Dogs Used In Research

I’ve been hearing about this short podcast from Terra from several folks. Its well worth checking out!

The eight-minute podcast covers the new use of search dogs in environmental science. Very interesting stuff!

My short critique is that its a good first effort. Its a little too cutesy in some spots. I would have liked to have seen more of the dogs and their searches so I was a little frustrated with the (understandably short) length. This topic rates at least thirty minutes so that we could see the dogs in full action. Also, it would have been good to have more explanation of WHY using dogs to find everything from grizzly bears to endangered flower varieties is better than relying on more high tech techniques.

Here’s what Huck Hound barked in:

Dear Joy,
I came across this yesterday on the Terra site
www.terravideos.blogspot.com and just thought it was unbelievable. I’m a regular reader of the Dogster DogBlog and thought this might be a good thing to pass on to your readers! Enjoy!

PREVIEW

FILM

SYNOPSIS:
Low-tech is the new high-tech. Take, for example, wildlife biologists who are swapping radio collars and GPS transceivers for a more sensitive instrument: a dog’s nose. A dog’s sense of smell is up to one thousand times more powerful than a human’s. But this doesn’t really explain what it means to “smell like a dog.” When a human walks into a bakery, it smells generally very sweet. When a dog walks into a bakery, it smells every ingredient used in the baking process, e.g., eggs, butter, flour, sugar, and so on down to that last pinch of nutmeg. Dogs are able to differentiate smells even in incredibly minute concentrations. This innate ability, coupled with an obsessive “ball-drive,” makes for an incredible partner in the fight to save endangered species. The trail is hot! Starring Finny, Carow, Peppin, Tsavo, Camas, Wicket, Alice, Megan, and Aimee of Working Dogs for Conservation.

Cheers,
Huck