Conservation Dogs

02/07/2024

Dora here is indicating on a bat carcass. To some it may look like she’s just having a lie down. But she’s patiently waiting for the handler to reward her with a ball.
Our dogs are trained to indicate on their target odour by sitting or lying next to it and not Interfering with it directly. This is extremely important especially with our Great Crested Newt Dogs.

13/04/2024

Dora looking all fresh and ready for another busy week of searches

29/02/2024

The start of our busy 2024 turbine searches for bird and bat carcasses has begun! Roll on the warmer months for some better weather 🤣

28/02/2024

19/10/2023

Great crested Newt detection dogs Poppy and Dora are hard at work on some more site searches. However Poppy always finds time for a quick photoshoot, how could we not? She’s just too cute 🥰 showing off her new booties!

Work boots are not always required but are ideal for working our GCN dogs in certain areas to protect their paws

21/06/2023

Our wonderful Dora 😁

03/04/2023

Poppy and Rocky on-site last week searching for Great Crested Newts

01/03/2023

Our amazing Charlie has now retired from detecting bats and birds. He deserves a very happy retirement!

We will miss you lots Sir Charles 😍

06/01/2023

Something to smile about!

Poppy, one of our fully trained and operational Great Crested Newt Detection Dog has a busy 2023 ahead of her and she's so excited!

25/12/2022

Merry Christmas from Rocky and all of our Conservation Team ❤️

21/12/2022

We apologise for our lack of posts lately, our team have been busy wrapping up 2022's searches. We have been pretty busy and working all around the UK, our clever, super skilled detection dogs have been off detecting bat and bird carcass on windfarms and our Great Crested Newt team have been inundated with work, so much so that we have some exciting news to share! We have some new GCN dogs that we have been training. With this discipline the training takes time and patience. We have to specifically select dogs that are suitable to work carefully around these species as they will be in close contact with them. These dogs cannot interfere with the GCN and must give a passive indication. Our passionate and dedicated conservation team spent lots of time searching for the perfect dogs for the job. Working on their indication, introducing them to the GCN scent, working over other live animal distractors amongst other positive training techniques, these dogs will soon be following in the paw steps of Rocky and Arnie and we are very excited to introduce them to you all.

So let us firstly introduce Dora !

Here she is enjoying some downtime last week in the lovely North Wales Snow.

28/07/2022

VACANCY
Our sister company, Wagtail UK are recruiting for an Accounts & Office Assistant based at head office in Flintshire, North Wales. To apply please send a CV and cover letter to [email protected]

18/07/2022

Well done to our handler for taking these beautiful shots of bat carcass detection dog Zippy whilst on a search last week.

18/07/2022

➡️ VACANCY: DETECTION DOG TRAINING ASSISTANT
Our sister company, Wagtail UK, have just posted a new and unique role on their website. They are looking for a training assistant to assist their experienced and qualified handlers/trainers. Based at their training school in Flintshire, North Wales, this is an amazing opportunity for someone who is passionate about working with dogs.
To apply please send your CV and cover letter to [email protected]
Full details of the role can be found here:

Wagtail are recruiting for detection dog handlers providing support for a high-profile government contract.

14/07/2022

Before and after haircut shots of Charlie (bat carcass detection dog). He looks a lot happier after and ready for the next wave of warm weather ☀️

11/07/2022

Now it's bat carcass detection dog Spencer's turn to be in the spotlight! These photos were taken of Spencer during a search last week (luckily when the weather was a bit cooler!).

08/07/2022

Here's some photos of bat carcass detection dog Nero taken during a search yesterday.

Conducting surveys into bat mortality rates is commonplace around wind turbines, new roads and building construction.

We have multiple dog teams available to cover large areas searching for bat carcasses; locating, collecting, storing and recording all relevant information using a well planned and executed methodology.

07/07/2022

Stunning photos taken today of bat carcass detection dog Charlie.

04/07/2022

Happy Monday everyone and a big smile from bat carcass detection dog Spencer😀

27/06/2022

Bat carcass detection dog Charlie's feeling rather down after not being selected as a 'ball dog' for Wimbledon this year 😂🎾

24/06/2022

Arnie and Rocky had a brilliant time yesterday working in the South East on a great crested newt 🦎 search. They actually found time to stop for a couple of photos 📷 - sorry we've been really bad at taking photographs lately!

18/06/2022

Established in 2012, Conservation Dogs is an innovative, pioneering and unique sister company to Wagtail UK Ltd, leading international specialists in detection dogs and dog handler services.

Our dogs and handlers have many years of field experience locating s**ts, carcasses, wildlife and assisting in surveys and species identification. Our knowledge is unrivalled in the area, as is our understanding of the training of detection dogs.

17/06/2022

Here's Conservation Dog Zippy who's trained to detect bat carcasses. Conservation Dogs have multiple dog teams available to cover large areas searching for bat carcasses; locating, collecting, storing and recording all relevant information using a well planned and executed methodology.

16/06/2022

VACANCY
Part Time Kennel Assistant (Fri, Sat, Sun)
Conservation Dogs sister company Wagtail UK are currently recruiting for a part time Kennel Assistant. Further information on the role can be found here: https://www.wagtailuk.com/vacancies/
To apply please send a CV and cover letter to [email protected]

16/06/2022

Just looking at these amazing Humboldt Penguins at . Wagtail are the proud sponsors of a Humboldt Penguin and Snow Leopard. We wanted to show our appreciation and thanks to the Welsh Mountain Zoo for their assistance with the training of our detection dogs. The dogs were being trained to detect specific odours of rare and threatened species before their deployment to Southeast Asia.

16/05/2022

Great crested newt detection dog, Rocky the Rockstar, looking amazing after his groom ⭐️

04/04/2022

Vacancy
BODY DETECTION DOG HANDLERS
Imagine a job that gives you the freedom to work one week on and one week off all year round? If you like the sound of this and would love to work with dogs on a daily basis, then this opportunity to join reputable UK based business Wagtail UK Ltd, is one not to be missed. Your working weeks will be in Northern France where your accommodation will be provided and at the end of each working week you will return to the UK to enjoy your time off.
More information here: https://www.wagtailuk.com/vacancies/

21/03/2022

Out on site with great crested newt detection dogs Rocky and Arnie.

Thank you to Atkins for bringing along the awards they won for continuous conservation work with detection dogs.

We're extremely grateful to be involved in such an important aspect of conservation. From witnessing the increase in requests for great crested new detection dogs and our experience from working on various sites/projects over the last few years, just highlights the importance of the use of great crested newt detection dogs.