys.

🪲🪲 With some target species, the dog can be trained using dead samples of an animal or plant, and the dog is then able to generalize and easily recognize the live target. With CRB, we are finding that it's not the case. Luckily, the dogs involved in our CRB project are experienced with detection work, so they were able to learn the live CRB odor fairly easily.

🪲🪲 CRB larvae don't have a strong odor, which can make it hard for the dog to detect and for the dog handler to read the dog's scenting behavior. The larvae are also buried in mulch, so the dog's detection is not immediately confirmable, requiring a solid plan on how and when to reward the dog for its find.

Join us on Thursday at 3pm to hear more about training and working our invasive species detection dogs! Our devil weed dog handler Roberta, who is also the CRB Response canine lead will talk about their dogs; and Trisha Wilson of Maui Invasive Species Committee will talk about working with their new little fire ant dog.

📸: Debra and her dog Luna at Hanalei Wildlife Refuge doing an avian botulism survey for US FWS. We don't have many photos of them doing CRB work yet!

Throwback to a seabird survey we did last summer.

Throwback to a seabird survey we did last summer. We don’t explicitly train our dogs to do a “recall alert” but it’s amazing when it happens naturally, and the dog’s communication is unmistakable. Too bad Zephyr’s GPS collar wasn’t recording that day! 🤣 #seabirdconservation #blacklabsofinstagram

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