Those who know me, know I am not really much of a dog person. When I encounter dogs of any shape or size, I tend to immediately protect my throat, in fear they will go straight for it. When I am out in the bush I always have one ear out, listening for that pack of wild dogs which could be silently moving through the scrub hunting me down. There is no real life basis in these irrational reactions, I’ve never been attacked by a dog, and I have never even encountered a feral dog in the bush, let alone a whole pack of them. Where this came from I will never know, but thankfully, for my sanity and anxiety levels, this irrationality is slowly melting away.
Last year I started a new job, where the human employees only slightly outnumber the canine ones. I won’t lie, I was nervous. What if they didn’t like me? What if I did the wrong thing? What if I smelt like prey? I was more concerned about making a good impression on the dogs than I was the human population in the office… Suffice to say, I survived those first few weeks and now find myself spending far too much time laying around on the floor talking to my new friends and patting their little heads and giving scratches under the chin.
Having said that, the one pupper who isn’t usually found in the office, is The Fonz, who is owned (or is best mates with) the amazing Mel Kelly. He doesn’t have time to lay around and be pampered all day, he is busy waging a war on weeds!
Fonz is a beautiful giant black shepherd, who absolutely terrified me when I first saw him, because I am a sook. All I could think about was my throat, and if he wanted to rip it out. Naturally, I was again shown to be irrational, and Fonz didn’t even care about me or my throat being there. I was just some useless human who needed a lesson in how to identify serrated tussock… But hang on, I am the botanist, I am the one who went to uni for years to get the bit of paper that says I am a botanist, I am the one who has spent almost every waking moment pouring over field guides and traipsing around the bush learning how to identify all these plants, what the heck can a dog teach me?
It turns out, quite a lot.
What even does Fonz do?
Aside from becoming a bit of a celebrity amongst those in the invasive plant world, Fonz is one of the very few Conservation Detection Dogs in Tasmania. There are a few others, such as Grommit and Zorro who spend their time sniffing out things like masked owl pellets. I have also had the pleasure of meeting these two characters, and they are equally as fabulous as The Fonz and equally as spoilt (check them out here). There is also a little pack of puppies who have been instrumental in getting rid of feral species on some of our islands (https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-06-11/wonder-dog-protects-island-from-rodents/12338438))
Fonz and his amazing nose is an expert at sniffing out a few species of invasive plants which have the potential (and kind of already are) causing havoc amongst our natural spaces. His current target species are serrated tussock and orange hawkweed. Serrated tussock (Nasella trichotoma) is a particularly nasty grass species which has made its way to Australia from South America. Not only is it creeping into our woodlands and grasslands and displacing our native species, but it is also becoming a major problem for graziers, especially through the midlands. The problem with serrated tussock is that the cows and sheep don’t like eating it, so they ignore it, and then it flowers and sets seed and germinates loads more and the cows and sheep keep ignoring it and the cycle goes on until there are paddocks of inedible serrated tussock. Not cool, not cool at all. Another major problem is that it is very hard to detect in the landscape. Superficially, especially when not in flower, it is hard to distinguish from a lot of our native grasses. If you have flowers or seeds, it’s pretty easy, but if not, it’s a nightmare. That’s where Fonz comes in.
He will roam around in hunting mode until he sniffs out the target and then either sit with his little paws around it, or just yank it out with his teeth and then wait for the praise. Once he gets the praise he is off again, finding the next one. Doesn’t matter if it is a giant tussock or a tiny little seedling, he will find it. I must say, he did make me feel a little inadequate when I was inspecting a small plant which looked very much like serrated tussock. Fonz clearly saw I was struggling and came bounding over and stuck his nose in it and then turned on his heels and bounded off again… Yeah, I got it wrong, it was one of our native poas.
Why do we need The Fonz?
You may be thinking, just as I did when I first learned about weed detection dogs, what is the benefit of a dog that can sniff out weeds? Can’t we just go out and find them in flowering season and take care of them then? What does a dog have that a well trained weed expert doesn’t? What’s the point if he can find them but not kill them as well? All valid questions. All with valid answers.
The biggest problem with going out and finding some of these invasive species when they are easily identifiable, is that is usually when they are flowering and/or in seed. Which happens to be a super bad time to be moving amongst them. You get seeds stuck in your clothes, on your bag, in your car tyres and then risk spreading them even further. The best way to avoid that happening is to avoid being amongst them at that time of year. Solution: Get Fonz to go in when they aren’t in flower and follow along behind him chipping them out or spot spraying them.
What about dog vs well trained weed expert? Fonz would win every time. But when Fonz wins, we all win. I am by no means a weed expert. I am not bad with them, and am pretty good at identifying most of the worst ones. However, young serrated tussock (and sometimes big ones) has had me stumped many a time. After spending a day with Fonz, my identification skills have levelled up. Small plants I wouldn’t have picked out, he did, which gave me the opportunity to inspect them closely and compare them to native species at the same growth stage. Way better than looking at pictures on the interwebs.
Probably one of the best benefits (in my opinion) is quality control. When you treat an area with herbicide, or send a team in to manually remove weeds, there are always some that slip through. Especially the little ones who hide amongst the vegetation. Enter Fonz and his super snout. He will quickly find the ones you have missed so you can deal with them. Know of a little outlier patch by the side of the road? Take Fonz and he will find them for you, you can pull them out and he can check you got them all!
The benefits of Conservation Detection Dogs are huge, and they go beyond just the detection of the things that you want to detect. They have the ability to motivate people, and in the world of conservation that is massive. We are all motivated to do the best we can do with what is in front of us, but at times it can seem futile. Knowing that you can go back to an area you think you have made weed free, and have a sniffy little nose to confirm you won the fight in that patch is a morale booster that you just can’t put a price on.
And also… Fonz is super friggin adorable and makes a great field buddy.
Disclaimer and Links
Not that I need to write a disclaimer, because this is my blog and I am the boss if it. But yes, I do work at the same place that Fonz and his Mel does (Enviro-Dynamics – https://www.enviro-dynamics.com.au/). Is this a paid advertisement? No, because I wrote it on the weekend when I wasn’t on the clock. However, I don’t need to be paid to say I love my job and what I do, and those who know me know that I am rather stubborn and wouldn’t vouch for anything I don’t believe in.
Check out these other links which have been recommended by Mel to learn more about the world of Conservation Dogs.
Steve and Vicki Austin – https://www.austinsdogtrainingeducation.com.au/
Nic Gill – https://nicole-gill.com/
Rogue Detection Teams – https://roguedogs.org/
Working Dogs for Conservation – https://wd4c.org/
Conservation K9 – https://conservationk9consultancy.com/
Canines for Wildlife – https://caninesforwildlife.com/
Tate animals – https://www.tateanimals.com/tateanimals
Skylos Ecology – https://www.skylosecology.com/
