Local dogs sniff out invasive species
Local community science is connecting researchers with dog owners who
are working to train their pet to sniff out the egg masses of the
invasive spotted lanternfly. The goal is to use everyday citizens and
their trained dogs to help detect the outbreak of spotted lanternflies
in agricultural areas.
Spotted lame fly is an invasive species, and it is causing upwards of a couple million dollars a year of agricultural issues up and down the East Coast. Hi, sir? We are using dogs to detect them because dogs are incredibly good at detecting things. And so the purpose of this project was to look at using citizen scientist dogs, and we opted to use dogs that are being kind of worked in a sport capacity using their nose in some way. To train a scent detection dog, we basically explained that this particular odor is really important to the dog and gradually build the difficulty that the dog has to go through to not only find it and do something about it, but also go and seek it in the first place. We're always rewarding with, you know, treats or toys or love and attention, those kind of things. The reason it's very enriching for the dogs and a very positive welfare kind of thing is they get that interaction, and they are always getting a reinforcer out of it. By training them on these invasive species, we can utilize them in the environment, which is also enriching for their handlers, too. They get to go out with their dog and do something very fulfilling and purposeful in their local community.
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