Study Overview:

H. T. Harvey & Associates conducted a pilot study (Ayres et al. 2016) with Lauralea Oliver as lead trainer/handler, to test the feasibility of using detection dogs for surveys of giant garter snakes. This study was followed with a field survey (Powers et al. 2016) in areas with a low probability of occurrence. The training and trials of the detection dog teams demonstrated that the dogs could detect giant garter snake scent in a controlled field setting with low error rates. The study, and then surveys, proved that detection dogs can be used effectively for surveys in upland habitat where snakes lie dormant in burrows for much of the year, along banksides where snakes temporarily seek refuge or bask, and even in the water. This innovative approach could complement live trapping and eDNA studies or offer a viable alternative to these methods as a more efficient means of characterizing giant garter snake presence.