Canidae Development | Environmental conservation organisation

Canidae Development

Phone: 0400991192

Add/Update information

Reviews

Tags

• Community organisation
• Environmental conservation organisation

25.01.2022 Early starts this week to beat the heat rewarded with another great sunrise.

25.01.2022 Happy New Year from Canidae Development pack.

24.01.2022 Today Ngare is working with Kim on their first fox scat survey together. It is important that handlers bond with the dogs as well as having consistency between handlers. This ensures accurate reliable data and the team can safely operate in the environment.

23.01.2022 #TodaysOffice monitoring fox behaviour through scats

23.01.2022 Not easy to get everyone to stay still in a group photo. (L To R Uda, Rubble, Kooly, Ngare, Marlo)

23.01.2022 #TodaysOffice working in the fog at 1C.

22.01.2022 Canidae Development was proud to be a part of the proof of concept phase for Zoos Victoria Fighting Extintion Dog Squad Its great to see the ongoing work being developed based on the achievements of Rubble and Uda.

21.01.2022 Niquoll will be providing Uda with the all important samples for training to help Tiger Quoll research in the Otways

21.01.2022 Time flies. Rubble as the poster boy for The Climate Council.

20.01.2022 Our dogs must be able to work around all kinds of distractions, not only wildlife.

19.01.2022 The I found it faces of today. We have been very busy adapting to changes due to current situation to be able to maintain our work. Happy Easter everyone. ... I hope you get to see happy faces like these on easter eggs hunts. Stay safe!

18.01.2022 #TodaysOffice working in the clouds.

18.01.2022 The 'I found it faces of today'. We have been very busy adapting to changes due to current situation to be able to maintain our work. Happy Easter everyone. ... I hope you get to see happy faces like these on easter eggs hunts. Stay safe!

18.01.2022 Uda is preparing for an upcoming Tiger Quoll scat survey for Conservation Ecology Centre in the Otways. We spent the morning conducting small searches in different habitats and captured some video which shows some of the things we look for while conducting a survey. Uda is an air scent dog meaning that he will independently traverse through the environment until he identifies the odour on the air and then follow it back to the source. In the video you will see him conductin...g two track searches. One thing of interest you will see is the different effects the density of the vegetation on the edge tracks has on the flow of odour. In the first search it is travelling low and to the middle of the track. At about 41 secs you see Uda find the odour, determine the direction of the air flow, then follow the scent by going to the extremes of the scent cone, and finally problem solving to the exact location of the odours source. Uda is trained to perform a drop alert but in circumstances where that is not possible, on locating the source, he will look back to the hander to communicate I found it!, this is followed up by a where is it command to pinpoint the exact location. The second search has the scent travelling along the edge of the track amongst the bracken where he again follows the odour back to the source to perform his drop alert. As part of our training we have our dogs calmly wait while the handler does their job. This serves a couple of purposes, providing opportunity for the dog to rest and the ability for the handler to focus on data collection. And as always, we spend a little time with body praise before continuing with the survey. Luke Edwards

17.01.2022 The Candiae Development dogs have had a big week of work and detection trials. All dogs did well only missing one target. We all work as one team, learning from each other. From one dog to the another, from dog to handler, and handler to dog.

16.01.2022 Chilly start but glorious winter morning working with Ngare on a fox montoring program. Alway nice to take a break to apprechiate the natural environment we have the privilege to work in. Our new handler Kim came along to observe and learn about working in remote locations with conservation dogs. ... Kim works with Rubble and Marlo on our windfarm projects. Marlo is in training to join Ngare on our fox monitoring program.

15.01.2022 Kooly getting exposed to the Otways rainforest

15.01.2022 Uda searhing for Tiger Quoll scat in some stunning country.

15.01.2022 Uda spent the morning volunteering for Conservation Ecology Centre in the Otways.

14.01.2022 Rubble 9 years old and still going strong. Happy belated birthday to a very special dog!

14.01.2022 #PuppySpam Kooly is now just over 7 months and is searching, alerting, and moving on to continue his search.

11.01.2022 Rubble, Uda, Nala, and Uda looking good in their new K9 Workwear harnesses.

09.01.2022 #TodaysOffice Ngare alerting on a fox scat. Following a dog through this is tough work all for a good cause.

09.01.2022 With the winter weather turning cold, wet, and windy outside Marlo and Kooly have settled in for the night.

08.01.2022 #TodaysOffice great way to start the day and finish the week.

08.01.2022 Canidae Development's Tiger Quoll scat detection dog teams (Jacquie & Nala, Luke & Uda) were out conducting surveys this week amoungst old growth Red Gum forests this week. There were lots of hollows and logs to check out.

07.01.2022 The development of our working dogs starts early. One of the most important aspects is environmental exposure. We want our detection dogs to explore independently while occasionally checking in with the handler and listening to directions with all the distractions the they will face while working. To achieve this, we utilise the experienced dogs to demonstrate to the younger dogs to help build their confidence in different habitats. The purpose of this exercise is for the dog...s to be comfortable in the environment. Eventually we will add their target odours to the area once it has become second nature to independently explore a variety of habitats. After watching Uda work throughout the morning we go for a group walk that provides the opportunity explore the area for exposure (especially for Kooly) and to practice different commands under these conditions. Kooly at his age is just following the other dogs but you will see Marlo exploring independently but still follow directions. Towards the end we head into some thick bracken which in Koolys case is much taller than himself. This can be intimidating for a young dog but having a pack mate leading the way gives him the confidence that it is safe. The goal is for the young dogs to negotiate the vegetation in front of the handler rather than the handler leading the way for support. This area presents an environment neither Marlo or Kooly have been before with a range of distractions in and around the area. In the distance there are kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, and a range of other unseen animals. In addition to the animals there a new smells that neither Malro or Kooly have encountered. From the handlers perspective, as you can see from the camera work, keeping track of all the dogs requires good situational awareness. Thankyou to Conservation Ecology Centre for their ongoing support in providing the space for this vital stage of training for Malro and Kooly.

07.01.2022 A very good read for anyone considering the use of conservation detection dogs and the considerations needed before implementing this survey method into a project.

07.01.2022 Merry Christmas. Scientific schedules dont account for holidays, so we have been busy over the Christmas period collecting data. Uda has been taking in some spectacular views as the morning fog burns off.

07.01.2022 Breaking news! The website of the Australasian Conservation Dogs Network is now live!!! The ACDN was founded in 2017 in response to the growing use of dogs in conservation. The ACDN includes representatives from universities, not for profit organisations, governments, zoos, research institutions and businesses working with dogs to improve conservation outcomes. We are a diverse and highly skilled group of researchers, dog handlers and trainers, field ecologists, educators and... advocates. We work together to ensure the use of conservation dogs in Australasia continues to provide conservation efforts with a highly effective and valuable resource. Our mission is to provide a forum that shares knowledge on the ethical and humane, evidence-based use of dogs to benefit Australasias natural environment. The ACDN has always been proud to a network that is focused on sharing knowledge. Conservation is our main purpose and we believe having a network set up to share contacts, share knowledge and share skills will provide the best environmental outcomes.

06.01.2022 Collars for Conservation. K9 Workwear has a goal to sell 1000 collars and leads with ALL profits to support Tiger Quoll research in the Otways. Visit www.k9workwear.com.au/shop to help us reach our target.

05.01.2022 #TodaysOffice Working with Ngare searching for fox scats and dens, gathering information to assist in protecting penguins and all the native wildlife in this amazing location.

03.01.2022 At 1 year Kooly thinks he is a working dog. He has always come to work with the other dogs getting exposed to field conditions. In 6 months he will be a working dog, confidently negotiating rocky terrain, rain forest, or open woodlands.... So proud of this little fella, he has special things in his future.

03.01.2022 Ngare and Luke out surveying for fox scat. The data from this project informs fox management plans to protect this amazing coastal area.

02.01.2022 Uda was out volunteering today for Conservation Ecology Centre following up on a possible Tiger Quoll sighting. The vegetation was extremely thick at times and with some steep topography. Uda is a great dog to work with in this environment searching independently. When the vegetation opens up, he will adapt his search patterns to suit. At times it can be hard to keep up so he will regularly check in with Luke his handler. Interns from Conservation Ecology Centre came out to ...observe how we deploy a conservation dog in the field and while working he completely ignored their presence. (However, he did lap up the attention during our breaks). Unfortunately no finds today but Uda found and alerted on all the control scat samples placed out during his survey.

01.01.2022 Kooly found the GPS in his crate. No wonder he was very quiet!!!!

01.01.2022 I am excited to announce a new business that will support research into Tiger Quolls. K9 Workwear is providing high quality equipment that we use on our own dogs. All profits will go directly to conducting surveys for Tiger Quoll scats in the Otways.

01.01.2022 Canidae Developments Tiger Quoll scat detection dog teams (Jacquie & Nala, Luke & Uda) were out conducting surveys this week amoungst old growth Red Gum forests this week. There were lots of hollows and logs to check out.