Meet the hardworking dogs protecting our wildlife and environment

Conservation detection dogs play a critical role in protecting Victoria’s wildlife and environment. These are some of the hardworking pups putting their nose to the grindstone.

The alarm goes off early. It’s still dark outside and the grass is crunchy with overnight frost. Even though conservationist Fiona Jackson has been slogging away at the early mornings for a few years now, getting out of bed at that hour is still tough. It gets easier, but it never gets easy.

She wakes up Sonny, the ever-faithful rescue dog with whom she works. He loves his bed and is reluctant to rise, but after a stretch he dutifully allows Fiona to slip him into his bright orange working vest. Once Fiona dons her own fluorescent coat, they are matching.

Fiona and Sonny are colleagues. Together in the morning’s half-light, they traipse the Otways collecting data about feral cats and foxes. Sonny follows his nose and Fiona records what he finds. When he finds a sample, he is rewarded with his precious playtime ball and lots of praise.

Fiona Jackson and Sonny look for fox scat and fox dens in Anglesea. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

Sonny is off-leash while he works, but the second Fiona calls him he comes barrelling back. Mostly, he walks by her side as he sniffs. He is unfailingly obedient, a far cry from his more stubborn younger days.

After several hours of hard work, they head back home. The orange coats come off and both workers are rewarded with lunch and a nap.

Sonny works hard and rests hard, so he is the first to sprawl out on the sofa, twitching as he dreams. He’s been a good boy.

Fiona settles in to sort through and upload the day’s findings, depending on the project. Last week, it was monitoring invasive species such as cats, foxes and plants. Other weeks, it’s trekking around wind turbines sniffing out animal carcasses or invasive plants.

It’s a standard day for a conservationist and working dog duo at Skylos Ecology.

Based in regional Victorian town Beaufort, Skylos provides highly trained conservation detection dog teams for the collection of environmental data.

Sonny’s energy is a well that never runs dry. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

There are six detection dogs at Skylos, each of which has undergone extreme training.

Nearly all of the training is about communication, Fiona says – but a surprisingly important prerequisite is that the dogs must be polite.

“They have to have really good manners because they’re always around wildlife, like threatened species or livestock,” she says.

“We spend a lot of time communicating to our dogs what we would like them to do in the field – and then once we get in the field, that communication role switches. The dog knows its job, and they start communicating to us what they found so that we can collect the data.

“It takes a long time and a lot of training to build up that communication style, and it varies with every dog as well. It takes a pretty special kind of dog to do this work.”

The dogs are switched on and focused when they’re working. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

When it is suggested the dogs must be “very intelligent” to undertake this kind of work, Fiona hesitates, laughs and says “sometimes”. The dogs are switched on in the field, she says, but when it’s playtime, they’re as mad as any puppy in a local park.

“Although, we have this beautiful bond with them where they really want to work as well. They are extremely focused when they’re working,” Fiona says.

“What we do over training is we teach them that they get a reward, so it’s positive reinforcement. They get a reward whenever they find the scat or the plant or the carcass, and for all our six dogs, the reward is a ball.

“They just have this love for their ball – and it’s not just the ball, it’s the human interaction with the ball. We have balls lying around our yard that don’t mean anything to them, but when they get to play with us, it’s really a lovely moment. You realise that their reward is actually this, it’s the playtime with us.”

Arran is the latest puppy recruit.

In addition to Sonny, there is Jimmy, who was rescued by Fiona when he was 15 months old. There is Oakley, who is excellent at sniffing out alligator weed. There is Raasay, who joined the team as a puppy and earned her stripes scenting an invasive plant found in coastal areas. There is Arran, the latest puppy recruit who has been lucky enough to learn the ropes with his siblings. Then there is Rex, another rescue who is fun-loving and hardworking.

The dogs all have their own specialties and quirks, whether it’s a particular plant they’re extra good at detecting or an affinity for wind farm surveying.

“I personally love getting rescue dogs,” Fiona says. “I think it’s beautiful to give them their second chance and a new purpose in life. It’s really beautiful to see them step up and respond to training the way they do, when some of them have had tougher starts to life.”

Even though AI is moving fast, there is nothing man-made that can even come close to the technology of a dog’s nose. With scientists estimating a dog’s sense of smell is between 10,000 and 100,000 times more superior than a human’s, it’s no wonder dogs haven’t been kicked off the work roster yet.

The Skylos dogs have a 97 per cent detectability rate for sniffing out whatever they’ve been tasked to find, whether it’s bird and bat carcasses or animal scat. Even though they’re not flawless, their success rate is extraordinary – and unrivalled.

Oakley is excellent at sniffing out alligator weed.

“Conservation dogs have the capacity to find the data that will really help with ecological projects. They’re so often able to find answers where people can’t. If they’re properly trained, they can really add so much value to a project,” Fiona says.

“The reason they’re important is because the kind of information they provide is essential to making informed, strategic decisions about conservation, invasive species eradication and more.”

Rex is fun-loving and hardworking.

Essentially, without the information the dogs provide, the people who make big decisions about our wildlife and conservation would be going in blind. Their insights are incomparable – but Fiona says the dogs aren’t considered “tools”.

“They’re another being and a teammate, and so they should be treated that way and respected that way, and seen as another workmate. We see the dogs as our equals to the handlers, and they’re treated the same way,” she says.

Sonny was one of the good boys recruited by Skylos, a rescue dog who came on board in 2021. In classic kelpie fashion, his energy is a well that never runs dry and his focus is laser-sharp. He took to training immediately.

Jimmy was rescued when he was 15 months old.

“The hardest thing about working with him is just trying to get him to take a break and have a rest,” Fiona laughs. “He’s a loveable guy and a big character. He’s also a real softie, so when we take his vest off and collar off he just wants a big cuddle at the end of the day.

“Sonny’s a big worker – his endurance levels are phenomenal and sometimes he gets annoyed with me because I’ve stopped to eat, or just take a breather. He’s always on the go but we love him for it.”

These days, working dogs are the perfect marriage of ancient and new technology. The combination of a dog’s snout and a hi-tech GPS collar is unbeatable – paired, of course, with an excellent dog handler.

Skylos Ecology wants to see Australia’s wildlife and nature in its best shape possible. Thriving and free of invasive species: a reality only possible with the service of loyal, steadfast and occasionally cheeky canines.