We don’t usually think of dogs as the best friends of elephants, whales, hedgehogs, Chinese Moon Bears, bandicoots, or white-footed voles, but their incredible noses make a difference in the lives of these and other endangered species. Dogs are increasingly being put to work as valuable tools to both protect endangered species and combat invasive species that can destroy habitat for native plants and animals. We hope that when you read about some of the amazing things they can do, you will be inspired to put your dog’s nose to work – if not for conservation, at least just to give your dog an engaging activity that provides a great workout for body and brain. 

•  Preventing elephant poaching. From 2010 through 2012, poachers killed an average of 33,630 elephants every year, resulting in more than 100,000 deaths across the continent, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. However, thanks in part to U.S. Army software and sniffer dogs, Kenya has significantly reduced the number of animals killed in that country since 2013.

According to its Canines for Conservation Program, the African Wildlife Foundation combats illegal wildlife trade by placing ivory detection dogs and their handlers at key airports and seaports throughout the continent. By detecting tiny amounts of ivory or rhinoceros horn dust, officials can prevent traffickers from exporting wildlife contraband. The dogs are also trained to find guns, which, because they are difficult to obtain, are typically used by multiple poachers. In his first week of field work, Ruger, a mixed-breed dog working with the Department of National Parks and Wildlife in Zambia, found 13 guns, putting an estimated 150 poachers out of business.

• Detecting wildlife products. In India, German Shepherd Dogs are used to detect products such as tiger skins, ivory tusks, and the bones of endangered birds. They are also trained to locate injured animals, which helps authorities arrest poachers quickly. The program, which is jointly conducted by the World Wildlife Fund and a wildlife trade-monitoring network, plans to train more dogs to decrease animal poaching across the country. 
• Rescuing Australia’s koalas. In Australia, where brush fires burning since September 2019 have ravaged the continent and killed more than a billion animals, dogs are saving koalas. Detection dogs are trained to identify koala fur, whose scent falls from trees in which koalas reside. When high winds, heat, and other conditions interfere, the dogs search for koala scat to identify where the animals have been so that human experts can scan the appropriate trees and find them. 

Some koala-sniffing dogs have become celebrities in their own right, such as Bear, a detection dog from the University of the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia. Bear and his handler made several television appearances explaining how the koalas Bear finds are given health checks, medical treatment as needed, and are released into the wild wearing GPS collars that allow researchers to keep track of them. Bear’s obsession is any toy that anyone will throw for him, so once he became familiar with the scent of koalas, his chase-the-toy rewards arrived whenever he successfully indicated a “find.” 

• Helping bandicoot populations recover. Five years ago, the Werribee Zoo in Victoria, Australia, raised funds to train livestock guardian dogs (LGDs) to protect the endangered eastern barred bandicoot from predators. The bandicoots, which are small, shy, solitary, nocturnal marsupials, were extinct in the wild but could be found in public zoos across Australia and were being released in selected locations to re-establish their populations. Previous attempts to release bandicoots into the wild failed as the animals fell victim to foxes and cats. 

Maremma LGD dogs are a livestock breed native to Italy, and they can be trained to chase predators away while maintaining a respectful distance from the animals they protect. Before being introduced to bandicoots, Maremma LGDs successfully protected colonies of penguins.

• Tracking whales by their poop. On the opposite side of the world, off the coast of San Juan Island, Washington, a black Lab-mix named Tucker leaned over the bow of the research vessel Moja and sniffed the air. His goal? Finding orca whale scat, which he could detect in open water up to a mile away and in the tiniest of pieces. 

Because scat can sink or disperse in less than half an hour, finding it isn’t easy. But it’s worth the effort because examining their fecal matter helps researchers study the 85 orcas, or killer whales, that live just north of Seattle. The orcas have been tracked for decades, and their declining numbers concern scientists. 

Unlike other detection dogs, Tucker couldn’t just approach his target and sit to signal a find. He had to guide the boat to the right area, then wait while researchers noticed and retrieved the material.

Today there are several scat-detection dogs in the Conservation Canine program at the University of Washington’s Center for Conservation Biology, but Tucker holds a special place in the program’s history. When he retired at age 13 in 2017, Tucker had helped find the majority of the 348 fecal samples analyzed in the orca research project.

Like the trainers of other scent-detecting dogs around the world, those who work with conservation dogs look for dogs with drive and focus. A Flat-Coated Retriever named Sadie was donated to the program because of her ball addiction. In frustration, her owner put Sadie’s ball on top of the refrigerator, and eight hours later Sadie was still sitting there, staring at the ball. “When the owner told me that story,” said biology professor Sam Wasser, Ph.D., director of the orca scat research project, “my immediate response was, ‘We’ll take her.’” 

Professor Wasser is the lead author of a study on the challenges facing today’s orcas. “A lot of whales are getting pregnant, but they are losing a large portion of their pregnancies,” he explained. “They don’t have enough food.” The orcas feed primarily on Chinook salmon, and with declines in the Chinook population, their food supply is shrinking. Dr. Wasser said that when Tucker retired, an Australian Cattle Dog named Jack took his place, but with overfished salmon and fewer whale sightings, Jack may not be as busy as Tucker was.

UW's Center for Conservation Biology

For decades, conservation biology has been a field of study at the University of Washington in Seattle, and since 1997, dogs have played a key role in the department’s research. That’s when Dr. Samuel Wasser, Director of the Center for Conservation Biology and Conservation Canines, began using dogs to help find threatened and endangered species. He and Sgt. Barbara Davenport, Master Canine Trainer with the Washington State Department of Corrections, adapted dog-training methods used to train narcotics- and arson-detecting dogs to help dogs locate the scat, or feces, of endangered animals around the world.

Scat is important in wildlife research because it offers genetic, physiological, toxicological, and dietary indicators of species abundance, distribution, resource use, physical health, and response to environmental pressures. Scat-detection dogs routinely out-perform traditional wildlife detection methods such as the use of remote cameras, radio-collaring, hair snags, and trapping. 

Scat-detection dogs are selected for their trainability, temperament, play drive, and strong object orientation. They are intensely focused and have an insatiable urge to play. Their obsessive personalities are incompatible with most families, so they are often given up for adoption, but their single-minded drive makes them perfect for conservation work. The Conservation Canines website says its dogs “are happy to work all day traversing plains, climbing up mountains, clambering over rocks and fallen trees, and trekking through snow, all with the expectation of reward – playing with their ball – after successfully locating wildlife scat. We rescue these dogs and offer them a satisfying career traveling the world to help save numerous other species.”

For information about contracting for the Center’s services, or to contribute to its Friends of Biology Fund, visit conservationbiology.uw.edu/conservation-canines.

• Finding tiny animals for research. Laura Finley is a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologist involved with fishers, which belong to the weasel family. In northern California, researchers used to catch fishers, anesthetize them, punch holes in their ears to hold tags, and draw blood – and then repeatedly recapture them to monitor their population and area. 

There’s an easier way, as a University of Washington team demonstrated when they worked with two dogs for six weeks and found 700 fisher scat samples, more than the wildlife service could analyze. 

A more mysterious target is the white-footed vole, a rodent so difficult to find that it is almost mythical. Native to redwood forests in Northern California and parts of Oregon, the vole looks like a mouse but has a rounder head and stouter body. This small rodent is believed to spend part of its life in trees and another part in burrows in the ground. 

To help scientists find and study white-footed voles, researchers experimented with different detection methods, including pitfall traps and trail cameras. Detection dogs may be the most promising method. Wicket, a detection dog with Working Dogs for Conservation, tracked invasive snails in Hawaii, elephants in Africa, grizzly and black bears in Canada, rare Moon Bears in China, and invasive Chinese Bush Clover in Iowa. Researchers hope that Wicket and dogs like her will help them understand the voles’ place in the redwood ecosystem, in the food chain, and in a slowly changing habitat. 

Frehley, a Border Collie rescued by Conservation Canines from the Seattle Animal Shelter in 2005, learned to track New Mexico’s endangered Jemez Mountains salamander by studying its scat and part of a broken-off salamander tail. 

Hedgehogs are small mammals that thrive in hedges and underbrush, where they search for insects. Despite their porcupine-like appearance, hedgehogs have thousands of soft, smooth spines and are safe for humans to handle. In England, where hedgehog populations are in sharp decline, conservation organizations offer advice and assistance to those who have backyard hedgehogs, keep hedgehogs as pets, would like to encourage them in their yards, or want to help injured hedgehogs. 

In August 2019, the London Daily Mail reported that Henry, a three-year-old Springer Spaniel, had been trained to detect hidden hedgehogs as far as 250 yards away. Henry indicates his finds by sitting, and then his handler comes to investigate. Henry helps rescue hedgehogs threatened by land development projects. Because they live in dense undergrowth and long grass, hedgehogs are in danger wherever land is cleared. The hedgehog project, which will run until May 2020, is overseen by staff at Hartpury University in Gloucester. If the trial is successful, other dogs will be trained to aid hedgehog conservation. 

• Detecting invasive species. Conservation dogs do more than track endangered species. They help identify and prevent the spread of invasive species, both plants and animals.

• According to Darren Ward, Ph,D., who studies ants at the University of Aukland, New Zealand, sniffer dogs have been trained to assist with eradication programs of non-native red fire ants in Australia and Taiwan, electric ants in Australia, and small colonies of Argentine ants in New Zealand. 

• In 2013, the conehead termite began to cause serious damage in Dania Beach, Florida. The Florida Department of Agriculture worried that it could spread throughout the state the way the Formosan termite has spread along the south Florida coast. Because this termite travels above ground, it can spread faster than other species while eluding standard pest-control methods. Connie, a mixed-breed dog adopted from a shelter, was selected for her youth, energy, and long legs, which help her work in tall grass. The nests Connie discovered were removed, packed in garbage bags, and burned or fumigated. So far, the termite is under control.

• In the northern United States and Canada, the zebra mussel has invaded lakes, rivers, and wetlands, clogging water intake pipes, cutting swimmers’ feet, disrupting the natural ecosystem, and harming native fish and wildlife. Minnesota’s Department of Natural Resources was one of the first to use sniffer dogs to find these invasive animals. Human inspectors searching boats being hauled into and out of Minnesota lakes often missed zebra mussels, allowing them to multiply and become even more of a nuisance. In 2013, the DNR added three mussel-detecting dogs to its team of more than 140 human inspectors.

“The dogs are going to be able to inspect watercraft and vessels a lot faster than humans,” said Travis Muyres, one of the conservation dog handlers. “A lot of the time they’re more successful because they’re using their noses instead of their eyes.”

In Canada, concern about zebra and quagga mussels has made inspections mandatory for any watercraft, from stand-up paddleboards to motorboats. Alberta’s inspection crews now include three mussel-sniffing dogs. 

• In Kosciuszko National Park in Australia, a pretty perenniel threatens agriculture and the environment. The orange hawkweed (Hieracium aurantiacum), native to Europe and a member of the daisy family, grows in remote alpine areas close to the ground with leaves in a flat circular pattern. Because of its attractive flowers, hawkweed was sold as an ornamental plant in New South Wales, but when it became naturalized and was recognized as a danger to native species, conservationists focused on eradicating the plant. To help human inspectors find and destroy the plants, two “botanist puppies” are on the job.

In 2016, weed management officer and dog handler Hillary Cherry explained the project to ABC News in Australia. “The dogs can differentiate one plant from another,” she said. “We were doing an evaluation the other day and running through dense scrub and one of the dogs turned quickly, ran back, put her nose underneath a big, thick patch of scrub, and found a patch of hawkweed seedlings. We never would have been able to find them. The dogs’ ability is so strong and powerful, it blows us away every time.” 

Montana resident CJ Puotinen is the author of The Encyclopedia of Natural Pet Care and other books. See “Resources,” page 24, for book information.

There’s nothing modern about human beings anthropomorphising animals in stories; some of our earliest spiritual practice is called “animism,” and it’s common for traditional cultures to assume full agency for plants, stones, and rivers as well as the animals who share their worlds. 

Coyote, Anansi, Anubis, kitsune – countless personified beings in ancient narratives and depictions – invert, transgress, and transcend lines between human and animal. Both art and story frequently move between depicting such beings as animals with plausible animal motives and as animal-influenced anthropomorphic figures. Sometimes Coyote appears to be a wild canid on the hunt, sometimes a god, sometimes a bipedal trickster with a bushy tail and a penchant for scatological jokes.

Classical fables attributed to Aesop featured animals conversing across species, displaying both individual character traits and stereotypes of virtue and weakness personified in a species – crafty foxes, greedy monkeys, foolish asses. These morality tales with animal and “animal” characters persisted from antiquity to the modern age.

All these entities coexist comfortably with real animals in the minds of humans who are intimately familiar with the natures of the animals with whom they interact daily and depend upon for life and livelihood. No hunter-gatherer can countenance a big-eyed quadrupedal spotted human toddler called Bambi. A horse-crazy girl can become an equestrian and read Black Beauty without once believing that Ginger and Beauty are actually discussing the bearing rein out in the paddock.

HOW COMPUTER-GENERATED IMAGERY GOES WRONG

But what happens when human beings become increasingly alienated from the natural world and the animals who share it with us, while passively absorbing imagery about them that is a lie?

How likely are we technologically tethered humans to absorb and integrate false information about animal consciousness, lives, emotions, and behavior? False information can prevent us from understanding the ways that nonhuman animals differ from us, and even the genuine (rather than idealized or projected) ways that we are alike. False information also can congeal into unexamined bedrock beliefs that resist science, common sense, and even the testimony of our own eyes – and it’s all the more powerful because it was absorbed unconsciously in the course of being entertained by a visually robust and sentimental story.

Given the great imbalance between the time and attention that most of us devote to the natural world around us and what is usurped by screens, it seems reasonable to be concerned about screen visuals interfering with our integration of animal reality. In concrete terms, the fear is that the screen dogs prevent us from understanding and having reasonable expectations of real dogs.

SETTING EXPECTATIONS

Every trainer carps about Lassie expectations and Marley ownership. We roll our eyes at middle-aged people who fear Rottweilers because they first saw them as devil-dogs in The Omen. Breed stewards howl when the trailer for some blockbuster reveals one of theirs in a fantasy-scripted role – anticipating a run on Dalmatians or Huskies or Malinois purchased and discarded by fatuous fantasists. What is new is the apparent realism that is more visually powerful, and potentially makes a stronger and more persistent unconscious impression, than what the chronic viewer experiences through interactions with flesh-and-blood dogs.

Straightforward fantasy that crosses a clear threshold doesn’t seem to be a large problem, for the very reason that Aesop has not been. Relatively few people beyond the age of reason think that pigs and sheepdogs and ducks chat in English via CGI-rendered mouth movement.

Humans respond poorly to inanimate things that pretend to be human and almost-but-don’t-quite succeed.

If a robot or CGI-rendered character is only vaguely human-contoured, that’s generally okay. C3PO and Shrek do not startle and distress us; “RealDolls” and Princess Fiona do, and “The Conducter” in The Polar Express definitely does. Motion-capture of actor Andy Serkis to bring life to the degraded creature Gollum, with his spindly limbs and hypertrophied eyes, works in a fantasy context. A Tom Hanks-shaped computer Tom Hanks, not so much.

The space in which a fake human is both too human and not human enough has been named “the uncanny valley.” ¹ Its contours vary somewhat between individuals, and possibly between cultures and generations, but every person seems to have a set point where we respond, “Oh, h*** no!” 

Humans have good emotional detectors for things we perceive as willful imposters, and our instinct is to reject them as up to no good. The perfectly proportioned android or image may be given away by slightly incorrect movements, or textures, or in the final case, the eyes. It’s hard to get the windows of the soul right when there’s definitely no soul there.

At least one scientific study found that we also reject imposter animals of familiar species.²

Which is why my guarded excitement at hearing that the actor who is my sexual orientation would be starring in a big-budget movie adaptation of a classic canine-centric adventure novel flipped to a visceral, “Aaaaagh! Harrison Ford, how could you?!” the moment I viewed The Call of the Wild movie trailer.

How do the moviemakers not see how wrong the CGI-altered Buck is?

20th Century Studios issued an official synopsis, including this astounding claim:

“As a live-action/animation hybrid, The Call of the Wild employs cutting-edge visual effects and animation technology in order to render the animals in the film as fully photorealistic and emotionally authentic characters” [emphasis ours].

Some of the wrongness that dog-savvy individuals can articulate about the fake, imposter Buck and the other very wrong CGI animals has to do with what we can see about movement – the gait that flows and slinks in a way that no quadruped does, and the over-long, apparently telescoping neck. The fur is CGI fur, painstakingly rendered, precisely incorrect. However, a casual sampling of acquaintances suggests that people who do not live highly animal-centric lives do not perceive these deficiencies.

But mostly, it is pretender-Buck’s eyes. 

They are not the eyes of a dog who can almost speak – not the eyes that anyone fortunate to have earned the regard of a discerning canine knows; the eyes of an alien species choosing to connect and converse; eyes that appraise and assess; that love a dog’s love, judge a dog’s judgment, and measure a dog’s reckoning. Instead, they are the eyes of a cartoon human who is thinking human thoughts, experiencing human experiences, living a projected caricature of a human life inside a digitally rendered fur suit.

For the filmmakers, “emotionally authentic” apparently means “a stylized contortion of emotions as experienced by humans and wrought through human facial muscles overlaid on a dog-shaped skull.”

Buck, a flesh-and-blood Saint Bernard-mix that Karen buys online for her kids, will not raise his eyebrows expressively like a cut-rate human actor. He will not telescope his neck to express mild surprise or theatrically grimace with effort. When his pupils dilate dramatically, that’s neither love nor astonishment, but possibly a prelude to employing his large, emphatically nonhuman teeth to defend his rawhide from little Jayden. Buck the $5,000 hybrid mail-order hero will remain 100% real dog – so much so that he may well find himself behind shelter kennel bars before age 1.

ONE THAT GOT IT RIGHT

This is why I was relieved to see publicity for the new feature produced by Disney – Disney! – that dramatizes a true adventure story and stars real dogs doing real dog things.

Ericson Core, the director of Togo, told ET Online:

“Look, in moments of peril or places where you really need to use CGI dogs, of course. But when it’s used as a default, I don’t think it’s as powerful, frankly … And some of what is natural and human is rough edges. It’s real animals. They’re not always looking at you, they’re not always in exactly the right place, but their heart is there. And we tried very hard in this particular film to ground in the truth. I hope that we made a great movie in all the wonderful Disney traditions of telling a wonderfully beautiful, inspiring story, but did it in a very grounded, truthful way, which will help it resonate for a long time.”

If audiences accept fake Buck as “emotionally authentic” – if the actions and expressions that are actually possible for an animal to perform no longer limit cinematic fantasy, and profoundly animal-ignorant filmmakers are freed from natural limits going forward – consumers of that fiction can anticipate a process of being insidiously conditioned to accept non-animal expression and communication as normal and “real” in a way that supersedes their limited and distracted and often repercussion-free experiences with the living animals.

Of limited consequence when the convincing fake critter is a Bengal tiger, which few moviegoers are likely to encounter in uncontrolled circumstances.

But of great significance when the counterfeited animal is the one that shares their homes, tries her damnedest to communicate, yearns to connect in a genuine way, forgives until she can no longer, and cannot but be emotionally authentic. The more inscrutable her valid dog-ness becomes to the humans who control her life, the more tenuous her position – and the more opportunities those humans miss to expand their own repertoire of emotion and sensation and experience through the generous friendship of a complete and alien being. 

Heather Houlahan lives with her husband and other creatures on a small farm near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She has been a search-and-rescue dog handler and trainer for 29 years and is the proprietor of First Friend Dog Training. Houlahan both breeds the occasional litter of working English Shepherds and is behavior coordinator and a foster human for National English Shepherd Rescue. She blogs at cynography.blogspot.com.