Combining a Love of Dogs with Conservation with Co-Founder Heather Nootbaar

In this episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla interviews co-founder Heather. They discuss how Heather got into the world of conservation detection dogs, her experience before K9 Conservationists, and how she met Kayla. 

Science Highlight: Using Scent Detection Dogs in Conservation Settings: A Review of Scientific Literature Regarding Their Selection

We Discuss:

• Heather's dad, who showed bearded collies when she was a kid


• Heather's history as a zoology major in college, then working in zoos and wolf sanctuaries


• How diving way into animal behavior and dog training landed Heather a job with conservation dogs


• K9 Ellie's temperament and how that challenged Heather to grow


• How Heather made money and survived financially through unpaid internships


• How Heather selected Ellie for work - and what she'll do differently next time


• The pros and cons of working with a dog who's more food-driven than toy-driven


• What Heather learned in a K9 Nosework class that helped (and didn't help) as a working dog handler


• The hiccups Ellie and Heather experienced during their first wind farm job


• How Kayla and Heather met and joined forces


• Where Heather is excited to see the field progress in the future

Links Mentioned in the Episode:

Ep. 15: Puppy Temperament Tests Aren’t That Predictive With Dr. James Ha

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