K9 Conservationists

How does breakfast affect a detection dog's performance? In this episode, Kayla takes a deep, deep, deep dive into the 2026 paper, "The breakfast effect revisited: Dogs’ scent detection performance before and after a meal."

Kayla breaks down the research team's key findings, and why understanding the math behind the data matters just as much as the results themselves.

Read the original paper here:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0023969026000883

Host: Kayla Fratt

Editor: Sara Fangton

Sci-comm intern: Evelyn Combs

Guest logistics: Brooke Schoeder

Website: Meg du Bray

Patreon: Madison David

In this Research Review episode, we’re joined by Dr. Charles van Rees to dive into a groundbreaking 2026 paper from Oregon State University (published in Molecular Ecology Resources). We break down how single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) panels and non-invasive scat samples (many located by detection dogs!) are allowing researchers to identify individual prey animals consumed by carnivores. Join Kayla and Dr. Charles van Rees for a crash course in genetics, filtering out mixed DNA samples, and what this means for understanding predator-prey dynamics in the field.

Host: Kayla Fratt

Editor: Sara Fangton

Sci-comm intern: Evelyn Combs

Guest logistics: Brooke Schoeder

Website: Meg du Bray

Patreon: Madison David

In today's mini episode Kayla Fratt discusses how she prepares her dogs to work with all kinds of different people on and off the field. Starting from dog selection and the steps she takes to insure her dogs are confident around new people.

Host: Kayla Fratt

Editor: Sara Fangton

Sci-comm intern: Evelyn Combs

Guest logistics: Brooke Schoeder

Website: Meg du Bray

Patreon: Madison David

Join us for a fantastic conversation with Lauralea Oliver of k9inSCENTive about the art of selecting rescue dogs for detection work.

With over 25 years of professional experience, Lauralea brings a wealth of knowledge to the table, having selected and placed numerous working dogs with handlers and conservation projects across the country. She has mastered selecting the traits that make a shelter dog excel in the field- and, crucially, knows exactly when to walk away.

The core theme of this episode is simple but vital: "Say no to the maybes" and only move forward with a dog you are absolutely sure about.

Check out K9inSCENTive here

https://k9inscentive.com/

Also check out "Built for the field". Use code K9POD26 for 20% off!

https://k9inscentive.com/built-for-the-field-online-course/

Host: Kayla Fratt

Editor: Sara Fangton

Sci-comm intern: Evelyn Combs

Guest logistics: Brooke Schoeder

Website: Meg du Bray

Patreon: Madison David

Important updates on Barley (King B), the K9Conservationists crew, and the podcast going forward. As always, thank you all so much for you support. If you would like to make a donation to Barleys lymphoma treatment you can do so here:

https://donorbox.org/barley-lymphoma?t=donor_wall#info

If you want to learn more about the King Barley's legacy and other ways to support, check out this awesome website made just for celebrating Barley

https://k9c-barley.my.canva.site/long-live-the-king

Connect with Melissa McCue-McGrath!

https://melissamccuemcgrath.com/

Melissa McCue-McGrath gets humped and peed on professionally more than she thought she would in this line of work. She has written two books. The first, "Considerations for the City Dog" was written for her clients in Boston who needed support for living with dogs in an urban setting, and the second, "Misadventures of the World's Okayest Dog Trainer" is for people who are curious about what it's like behind the scenes working with clients and dogs.

Melissa paved the way as the first American resident certified by the British Animal Behavior and Training Council, thanks to the Professional Association of Canine Trainers, also based in the UK. She's a Victoria Stilwell Academy faculty advisor, a trainer for Grisha Stewart's dog training academy, and was part of a nationwide study to see if pet dog trainers, like Melissa, could train pet dogs - like many of your dogs at home - to find an invasive species. There were six dogs in Melissa's cohort two years ago, and this year, the year the invasive Spotted Lantern Fly is predicted to be in her home state of Maine, Melissa has a total of 22 dogs at the Animal Welfare Society in Kennebunk Maine who can find the invasive spotted lanternfly...in a controlled setting :)

In this episode, Kayla Fratt sits down with legendary Alaskan wildlife ecologist Dr. John Schoen to explore the past, present, and future of the Tongass National Forest.

With nearly five decades of boots-on-the-ground research, John’s groundbreaking work has reshaped our understanding of how logging practices directly impact black-tailed deer, salmon, and the broader temperate rainforest ecosystem. John dives deep into the complex history of timber politics, the vital distinction between old-growth and second-growth habitats, and why forests hold profound intrinsic value far beyond just timber and venison.

We also highly recommend checking out John’s book, Tongass Odyssey, to not only go more in depth on what's discussed today- but to also see some fantastic side by side photos of old growth and new growth forests to appreciate the drastic distinction between the two.

Kayla Fratt chats with Liza Rothkoff- a 3rd year PhD student at Texas Tech in the K9 olfaction lab- about her most recent paper, "A preliminary study on the impacts of exercise intensity and duration on gastrointestinal temperature and odor detection performance of dogs". They discuss dog selection, study design, results, and what Liza hopes handlers will be able to take from the study.

Read the full study here:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168159126000614

Host: Kayla Fratt

Editor: Sara Fangton

Sci-comm intern: Evelyn Combs

Guest logistics: Brooke Schoeder

Website: Meg du Bray

Patreon: Madison David

Today Kayla Fratt is joined by Calum O’Flaherty and Dr. Tim Hofmann from the Cheetah Conservation Fund about to discuss livestock guardian dogs, cheetahs, and a very unique approach snake avoidance training.

Snake bites are a huge problem in Namibia. With CCF losing upwards of 10% of their guardian dogs each year to snake bites. CCFs newest approach in how they train their livestock guardian puppies to avoid snakes could be a huge game changer not only for their dogs, but for guardian dogs everywhere.

Host: Kayla Fratt

Editor: Sara Fangton

Sci-comm intern: Evelyn Combs

Guest logistics: Brooke Schoeder

Website: Meg du Bray

Patreon: Madison David

Today, Kayla Fratt is joined by Murrelet Halterman for an in depth discussion on managing multi-year conservation dog projects. Having recently completed three multi-year wind farm projects, Murrelet dives into the challenges of project acquisition, recruiting detection dog handlers, and the nitty-gritty side of long term project management. If you’ve ever wanted to know what goes into the logistical marathon of a multi-year study, this is the place to start!

Host: Kayla Fratt

Editor: Sara Fangton

Sci-comm intern: Evelyn Combs

Guest logistics: Brooke Schoeder

Website: Meg du Bray

Patreon: Madison David