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Amphibian and Reptile Detection Dogs

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Amphibian and Reptile Detection Dogs

Ecologist, great crested newt detection dog handler and PhD student at the University of Salford

01/10/2026

A day down in Somerset today for a precautionary GCN dog search 🦎🐾 All three dogs had a turn working across a large search area and loved it 🧡

The habitat had lots of varying complexities, from shorter open grassland, bare earth with burrows, cracks in the ground, longer grass and areas of thatched grassland. The shorter areas meant we could cover ground relatively quickly, while the more complex patches needed a slower, more intricate search. I absolutely love watching how differently these three work the exact same habitat…

🐾 Obi - light-footed, intricate and just flows beautifully through an area.

🐾 Newky - diligent but with speed! He covers ground quickly while still working thoroughly, naturally slowing down when the habitat gets more complex.

🐾 Freya - a bit of both! Speed across the simpler areas before switching to a much more intricate search when needed, and very much doing things the Freya way 👑

Three dogs, three completely different search styles, all adapting to what’s in front of them. I love watching them work 🐾🦎

29/09/2026

What a brilliant day at the CIEEM event in Glasgow! 🐾🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

So lovely to be presenting alongside the wonderful Louise from Conservation K9 Consultancy ❤️ Although there was a slight moment of panic when Louise had to undergo major surgery at very short notice only a WEEK ago 😱 and we weren’t quite sure whether I’d be presenting for both of us! Thankfully, she made it and absolutely smashed her presentation 💪🐶

I shared our Wessex Water case study, talking about the importance of professional standards, collaboration and making sure detection dog teams are working to high standards.

We also got to talk about something that has been a LONG time in the making… the new detection dog guidelines! 🎉 These have been developing since 2019 and have had input and review from people across the UK and internationally, including handlers, specialists and governing bodies.

It’s so exciting to finally see them coming together and to have the support of CIEEM behind them 🙏

Guidelines link:https://theaddc.org/files/sept-v02-wildlife-detection-dogs-for-ecological-surveys-and-conservation-research-uk-good-practice-guidelines-2026-v02-95ag4o.pdf

Chartered Institute of Ecology and Environmental Management - CIEEM
Wessex Water

20/09/2026

Yesterday I had the wonderful Nina shadowing me and the dogs 🐾

Nina is currently exploring different avenues into the detection dog world, with great crested newts being a potential direction given her background in ecology.

She’s doing everything right too, taking the time to learn, ask questions and gain experience. She’s already completed a handling course with the wonderful Conservation K9 Consultancy, giving her the opportunity to work with different detection dogs and experience a variety of disciplines.

We started the day discussing great crested newt ecology and some of the different factors that can influence detectability, touching on findings from my PhD alongside plenty of examples from operational work.

We then moved onto controlled searches, first using bedbugs before progressing to captive great crested newts.

After a lovely meal and plenty more dog chat, we headed out for a night search with Newky and Freya 🌙

The dogs gave us some brilliant real life examples to discuss, detecting GCN:
🐾 below ground
🐾 at distance
🐾 within dense grassland

It was a great opportunity to showcase how different real world searches can be from controlled training, as well as discussing the individuality of each dog and how their handling, working style and requirements can differ.

Thanks for joining us, Nina. We wish you all the best on your journey into the detection dog world and look forward to seeing where it takes you 🐾

04/09/2026

🎉 Happy 6th birthday to Obi! 🎉

My manic, vocal, slightly crazy boy 🤣🧡

We took a trip to the office this afternoon to pick up my new work phone, and the IT department specifically requested that Obi came along. I don’t usually bring Obi into the office because… well… he’s Obi 🥴 so I was slightly nervous about how this would go.

Apart from nearly flooring me down the stairs and emptying the IT department bin, he was actually very well behaved 🤣👏

After work, we continued our annual birthday tradition with a trip to Natural Treats Wiltshire to choose his treats and a new toy. He also scared the life out of the staff by screaming with excitement in the car park 🤦🏻‍♀️🤣

Happy 6th birthday, Obi 🧡 From a very anxious rescue dog to a confident super sniffer 🐾👃

You’ve come such a long way since you arrived 5.5 years ago, but thankfully the chaos and huge personality haven’t gone anywhere 🤣

Thank you for providing so much comedy over the years. Life is certainly never boring with you around 🧡

03/09/2026

🌙🦎 Evening newt detection training!

Our first fun evening search in a while after a super busy few months at work and an exceptionally warm summer ☀️

8 newts located across grassland, ground ivy and stone walls… and surprisingly, every single one was female 🤔

All 3 dogs absolutely loved it 🐾 No rush, no pressure, just a really lovely harmonious search with the dogs completely in their element ❤️

Sessions like these are really important alongside operational work, keeping skills sharp, maintaining confidence across different habitats and, most importantly, making sure the dogs continue to enjoy the work.

Night-time searches also allow us to confirm presence following an indication much more easily. Newts are occasionally handled under licence for a very short period to confirm the find before being released exactly where they were found to continue their evening as we move away 🦎🌿

We also log each find for research purposes, helping us build a better understanding of great crested newt terrestrial movements and habitat use 📍📝

Big thanks to Sam for assisting too! He usually joins me on wastewater detection dog jobs, helping with the dogs, lifting lids, sampling and map reading, so it was a refreshing change for both of us 😊

Although we were both half asleep in today’s meeting… 🥱😂

29/08/2026

🐾💚 Freya, Newky & Obi doing what they love - searching for great crested newts! 🦎🌿

27/08/2026

Same target…two very different searches today 🐕🌿

A precautionary GCN search took us from dry grassland full of burrows 🌾 to wet woodland 🌳 - each presenting its own complexities and requiring different amounts of search time.

Something my PhD research really highlighted is how distance, substrate and environmental conditions can influence detection and search dynamics. 🔬

Take that into the real world and add burrows, vegetation, roots, moisture and changing airflow and suddenly the scent picture becomes a lot more complicated!

It’s why we don’t just consider whether a dog has indicated or not. Habitat complexity, environmental conditions and search coverage all contribute to how confident we can be in detectability, particularly following a negative search.

I love seeing the science from my PhD translate into real operational searches like this 🐕💚

23/08/2026

A couple of days early, but happy 11th birthday to my Queen 👑❤️

Where has the time gone since I picked you up at just 8 weeks old?! 😱 And I can’t believe it’s already been a whole year since our shepherd’s hut getaway for her 10th birthday!

Today she was treated to two of her absolute favourite things combined… toys AND swimming 😂🎾💦 We rented a heated swimming pool for an hour at the wonderful K9 Retreat, and it was just me and Freya playing in the water together for the whole hour. Safe to say, she was in her element 🥹❤️

This dog deserves to be spoilt more than I could ever put into words.

She’s not only my loyal companion. She’s been my colleague, my therapist, my teammate and, ultimately, the reason I ended up in the career of a lifetime….and now a Dr 🎓🐾

So much of what my life looks like today started with that tiny 8-week-old puppy I brought home nearly 11 years ago. I had absolutely no idea where she would end up taking me.

I genuinely don’t think I’ll ever have another bond quite like the one I have with this little sass queen 👑 We have this completely unspoken language between us.

Even writing this is making me tear up 🥹❤️

Happy 11th birthday, Freya. My Queen, my girl, my once-in-a-lifetime dog ❤️🐾

07/08/2026

These two beautiful cockers have been doing me incredibly proud over the last couple of weeks 🐶💙

Bandit and Bluey have been working their way across a huge catchment, using their noses to help narrow down areas of interest for further investigation by our brilliant Stream Clean Team 🔎💧

When we first started exploring the use of detection dogs for wastewater, it was understandably met with some scepticism. It was a completely new way of working and something that needed to prove its value.

Seeing how far the programme has come since then has been incredibly rewarding. The results and impact are speaking for themselves, and what was once an unfamiliar approach is increasingly becoming a trusted part of our pollution investigation toolkit.

But ultimately, it’s about what happens after the dogs indicate. By helping us focus investigations and identify potential sources of contamination more efficiently, they’re supporting the wider team to find and resolve issues that could otherwise impact our rivers and streams. 🌊🌿

It’s amazing to be working at the forefront of pollution reduction and seeing these dogs play a genuine role in protecting our waterways.

Very proud of these two and of the incredible team behind them. 🐾💙

18/07/2026

🎤 This week I was Invited to deliver wastewater detection dog demonstrations at the Wessex Water Treatment Network event… I expected around 20–30 people, but we ended up presenting to 102 people on Tuesday and 70 on Thursday! 😱

🐕 Despite the biggest audiences we’ve ever demonstrated to, Bandit and Bluey were absolute superstars and took everything in their stride. We even captured some drone footage afterwards, which they completely ignored.

🌅 The rest of the week meant 4 am starts in Cerne Abbas with Newky, carrying out great crested newt surveys before road plates were removed. These linear searches are one of his strengths, and although the grass was much higher than expected, we adapted and got the job done.

💙 Another week reminding me just how versatile these incredible dogs are. So proud of all three of them! 🐾

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