Dogs and People Working Together in Surprising Ways (1 Viewer)

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Linda

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I've found two programs that are helping high energy dogs find their purpose and forever home. By that, I mean those VERY active dogs. Different breeds have their own characteristics. Boxers, for example, are family dogs. Being relegated to the yard and not with the family is not a good fit. Then there are the working dogs. I love these dogs, too, but they are meant to live on a farm or ranch. Often times dogs end up in shelters or with rescues because people did not understand the dog's innate purpose. Big dogs need a big space and a job.

The first video is about people running with shelter dogs, and second, about dogs being trained for conservation work.

Imagine being cooped up in a shelter. Even in the best circumstances, you can imagine that all a dog wants to do is get out for a run. The first story is about a high school cross country team that paired with a shelter and took the active dogs out on their runs. Since that time, other shelters have started programs where people can run with the dogs. It is a good energy exchange - people and dogs are helping each other. I've attached a youtube video about these students and the donation from a company that makes good quality running harnesses. The backstory on the young man carrying the tired dog is that he and his family adopted that dog (Fred).



The next story is about Working Dogs For Conservation. https://wd4c.org
Dogs are great at detecting problems and deterring incursions. I can attest to that just in my life. There is no unauthorized entry into our backyard. If there is someone our dogs did not like, then we've respected their intuition and noses and limited our exposure. It is those great noses that smell everything. One the conservation dogs is blind, but still does an excellent job with her handler. This group travels all over the world answering the call of different groups and making a difference.

Building upon techniques from narcotics detection, cadaver detection, and search and rescue, we have pioneered ways to use dogs’ extraordinary sense of smell to protect wildlife and wild places.
Our dogs can detect weeds before they break the surface, animals that live below ground, and aquatic organisms invisible to the human eye. Our co-founders were the first to train dogs to detect wide-ranging carnivores non-invasively, to uncover illegal snares in Africa, and to find invasive plants, insects, and fish.
We are also at the forefront of the fight against wildlife trafficking, training dogs to detect ammunition, guns, poisons, snares, ivory, rhino horn, and pangolin scales.

The following Ted Talk is from one of the co-founders of the group. I loved this part of her talk - dogs are the only species that will tell us what they know. Thinking about my wonderful companions over the years, I know this to be true. You will be so happy watching this video and seeing all the wonderful work they can do.

 
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Snowmelt

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With 300 million receptors to our mere 5 million, a dog’s nose is estimated to be between 100,000 and 100 million times more sensitive than a human’s. No wonder, then, that our nasally inferior species has sought to unleash the prodigious power of canine shnozzes. Rosell here takes us for a walk with a pack of superhero sniffers including Tutta, a dog with a fine nose for fine wine; the pet-finder pooch AJ; search-and-rescue dog Barry; the hunting dog Balder; the police dogs Rasko and Trixxi; the warfare dog Lisa; the cancer detection dog Jack; Tucker, who scents floating killer whale feces; and even Elvis, who can smell when you’re ovulating. With each dog, Rosell turns his nose to the evolution of the unique olfactory systems involved, which odors dogs detect, and how they do it.

I haven't read this book (due to the price) but this is surely one I will seek out in a library, soon.
 
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