Some of the Enviro-Dynamics team joined our partners recently to head to Perth, Western Australia, and learn how to work with detection dogs, trained to sniff out the Phytophthora cinnamomi (PC) pathogen. The project is part of the Australian Government Saving Native Species Program run by trainers, Tate Animals.

Detector dogs can be trained to detect almost any scents, examples being truffles, electronics, cash, and termites. Dieback detector dogs are trained to sniff out Phytophthora cinnamomi, with two dogs already trained in New South Wales to detect this microscopic pathogen in controlled settings.

Tate Animals has been developing these dogs for over a year as part of their proof-of-concept project. The WA Government has been dealing with Dieback, caused by the pathogen, for 40 years and has developed a range of skills and testing methods to detect its presence.

By combining these with the detection dogs, testing can be done faster and more reliably.

The team has picked up a critical skills and knowledge from Tate Animals, the WA Government team and Dieback detection contractors. Since the pathogen is almost impossible to spot with the human eye, handlers have to learn to trust the dogs and recognize different body language cues.

During the trip, the dogs were tested in both ‘clean’ areas and within the grounds of Kings Park near Perth. The training was paired with standard Phytophthora cinnamomi testing and sampling to make sure blind testing could be done.

The next steps are for the Enviro-Dynamics dog training team to be monitored by Tate Animals over the next 12 months as they train their two puppies for Phytophthora cinnamomi detection in Tasmania. This training will play a big role in shaping a Draft national approach to PC Detection Dogs.

It is important to tackle these challenges on a national level since the issue isn’t confined to just one state or territory. The best way to stop Phytophthora cinnamomi from spreading is to make sure contamination doesn’t travel across the country.

The joint Saving Native Species activity is funded in partnership between the Australian Government and WA, NSW, and Tasmania.