Phytopthora Detection Services
Mapping support for interpreters and land managers
Phytophthora detection dogs go straight to the source. They are trained to find the odour associated with Phytopthora cinnamomi only. They are highly effective as they can detect the disease itself, not just the symptoms - faster and possibly with greater sensitivity than traditional lab tests. Their ability to cover large areas quickly makes them valuable for early detection and prevention of disease spread, ultimately protecting ecosystems and commercial crops. Perhaps most valuable of all, they are able to clear uninfested areas rapidly and screen uninterpretable (or temporarily uninterpretable areas.
Biosecure Plants and Soil
For the first time, a method to actually screen soil exists!
Pre-screen soil and plants before introducing new soils, substrates and plants to your orchard, nursery, rehab site or dieback free zone!
Screening is rapid, cost-effective, and can protect your valuable plants. Using detection dog teams will reduce treatment costs, decrease risk of introduction, and help support a low-risk soil assessment.
Screening services now available:
Tube Stock
Potting Mix
Basic Raw Materials
Vehicle Inspections
For the first time, vehicle inspections can evaluate whether dieback is present - a game-changing tool in risk management.
The following vehicle inspection products are now available:
Pre-fire screening
High risk area screening
Cleandown audit and evaluation services
Education and outreach packages
Winter survey support
DFG’s ecology and outreach experience means we can support your science while we are out with you and deliver outreach and education products that really make a difference.
Research Highlights
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FAQ
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Anything we train them to! You can check out our current odours here.
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That depends on the target, project, similarity of training materials to final target, final context and more. Dogs can learn a new odour in a few hours, and consolidate it in their library best with sessions spread out over a couple of months. The biggest challenges for very rare species can be search strategy, and setting the dog up to succeed in encountering the target. New landscapes and final odours very different to the training material may require in situ training and familiarisation, as each presents a new challenge!!
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We are currently investigating options to train a cat and fox detection dog, but none of our current dogs are trained on this odour. Should you be interested, get in touch about the timelines and scale of your project, as this will help us plan our future acquisition and training schedule.
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Nope! Our dogs a trained to have a passive alert - that is, they don’t interact with the target at all. This is usually a down, but may also be a sit or freeze behaviour as needed.
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There are absolutely ways to be successful with limited options, and we are passionate about making projects work for species in need, but we are going to need material to train the dogs on. More limited material means slower progress.
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Great question! Yes, with training. If species have similar diets, it is important to train discrimination, as otherwise, the scent may appear similar in the field. For this reason if dogs are trained on samples from captivity, or a different part of the range, there can be a period of adaptive in-field training to clarify target odour.
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Nope! Dogs can find scat, but they can also find live AND dead targets.
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Great question! All our dogs are trained to to interact with other wildlife, a skill which is constantly reinforced. All teams dog and human) pass a co-operation and communication assessment to ensure that they can comply with safety standard including responsiveness to safety cues such as emergency stops and recalls in the presence of wildlife and vehicles.
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Nope! We only detect environmental and conservation targets.
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Sorry, we don’t do tracking or have dogs trained to find lost animals or humans.
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We use TADD’s and GetXent tubes as training aids where direct use of the primary target is not feasible. Contact us for our information sheet today.