Having a ball!
by Berry Wijdeven
by Berry Wijdeven
![Haida Gwaii - Contemplative Pips](/uploads/1/2/6/9/126967338/editor/pips2.jpg?1566328012)
Meet Pips. Pips is an Australian cattle dog. All Pips wants to do is fetch ball. All day, and if it wasn’t for the inevitable darkness, likely all night as well. Pips has so much energy that most owners eventually can’t take it anymore and bring him to a shelter. Sometimes dogs like Pips get adopted, by brave new owners who think they can handle this bundle of energy, but more often than not, they are returned to the shelter, waiting, hoping for a final chance.
![Haida Gwaii - Heath and Pips](/uploads/1/2/6/9/126967338/editor/pips3.jpg?1566330733)
Here’s where Heath Smith enters the picture. Heath is the Coordinator of the University of Washington’s Conservation Canines Program and he and his colleagues travel all over the United States looking for dogs like Pips. Dogs who not just jump to attention when they see a human with a ball, most dogs will do that, but dogs who literally vibrate
when they see that ball. Dogs who MUST HAVE THAT BALL. Those are the dogs, those one-in-a-thousand dogs, which are flown to the specialized training facility in Eatonville, Washington. A place where they finally find
an outlet for all that energy. A purpose. And a loving home. There’s a reason, of course, why these dogs are selected. Experience has shown that dogs with this much energy, this much drive, make excellent scat-sniffing dogs. Yes, you read that correctly. Scat. Excrement. Poo. It makes sense, really. We all know that dogs have excellent noses. That they are able to locate faint but interesting smells humans can’t ever hope to detect. Because of this dogs are used as drug sniffers, bomb sniffers, even cancer sniffers. At the University of Washington handlers work with the dogs to focus this innate ability towards a seemingly less lofty target: scat.
when they see that ball. Dogs who MUST HAVE THAT BALL. Those are the dogs, those one-in-a-thousand dogs, which are flown to the specialized training facility in Eatonville, Washington. A place where they finally find
an outlet for all that energy. A purpose. And a loving home. There’s a reason, of course, why these dogs are selected. Experience has shown that dogs with this much energy, this much drive, make excellent scat-sniffing dogs. Yes, you read that correctly. Scat. Excrement. Poo. It makes sense, really. We all know that dogs have excellent noses. That they are able to locate faint but interesting smells humans can’t ever hope to detect. Because of this dogs are used as drug sniffers, bomb sniffers, even cancer sniffers. At the University of Washington handlers work with the dogs to focus this innate ability towards a seemingly less lofty target: scat.
![Haida Gwaii - Looking for scat](/uploads/1/2/6/9/126967338/editor/pips4.jpg?1566328198)
Scat detection is an emerging field in the area of species detection. Finding scat not only tells scientists whether an animal was present, they can determine through further analysis whether it was male or female, whether it is pregnant, what it eats and what its stress levels are. All of this without ever seeing the critter. This research method is ideal for locating and analyzing so called “cryptic” species; species which are rare or hard to locate. Or both. And since you don’t have to handle the scat donor, it is non-invasive, not creating additional stress. Scat detecting dogs have been used successfully to locate anything from bears and orcas to fishers, frogs and pocket mice. All dogs at the canine centre are trained to find specific scat, two or three species per dog. Pips happens to be trained on mustelid scat. Which is a good thing, for on Haida Gwaii we needed help locating a member of the mustelid family: the Haida Ermine.
![Haida Gwaii Ermine](/uploads/1/2/6/9/126967338/editor/pips5.jpg?1566330298)
Ermine are thought to be extremely rare on Haida Gwaii.
A lot of time and effort has been expended trying to find them. Traps, track plates, bait stations, nest boxes and motion
detection cameras have
located only a handful. Three or four sightings are reported each year and every so often a dead ermine is brought in, victim of a cat attack or by-catch in a trap. Some biologists studying them have never seen a live one. There are only two known photos of live Haida Ermine in the last twenty years. This lack of sightings
makes it impossible to determine what habitat the ermine are
using, how the ermine population on Haida Gwaii is doing and what, if anything, could be done to increase their presence. So when traditional detection methods fail, it’s time to try something slightly different. In this context, bringing
in a scat detecting dog is really not such a crazy idea.
A lot of time and effort has been expended trying to find them. Traps, track plates, bait stations, nest boxes and motion
detection cameras have
located only a handful. Three or four sightings are reported each year and every so often a dead ermine is brought in, victim of a cat attack or by-catch in a trap. Some biologists studying them have never seen a live one. There are only two known photos of live Haida Ermine in the last twenty years. This lack of sightings
makes it impossible to determine what habitat the ermine are
using, how the ermine population on Haida Gwaii is doing and what, if anything, could be done to increase their presence. So when traditional detection methods fail, it’s time to try something slightly different. In this context, bringing
in a scat detecting dog is really not such a crazy idea.
![Haida Gwaii - Pips locates a scat](/uploads/1/2/6/9/126967338/editor/pips6.jpg?1566328407)
When Pips and his handler Heath arrive on Haida Gwaii, the first course of action is to get Pips focused on the scent of ermine scat. After Heath hides small scat samples throughout the forest, he plays ball with Pips for a bit, then pockets the ball and tells Pips to “go find it”. Pips knows playtime is over until he locates the scat so he puts his nose to the ground and starts sniffing, zig-zagging across the site. Initially it takes a few tries, but eventually he locates the scat. When he does he immediately lays down next to the scat, looking expectingly at his handler. “Show me”, Heath says and Pips points his nose towards the sample. When Heath is satisfied that the scat has indeed been located he praises the dog and throws the ball. Pips loves that ball and never gets enough chasing and returning it.
![Pips and Heath searching for scat in Haida Gwaii old growth](/uploads/1/2/6/9/126967338/pips7_orig.jpg)
Having finished the training, the search for scat can get started. Little is known about Haida ermine habitat use. They are considered generalists which can live in a variety of habitats. Since most of the reported sightings have been near creeks and rivers, however, that’s where the search will be focused. For nearly three weeks Heath and Pips walk the creeks, Pips zig-zagging through the forest, jumping on logs and stumps, diving under blowdown, venturing inside hollow trees. That dog has
a lot of energy which doesn’t start flagging till late afternoon. By that point we are beat as well, even though we have covering not nearly as much ground as the dog. Haida Gwaii forests are beautiful, but they can be challenging to move around in. Uneven ground, fallen trees, dense sallal growth, swampy sections, every step you take can be an adventure. Graceless wipe-outs are not uncommon. Bumps and bruises are just part of the fun. But we are filled with purpose, so on we go, following Pips through the forest.
a lot of energy which doesn’t start flagging till late afternoon. By that point we are beat as well, even though we have covering not nearly as much ground as the dog. Haida Gwaii forests are beautiful, but they can be challenging to move around in. Uneven ground, fallen trees, dense sallal growth, swampy sections, every step you take can be an adventure. Graceless wipe-outs are not uncommon. Bumps and bruises are just part of the fun. But we are filled with purpose, so on we go, following Pips through the forest.
![Haida Gwaii - Heath creekside](/uploads/1/2/6/9/126967338/pips8_orig.jpg)
On day five, Pips finds the first scat. After doing his usual zigzag through the forest, following the debris along the creek, he suddenly drops down, staring up at Heath expectantly. Heath walks over to check the site and finds nothing. “Where is it Pips? Show me”, he says. Pip points his nose towards a spot in the moss. Heath checks. Still nothing. He asks Pips again and the dog insists there is something here. Heath now gives the site a thorough search, moving twigs out of the way, teasing apart the moss.
![Haida Gwaii - Heath digging for scat located by Pips](/uploads/1/2/6/9/126967338/editor/pips10.jpg?1566330185)
And then Heath spots it, way near the bottom of the mossy growth, a pile of tiny bones; the remnants of a scat pile. Ermine often use scat to mark their territory, picking exposed rocks and logs to demarcate what is theirs. Because of this exposure to the elements, however, the scat breaks down quickly which makes it even trickier to locate. But Pips has done it! Even though the scat has mostly broken down, he has still been able to pick up the scent. This is promising. Heath praises Pips extensively, which the dog appears to take in stride, staring intently at Heath’s pocket. He wants his reward and Heath spends the next few minutes playing fetch.
![Heath and Pips searching for scat in Haida Gwaii fog](/uploads/1/2/6/9/126967338/pips11_orig.jpg)
Over the next two weeks Pips locates a total of eleven scats. But by now he has covered more than one hundred kilometres of bush, which means the density of the scat is pretty low. Ermine are likely as rare as everybody has postulated. The scat densities are too low to tease out population densities, but further scat analysis will provide an opportunity to learn more about the ermines diet and health. It also provides proof of concept, with plans to bring dogs up to Haida Gwaii for future surveys. Watching Pips work tirelessly, jumping up logs, crawling underneath them, doing his very best to locate scat was inspiring. And all for a ball.