Wildlife Conservation Canines as research assistants in the field: The wisdom they teach us, and the stupid stuff we teach them
We will discuss “trust the dog stupid” moments in field research with wildlife conservation canines, with lessons from working with reptiles (turtles and snakes), birds, bats, and coyotes and discuss the “humans know best” bias and fallacy in this research (e.g., see Gadbois, Elliott, Flannery, 2023). From anecdotes, to deployment and training issues, this talk will give a candid look at the contribution of dogs to conservation, but also to our knowledge of their role in this line of work.