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Showing posts with label Working Dog Conference. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Working Dog Conference. Show all posts

15 December 2013

Dogged in December - wait, December?!!

Dogged in December - wait, December?!!

Hi Julie,
Photo by Mel Travis | What About Charlie?
goodness me, what happened? I was at the amazing Working Dog Conference 2013, then launching the Global Poo Power! Challenge, I blinked and suddenly it's mid-December already? Huh?! Gosh!
Sorry for being absent for a few weeks, I've been focussed on getting as much content from the #workdogs13 event up on the Working Dog Alliance website as possible, so that everyone can access the fantastic content that was shared by a wide range of speakers. From the conference proceedings, to PDF of presentation slides, audio and even You-Tube clips combining them all, you can now share in everything from Dr Nicola Rooney's keynote presentations, to fresh new research on working dogs; unique stories about dogs used in conservation programs and rescue groups working to provide positive endpoint outcomes; practitioners views on breeding and rearing working dogs and insightful facts and figures about areas like greyhound racing and thoughts on why there is such high 'wastage'. 

The half-dog selfie movement took off at #workdogs13

The Poo Power! Global Challenge went off with a bang... 


(or is that a fart? LOVED your Scientific American Dog Spies pieces on why dog farts stink, Part 1: What are dog farts made of? here, Part 2: How to make dog farts less stinky here - captivating area of research and I do not envy the 'odour judge' who to had to decide if dog farts were scentless or unbearable, or somewhere in between!) and we enjoyed watching the photos get logged on the Global Poo Map. 



Science For Life 365

The student competition part of the Challenge is now over, but don't worry - it's not too late to download the free App and start to map the crap! It's super quick and easy to do and I know the Poo Power! team would really love to see some international 'contributions', so to speak. All details about how to participate as a citizen scientist can be found here.

SciEngage
As for me, well, I'm looking forward to closing out 2013 with the fun times in the sun with family, friends and reviewing results from the meta-analysis - as you do. 

What's on your list, Julie?

Mia

p.s. In case you were wondering, that gorgeous photo at the top of this post (it's my legs with my darling old dog Caleb, and my mother's dog, retired Guide Dog Haidee) - taken as part of a shoot done for this Dumbo Feather article 


© Mia Cobb | Do You Believe in Dog? 2013

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3 November 2013

Hours Away! Steve White and Nicola Rooney Inaugural Working Dog Alliance Conference

Hours Away! Steve White and Nicola Rooney Inaugural Working Dog Alliance Conference

 

Hi Mia,
This is clearly not an announcement for you. Instead, it is an internet broadcast that the first Working Dog Alliance Australia Conference is almost here, Nov. 4-5 in Sydney!
You and many others have put months into this initiative, and tomorrow (or your today!) people involved in every aspect of working dogs will come together to share ideas, network and learn! Attendees to include working dog breeders, trainers, handlers, veterinarians, facility managers, research scientists, advocacy groups and government representatives.

I want to make sure everyone knows what’s happening, and how they can follow along!

Conference dates: November 4-5, 2013 Australia time ;)

Conference Twitter Hashtag:  #workdogs13  
Twitter hashtags are awesome because anyone can follow along with the conference, even if you aren’t on twitter! Hear that, mom? ;) 

Conference Program: Click here  

What Should People Expect at the Conference? 
If I didn’t have to go watch the New York City Marathon I would profile each of the excellent conference speakers, but I have to go watch people mash their feet up, I mean, do an awesome job running so many miles!!  

Here's a taste of what people can expect from the keynote speakers at the inaugural Working Dog Alliance Australia Conference: 

KEYNOTE
Welfare of working dogs and its impact on performance: research so far
Nicola Rooney, University of Bristol, UK

Rooney has a PhD in dog behavior (I’ve read her work on play behavior many times) and for the past 14 years she has headed a team studying working dogs (see her bio for specific areas they’ve covered). So many factors can affect working dog performance, and welfare -- defined and measured -- can play a huge part. 
(Source: Rooney)
Border Patrol Dogs Need to Sniff: Here in the States, the Penn Vet Working Dog Center also prioritizes welfare in terms of performance. They list dehydration as a common hazard for working dogs. A recent (and ongoing) study with the Sarita Texas checkpoint Border Patrol agents examines the effect of different hydration strategies on dogs working in hot and humid conditions. The Sarita checkpoint averages 95°F in July with around 84% humidity. Eep!

They are examining different hydration strategies like water delivered orally, an electrolyte solution delivered orally and a subcutaneous electrolyte solution. No data released yet on which fluid best impacted parameters like core body temperature, search behavior and activity and looking forward to more! Maybe this will come up at the conference? Penn Vet Study details here.

KEYNOTE
Your dog ain’t so special
Steve White, ProActive K9 & Seattle Police Canine Unit USA
 
White and McConnell Seminar
Excellent title. Steve White covers a lot of ground, from working dogs to companion dogs (he recently gave a seminar with Patricia McConnell in Chicago). Steve is a Military Police Working Dog Handler, has presided over the Seattle Police Canine Unit, and is a consultant for K9 academies around the world. His hands-on work is a big deal. 

Here is Steve in action, combining clicker training and scent work and discussing the 8 rules of Punishment.





Enjoy the conference everyone!

 Julie
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27 October 2013

When equipment fails: paws and assess

When equipment fails: paws and assess

Photo: Steven Pam
There is an industry in Australia that relies on an integral piece of equipment, but the system behind product development process is flawed, and lives are at stake. From farm dogs to military explosive detection dogs, guide dogs to greyhounds, Australia’s working and sporting dog industry claims a 50-70% fail rate as normal. The welfare of these dogs is intimately linked to their working performance. 

It can be an emotive topic, so let’s take the emotion out of it and objectively consider current practice.

A diverse industry, with four sectors operating in different domains, is dependent on one key piece of equipment. A tool that can vary in price from free to $40,000, can be purchased new or second hand, but is unequivocally required to get the job done. Hundreds of thousands of units are currently used daily throughout Australia in government, human health, sporting and private operations.

Source
Practitioners invest resources in this equipment, only to find that the tool doesn't work. It’s unsuitable. It operates at the wrong speed. It breaks. It just doesn't do the work it was meant to - at least half of the time! In some industry sectors, the equipment fail rate is estimated as high as eighty percent. Waste units are disposed of and new ones sourced. Perhaps from a large scale manufacturer, perhaps from a private artisan, or some people go ahead and take a crack at making their own. Recycling within the industry is extremely low, at less than ten percent. The production of this equipment is currently inefficient; the industry has no validated minimum standards in place and the product lacks quality assurance.

From an industry business and performance perspective, what should be done? A review of the purpose and production life-cycle analysis for this tool seems indicated? Absolutely. A review of how the equipment is being employed, handled, maintained and stored by practitioners? Yes. Perhaps a review of the training courses and educational materials available to the practitioners and the people who train them? For sure.

Source
Without objective review and subsequent improvement, this industry is leaving itself open to scrutiny by the media and risks losing public support. Review of this kind is common. In industrial design and quality management fields, validation of product integrity, ongoing review and updating of evidence-based best practice are standard. Re-purposing of surplus or malfunctioning stock into other areas rather than directly to landfill may require additional resources. However, this extra spend is important as tolerance for unnecessary waste in the 21st century is limited. Indeed, the sustainability and economic viability of this industry into the future relies on improved accountability, higher transparency and demonstrated responsibility.

We owe this commitment to review and refine the production, management and education surrounding this device to the industry, the people involved and the tasks they achieve. It’s sound business practice. And we owe it to the dogs.



Hi Julie,

I wrote this because I wanted to consider if there was a good case to be made for improving the welfare of working dogs, without the emotion or emotive slant often inherent in animal welfare discussions. 

This came about after recent conversations with people who have suggested my work towards improved working dog welfare is based on me 'loving dogs' or having bleeding-heart, idealistic expectations about the way dogs should be cared for. I hope I have been able to demonstrate that this is a) not about me, and b) that a good argument for objective review and assessment of how working dogs are produced can be made, even before adding consideration for the fact these are sentient animals with capacity to thrive or suffer as a result of how we manage their lives.

I'm looking forward to continuing these conversations at the Working Dog Conference 2013 next week.

Wish you were here,

Mia

Further reading:
Branson, Cobb, McGreevy (2010). The Australian Working Dog Survey Report 2009. Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. 

Branson, Cobb, McGreevy (2012). The Australian Working Dog Industry Action Plan 2012. Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. 

Kruger J. & Dunning D. (1999). Unskilled and unaware of it: How difficulties in recognizing one's own incompetence lead to inflated self-assessments., Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77 (6) 1121-1134. DOI:  

 Dunning D., Johnson K., Ehrlinger J. & Kruger J. (2003). Why people fail to recognize their own incompetence, Current Directions in Psychological Science, 12 (3) 83-87. DOI:

Ehrlinger J., Johnson K., Banner M., Dunning D. & Kruger J. (2008). Why the unskilled are unaware: Further explorations of (absent) self-insight among the incompetent, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 105 (1) 98-121. DOI:

Dunning D. (2011). The Dunning-Kruger effect: On being ignorant of one's own ignorance, Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 44 247-296. DOI:

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