Dogs detecting fire ants
Ants, are highly invasive and Biosecurity Qld has released a video showing what an important part dogs now play in Fire ant detection. They had to not only find a dog which could detect ants, but dogs which would locate just Fire ants.
They decided to use dogs which responded positively to play as their reward rather than food. The dogs learned that play happens when they smell the ant pheromone so find the ants and he gets to play a game with the dog handler.
Dogs have a wonderful memory for smells and once they had established the scent as provided by a lab they then learned what it was like to smell a wild colony and can even find them underground. The detection dogs can smell even a small number of ants up to 30 meters away. The same pooches are used to check that cleared areas are now free from Fire ants.
Leah & Angela OMeara
Hound Dog Day Care (Specialists in Dog Minding & Dog Boarding, Pet Sitting Brisbane & Doggy Day Care Brisbane)