Home
Creators
Search Recent Random
Posts
Search DMs Popular Hash Lookup Tags Random
Importer
Import FAQ
Register Favorites Keys Review DMs Logout
Community
Telegram ThePornDude
Home Creators Posts Import Register Favorites Logout

Discussion thread: Eco-Ordorology episode is published! (Patreon)

Published:
2025-01-22 19:38:29
Imported:
2026-06

Content

So last week, we chatted Ethnocynology -- how wolves became dogs. And this week we have a follow up with the lovely Kayla Fratt, who uses working dogs in conservation biology to help her find all kinds of things that human senses and machines can't detect.

*Did y'all listen yet? What did you think? Let us discuss below.*

Requesting to pet your dog,

Alie Ward, dog enthusiast and podcaster

Files

Eco-Odorology (SCIENCE-SNIFFING DOGS) with Kayla Fratt - alie ward

Dogs doing science. With their faces. As a follow-up to last week's Ethnocynology episode about humans domesticating wolves, we chat with conservation biologist and Eco-odorologist Kayla Fratt (and her working dog Barley) about how trained animals help scientists. Sit, and stay, to learn how rescue

Comments

B

The application for Kayla's technician work in Alaska closed on January 15th and I'm devastated!

Alie Ward

Oh noooo! I'll message her and ask about an update!

Alie Ward

Okay she says that they are hiring for a few more positions at: k9conservationists.org/opportunities

B

I just came to complain, did not expect that from you! Thank you so much! That's where it says applications are closed but I'll keep an eye on it!

Katy

So pumped for this one! I've been following Kayla for a while - I found an article she wrote about seperation anxiety for the K9 of Mine site to be the most helpful one I came across (I still send it to friends when they mention seperation troubles), and I later happened upon her podcast when it was still focused on behavior, not detection. I still sometimes listen to the podcast even though my life has nothing to do with scent detection work because it's so interesting.

Scientifically Lily

I just saw my neighbors horse rolling around on its back like a dog... Wondering how wild horses evolved with humans now... Do you have any episodes on horses 😂

Doug Paice

On the comment of using "floppies" dogs for detection, in Australia they use beagles for sniffing baggage at airports So cute! Mostly this is biocontrol, looking for food, fruit and honey, but, I assume, also drugs. We always feel extra lucky when one checks out our bags at the luggage claim.

Between Dumplings

I forgot to ask about dogs (and cats, I think) who seem to know when a person is dying. like in assisted living or hospitals. Is this a combination of empathy and scent? I swear dogs and cats are both so empathic, they know when one's heart is broken and even if you're not overtly showing it, they F E E L it. I am so grateful to have great four-legged friends. Also scent + memory...they must have better connections between these. Of course, we are nose-blind. Some more than others. Great joy in these last two episodes. Thanks. Hope all you and yours are surviving the fires, the grief, the loss and the foul air. ❤️

Sara Fangton

OMG YAAAY!!!! So excited for this one 😍 this is my job as well and I’m JAZZED to know that so many more people will know and fall in love this this amazing field 💕 🐕

Brittney Corrigan

Great conversation! Alie, you and listeners might enjoy the poetry chapbook Living with Wolves by Anne Haven McDonnell about her time among researchers on a remote island in British Columbia studying wolves. It's where I first learned about them swimming between islands! https://www.splitrockreview.org/store/living-with-wolves

K9 Conservationists

It's certainly possible that olfaction is part of this! Way outside my area of expertise, though.

GirlieHippie

I love all these dog olgoies lately! I knew about police dog/ sight-seeing dog world (training), never considered they also do science research (not tested on). … hear me out, I’ve now noticed quite a few episodes have had some horse-related references. when are we getting a horse - ology! Hippology! equestrian-ololgy? Yes my pic is of my horse 🤣

GirlieHippie

O M GEEE!! I just read this after asking about a horse-ology episode! Hippology/ training/ equestrian-ology! Please! YES! have horses but don’t consider myself a true “professional” (open invite to meet the ponies!) Please please please, so many topics in the horse world. 🩵

Adam Foote

The story of encountering a jaguar was cool! Any chance of interviewing her roomie (forgot her name already haha!) for a jaguar-ology episode?

Adam Foote

Also, shouldn't Barley get a DOG-TORATE!?!?!?

Nat W

Such a cool episode! So nice to see someone spreading the word about conservation dogs! Someone in my lab was training them to identify the burrows of a cryptic grassland reptile species. They didn’t have a great detection rate, but they’re still able to do presence/absence searches, which is HUGE when the current method requires a very methodical human search to confirm absence

Aoife Holmes

This was such an interesting episode. I would have never thought from a conservation dog episode that I would get so stuck down a moose worm hole I can't believe how graceful moose look in the water

Alyssa Berg

I'm loving this episode! My aunt Colette is a retired park ranger and long-time search and rescue dog handler in Yellowstone National Park, and it's always a highlight of our visits to get to play "victim" for her pups and watch them go to work to find us! The dogs LOVE to show off and they're great at their jobs! She and her dogs typically work to find people lost in the wilderness in all kinds of conditions, and her stories -- both the happy and not-so-happy endings -- are fascinating. Her dogs have all been rescue dogs and they're just the best. And, for any of you guardians of reactive dogs who worry it's something you're doing wrong, rest assured that even the most seasoned trainers of highly skilled dogs still have to manage reactivity! Despite our family connection to working dogs though, until this episode, I had NO idea that conservation dogs were even a thing! I REALLY loved learning about this. Dogs' brains are so fascinating, and I've SO enjoyed these two companion episodes -- thank you!!

Rachel Guthrie

I worked with conservation dogs in Oregon during undergrad and it was such an amazing experience! Thanks for covering this topic! It was especially interesting to learn about how air travels in and out of a dog’s nose!

Rachael Mae

SCREAMING!! As a biologist, dog lover, and equestrian, I am VERY excited. I can’t wait for the call for questions 😭

Rachael Mae

I absolutely LOVED this episode!! I’ve got a high-drive, rescue border collie who loves fetch and is well trained in obedience (his name is Finneas). And I’m a biologist with field experience, currently working as an environmental consultant. Debating whether I want to take a sabbatical or not to apply for that summer position 🤣

Alison Gussack

Loved both episodes on dogs. Planning on enrolling in my local scent work class to see if it helps my youngest dog to focus and with self control 😂🤣😂

Mark Condon

My dogs have LOVED doing this (and it mentally exhausts them!)

Alie Ward

Amazing! Does your pup have a SHEPHERD'S LANTERN? Man oh man I love that term now.

Alie Ward

No way! What were they looking for?

Alie Ward

Oh I'm so glad you liked them! And I loved learning that in this age of everything AI and tech, dog noses still beat the shit out of machines.

Alie Ward

Snakedogs! Send this episode to them; I hope they like it!

Alie Ward

That's what she said but maybe I didn't pronounce that well enough! And I do have a great big cats expert -- Imogene Cancellare -- that I've been wanting to sit down with forever

Rachael Mae

Hahaha more or less! His entire tail is white! So I guess he has Shepherd’s beacon? Floodlight? Not sure what the proper term here would be 🤣 Also, side-note, I applied for the position this morning!! 🤩

Rachel Guthrie

We were looking for Oregon Silverspot Butterfly larvae! It’s a beautiful, endangered butterfly on the coast in California and Oregon! We found 12 larvae in 5 days, which is a lot compared to what the group usually finds. The dogs made it possible! Thanks for asking 😊

Alie Ward

I want a horse one SO BADLY. Here's my issue: I don't want to chat with a vet who only works with show horses and from the angle of the angle of like, racing and dressage. But I also want to chat with someone well verses in the history of it. So I'm having a real waffle between a researcher with a lot of academic info and a vet with more anatomy. I want to make sure I cover it in a way that's sensitive to not exploiting these creatures. Thoughts?

Alie Ward

Thanks for this recc! My husband, your podmother, loves the pst-apocalyptic book The Dog Stars, and I think he also read the Philosopher and the Wolf a long time ago. Both canine related, of course.

Alie Ward

WAIT TELL US WHAT YOU DO! Also do you and Kayla run in the same dog circles?

Alie Ward

Ooooh, watch out we got THE OLOGIST weighing in! Hi Kayla! We love you. And Barley.

Alie Ward

I went to Disneyland and got sniffed by a brown-speckled pointer doggie and it was so difficult not to pet him

GirlieHippie

You are right, there’s different routes to go. You could easily do 5 podcasts on horses 🤣 i will say, someone who trains and works with horses professionally SHOULD have knowledge of horse anatomy (it’s one of the things we teach when you get into riding), and some basis of history, so I do think if you want best of both worlds, without being overly medical-focused, go with someone who trains horses. If you find someone knowledgable in natural horsemanship they can go over how horses read our bodies and movements. Academically, that’s a different world, but I would say choose someone who has hands on experiences with horses whatever route you go.

Colby Evans

I did catch that on the cast - loved it!

Silent H

We just had dogs sniffing for oil spills under ice at IISD Experimental Lakes Area! They came to our lakes to see if it would be possible for the dogs to find (planted) oil under ice - the dogs are trained to do this on non-frozen water, but hadn't tried it under ice. They had a 100% success rate in the ice trials, even when the oil was placed at deeper depths! They are amazing!

Between Dumplings

I’m just back from Santa Fe, of course I took pics of scat on our hikes. I’ll post on IG and see if y’all have thoughts. @jccraves

Between Dumplings

Oh another dog story. My SIL has a rat terrier rescue. Even months after their first visit here he would run directly to the spot he last found prey. Also after they left and we got him for a week 🥰 I realized when I said “home” he would head toward the AirBnB they stay at. So smart and loves to snuggle. We get to see him in March, too!

Adam Foote

I was listening and cooking so I probably just missed it. OH NO I GUESS I HAVE TO LISTEN AGAIN

K9 Conservationists

That must have been Paul Bunker, right?! He's a dear friend and mentor. Truly amazing trainer and great guy!

K9 Conservationists

Imogene is super impressive and her work with Panthera is sooooo neat. Ellen does a lot of really cool conservation genetics work and was just on Wolf Connection Pod if you want to hear more about her work. I also did a few episodes with her during our fieldwork in Guatemala if you want to hear more about her!

Silent H

It was! With Poppy and Kaosz!

Sunflower star

Interesting episode -- What is the source that there are orcas eating moose? Everything I've seen says Transient orcas (biggs) eat marine mammals like pinnipeds. Our resident Puget Sound orcas are fish eaters. (and Hint Hint, an episode about orcas would be super interesting especially as they have just decided to separate the ecotypes into different species ;) And, I hope Kayla still has funding, as I also share this new full time gig for refreshing the news in horror every few minutes. Thank you both for the welcome break!

Hannah Michelle

This was such a fun episode! I loved hearing about how the dogs can transition “careers” if their first role isn’t right for them. I was surprised to hear Dr. Fratt refer to humans as “nose-blind,” since I thought this was a myth. See the paper “The Human Sense of Smell: Are We Better Than We Think?” and the 2017 Science article, “Poor human olfaction is a 19th-century myth.” It’s true that humans don’t have a functional vomeronasal organ, which certainly limits our sense of smell in certain ways. But I wonder whether calling us “nose-blind” really aligns with the scientific evidence.