Show Notes
In this puppy-tastic episode of K9 Conservationists, Kayla Fratt chats with Lauren Wendt of Momentum K9 LLC about her years selecting, raising, and preparing puppies for various lines of work. Lauren is a highly, highly accomplished trainer that just so happens to have trained upward of 9 puppies for various jobs. Lauren has basically perfected the art of puppy selection and rearing! In her new online course, Foundations First Course through our platform with K9 Conservationists, you can watch Lauren raise her brand new puppy, Archie, in real time as she tackles everything puppyhood has to throw at her as she raises a confident, independent, and strong conservation detection dog prospect.
Host: Kayla Fratt Editor: Sara Fangton Sci-comm interns: Evelyn Combs and Grace Koski Guest logistics: Brooke Schoeder Website: Meg du Bray Pateron coaching calls: Madison Davis
More from K9 Conservationists
This week, we’re sharing the full backstory of fan-favorite detection dog Niffler! Kayla chats with Anne Hong about Niffler’s complete life, sniffs, and adventures. From pandemic puppyhood and bat fatality surveys to Guatemalan jaguars, turtle searches, and the training bumps they tackled along the way. Host: Kayla Fratt Editor: Sara Fangton Sci-comm intern: Evelyn Combs Guest logistics: Brooke Schoeder Website: Meg du Bray Patreon: Madison David
How does breakfast affect a detection dog's performance? In this episode, Kayla takes a deep, deep, deep dive into the 2026 paper, "The breakfast effect revisited: Dogs’ scent detection performance before and after a meal." Kayla breaks down the research team's key findings, and why understanding the math behind the data matters just as much as the results themselves. Read the original paper here: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0023969026000883 Host: Kayla Fratt Editor: Sara Fangton Sci-comm intern: Evelyn Combs Guest logistics: Brooke Schoeder Website: Meg du Bray Patreon: Madison David
In this Research Review episode, we’re joined by Dr. Charles van Rees to dive into a groundbreaking 2026 paper from Oregon State University (published in Molecular Ecology Resources). We break down how single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) panels and non-invasive scat samples (many located by detection dogs!) are allowing researchers to identify individual prey animals consumed by carnivores. Join Kayla and Dr. Charles van Rees for a crash course in genetics, filtering out mixed DNA samples, and what this means for understanding predator-prey dynamics in the field.
In today's mini episode Kayla Fratt discusses how she prepares her dogs to work with all kinds of different people on and off the field. Starting from dog selection and the steps she takes to insure her dogs are confident around new people.
Join us for a fantastic conversation with Lauralea Oliver of k9inSCENTive about the art of selecting rescue dogs for detection work. With over 25 years of professional experience, Lauralea brings a wealth of knowledge to the table, having selected and placed numerous working dogs with handlers and conservation projects across the country. She has mastered selecting the traits that make a shelter dog excel in the field- and, crucially, knows exactly when to walk away. The core theme of this episode is simple but vital: "Say no to the maybes" and only move forward with a dog you are absolutely sure about. Check out K9inSCENTive here https://k9inscentive.com/ Also check out "Built for the field". Use code K9POD26 for 20% off! https://k9inscentive.com/built-for-the-field-online-course/ Host: Kayla Fratt Editor: Sara Fangton Sci-comm intern: Evelyn Combs Guest logistics: Brooke Schoeder Website: Meg du Bray Patreon: Madison David