Publications of detection dog studies

Here is a list of publications in which detection dogs were used in wildlife (and plant) studies with the study animal or plant in bold. If you have problems finding the article, we can probably help you out. Also, if you know of any studies not included, send us the citation so we can update this list.

Akenson, J. J., M. G. Henjum, T. L. Wertz, and T. J. Craddock. 2001. Use of Dogs and Mark-Recapture Techniques to Estimate American Black Bear Density in Northeastern Oregon. Ursus 12:203-209.

Arnett, E. B. 2006. A Preliminary Evaluation on the Use of Dogs to Recover Bat Fatalities at Wind Energy Facilities. Wildlife Society Bulletin 34:1440-1445.

Brooks, S. E., F. M. Oi, and P. G. Koehler. 2003. Ability of Canine Termite Detectors to Locate Live Termites and Discriminate Them from Non-Termite Material. Journal of Economic Entomology 96:1259-1266.

Browne, C., K. Stafford, and R. Fordham. 2006. The use of scent-detection dogs. Irish Veterinary Journal 59:97-104.

Cablk, M. E., and J. S. Heaton. 2006. Accuracy and reliability of dogs in surveying for desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii). Ecological Applications 16:1926-1935.

Cablk, M. E., J. C. Sagebiel, J. S. Heaton, and C. Valentin. 2008. Olfaction-based detection distance: A quantitative analysis of how far away dogs recognize tortoise odor and follow it to source. Sensors 8:2208-2222.

Dahlgren, D. K., T. A. Messmer, E. T. Thacker, and M. R. Guttery. 2010. Evaluation of Brood Detection Techniques: Recommendations for Estimating Greater Sage-Grouse Productivity. Western North American Naturalist 70:233-237.

Dematteo, K. E., M. A. Rinas, M. M. Sede, B. Davenport, C. F. Argüelles, K. Lovett, and P. G. Parker. 2009. Detection Dogs: An Effective Technique for Bush Dog Surveys. The Journal of Wildlife Management 73:1436-1440.

Duggan, J. M., E. J. Heske, R. L. Schooley, A. Hurt, and A. Whitelaw. 2011. Comparing detection dog and livetrapping surveys for a cryptic rodent. The Journal of Wildlife Management 75:1209-1217.

Engeman, R. M., D. S. Vice, D. V. Rodriguez, K. S. Gruver, W. S. Santos, and M. E. Pitzler. 1998. Effectiveness of detector dogs for locating brown tree snakes in cargo. Pacific Conservation Biology 4:256-260.

Engeman, R. M., D. York, D. S. Vice, and K. S. Gruver. 2002. Sustained evaluation of the effectiveness of detector dogs for locating brown tree snakes in cargo outbound from Guam  Lincoln, Nebraska.

Foresman, K. R., and D. E. Pearson. 1998. Comparison of Proposed Survey Procedures for Detection of Forest Carnivores. The Journal of Wildlife Management 62:1217-1226.

Fukuhara, R., T. Yamaguchi, H. Ukuta, S. Roy, J. Tanaka, and G. Ogura. 2010. Development and introduction of detection dogs in surveying for scats of small Indian mongoose as invasive alien species.  5:101-111.

Furgal, C. M., K. M. Kovacs, and S. Innes. 1996. Characteristics of ringed seal, Phoca hispida, subnivean structures and breeding habitat and their effects on predation. Canadian Journal of Zoology 74:858-874.

Gompper, M. E., R. W. Kays, J. C. Ray, S. D. Lapoint, D. A. Bogan, and J. R. Cryan. 2006. A Comparison of Noninvasive Techniques to Survey Carnivore Communities in Northeastern North America. Wildlife Society Bulletin 34:1142-1151.

Goodwin, K. 2005. A novel method to detect knapweed (Centaurea biebersteinii DC.) using specially trained canines.  Report to the Center for Invasive Plant Management.

Gsell, A., J. Innes, P. de Monchy, and D. Brunton. 2010. The success of using trained dogs to locate sparse rodents in pest-free sanctuaries. Wildlife Research 37.

Gutzwiller, K. J. 1990. Minimizing Dog-Induced Biases in Game Bird Research. Wildlife Society Bulletin 18:351-356.

Harrison, R. L. 2006. A comparison of survey methods for detecting bobcats. Wildlife Society Bulletin 34:548-552.

Heaton, J. S., M. E. Cablk, K. E. Nussear, T. C. Esque, P. A. Medica, J. C. Sagebiel, and S. S. Fracis. 2008. Comparison of effects of humans versus wildlife detector dogs. Southwestern Naturalist 53:472-479.

Homan, H. J., G. Linz, and B. D. Peer. 2001. Dogs Increase Recovery of Passerine Carcasses in Dense Vegetation. Wildlife Society Bulletin 29:292-296.

Kerley, L. L., and G. P. Salkina. 2007. Using Scent-Matching Dogs to Identify Individual Amur Tigers from Scats. The Journal of Wildlife Management 71:1349-1356.

Kozicky, E. L., R. J. Jessen, G. O. Hendrickson, and E. B. Speaker. 1956. Estimation of Fall Quail Populations in Iowa. The Journal of Wildlife Management 20:97-104.

Long, R., T. Donovan, P. MacKay, W. Zielinski, and J. Buzas. 2010. Predicting carnivore occurrence with noninvasive surveys and occupancy modeling. Landscape Ecology:1-14.

Long, R. A., T. M. Donovan, P. Mackay, W. J. Zielinski, and J. S. Buzas. 2007a. Comparing scat detection dogs, cameras, and hair snares for surveying carnivores. Journal of Wildlife Management 71:2018-2025.

Long. 2007b. Effectiveness of scat detection dogs for detecting forest carnivores. Journal of Wildlife Management 71:2007-2017.

Lydersen, C., and I. A. N. Gjertz. 1986. Studies of the ringed seal (Phoca hispida Schreber 1775) in its breeding habitat in Kongsfjorden, Svalbard. Polar Research 4:57-63.

MacKay, P., D. A. Smith, R. A. Long, and M. Parker. 2008. Noninvasive Survey Methods for Carnivores. Island Press, Washington, DC.

Nussear, K. E., T. C. Esque, J. S. Heaton, M. E. Cablk, K. K. Drake, and C. Valentin. 2008. Are wildlife detector dogs or people better at finding desert tortoises? Herpetological Conservation and Biology 3:103-115.

Paula, J., M. C. Leal, M. J. Silva, R. Mascarenhas, H. Costa, and M. Mascarenhas. 2011. Dogs as a tool to improve bird-strike mortality estimates at wind farms. Journal for Nature Conservation 19:202-208.

Reed, S. E., A. L. Bidlack, A. Hurt, W. M. Getz, and A. C. Associate Editor: Bret. 2011. Detection distance and environmental factors in conservation detection dog surveys. The Journal of Wildlife Management 75:243-251.

Reindl-Thompson, S. A., J. A. Shivik, A. Whitelaw, A. Hurt, and K. F. Higgins. 2006. Efficacy of scent dogs in detecting black-footed ferrets at a reintroduction site in South Dakota. Wildlife Society Bulletin 34:1435-1439.

Robert, M., and P. Laporte. 1997. Field techniques for studying breeding yellow rails Journal of field ornithology 68:56-63.

Rolland, R. M., S. D. Hamilton, S. D. Kraus, B. Davenport, R. M. Gillet, and S. K. Wasser. 2006. Faecal sampling using detection dogs to study reproduction and health in North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis). Journal of Cetacea Research and Management 8:121-125.

Savidge, J. A., Stanford, J. W., Reed, R. N., Haddock, G. R., Yakel Adams, A. A. 2010. Canine detection of free-ranging brown treesnakes on Guam. New Zealand Journal of Ecology 35.

Smith, D. A., K. Ralls, B. L. Cypher, H. O. Clark, P. A. Kelly, D. F. Williams, J. E. Maldonado, and C. W. Edwards. 2006. Relative abundance of endangered San Joquin kit foxes based on scat-detection dog surveys. The Southwestern Naturalist 51:210-219.

Smith, D. A., K. Ralls, B. L. Cypher, and J. E. Maldonado. 2005. Assessment of scat-detection dog surveys to determine kit fox distribution. Wildlife Society Bulletin 33:897-904.

Smith, D. A., K. Ralls, B. Davenport, B. Adams, and J. E. Maldonado. 2001. Canine Assistants for Conservationists. Science 291:435.

Smith, D. A., K. Ralls, A. Hurt, B. Adams, M. Parker, B. Davenport, M. C. Smith, and J. E. Maldonado. 2003. Detection and accuracy rates of dogs trained to find scats of San Joaquin kit foxes (Vulpes macrotis mutica). Animal Conservation 6:339-346.

Stevenson, D. J., R. T. Ravenscroft, M. D. Zappalorti, S. W. Weigley, and C. L. Jenkins. 2010. Using a wildlife detector dog for locating eastern indigo snakes (Drymarchon couperi). Herpetological Review 41:437-442.

Syrotuck, W. G. 2000. Scent and the scenting dog. Arner Publishing, Rome, NY, USA.

Thompson, C. M., J. A. Royle, and J. D. Garner. 2012. A framework for inference about carnivore density from unstructured spatial sampling of scat using detector dogs. The Journal of Wildlife Management 76:863-871.

Vice, D. S., and R. M. Engeman. 2000. Brown tree snake discoveries during detector dog inspections following supertyphoon Paka. Lincoln, Nebraska, USA.

Vynne, C., R. B. Machado, J. Marinho-Filho, and S. K. Wasser. 2009. Scat-detection dogs seek out new locations of Priodontes maximus and Myrmecophaga tridactyla in Central Brazil. Endentata 8-10:13-14.

Vynne, C., J. R. Skalski, R. B. Machado, M. J. Groom, A. T. A. JÁComo, J. Marinho-Filho, M. B. R. Neto, C. Pomilla, L. Silveira, H. Smith, and S. K. Wasser. 2011. Effectiveness of scat-detection dogs in determining species presence in a tropical savanna landscape. Conservation Biology 25:154-162.

Wasser, S. K., B. Davenport, E. R. Ramage, K. E. Hunt, M. Parker, C. Clarke, and G. Stenhouse. 2004. Scat detection dogs in wildlife research and management: application to grizzly and black bears in the Yellowhead Ecosystem, Alberta, Canada. Canadian Journal of Zoology-Revue Canadienne De Zoologie 82:475-492.

Wasser, S. K., J. L. Keim, M. L. Taper, and S. R. Lele. 2011. The influences of wolf predation, habitat loss, and human activity on caribou and moose in the Alberta oil sands. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.

Wasser, S. K., H. Smith, L. Madden, N. Marks, and C. Vynne. 2009. Scent-Matching Dogs Determine Number of Unique Individuals From Scat. The Journal of Wildlife Management 73:1233-1240.

Zwickel, F. C. 1980. Use of dogs in wildlife biology. The Wildlife Society, Washington, DC, USA.