Frequently Asked Questions

• How can I become more involved in your organisation?

Dogs4Wildlife is fully supported by public and external donations. Our biggest hurdle, as a not for profit, is gathering enough funds to train our dogs and support community projects. The best way you could become involved is by becoming a volunteer fundraiser. Fundraising is easiest when you use the individual skills you are best at, whether you’re good at organising events, baking, woodwork, art, graphic design – we’d love to hear your fundraising ideas! 
If you think your skills could be useful for us and our projects, please get in contact at info@dogs4wildlife.org and a member of the team will be happy to reply. 

• I am interested in fully sponsoring a dog, how do I go about this?

If you’d like to fully sponsor a dog we’d love to hear from you straight away, please send us an email directly on info@dogs4wildlife.org 

• Does Dogs for Wildlife put on events that I can attend?

Yes. Our team put on fundraising and education events all year round. If we have any events scheduled these can be found on our Facebook page under the ‘Events’ tab.
If you would be interested in hosting us for a talk or fundraiser, or indeed organising an event on our behalf please do get in touch!

• Do you offer talks to schools and other groups?

Yes. We are more than happy to offer talks to groups in the South Wales region, or further afield for special occasions. Please get in touch with us for more information.
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• Are you looking for employees or do you take on volunteers?

Dogs4Wildlife does not currently employ anyone; all four of our directors are volunteers. We will not be employing anybody in the foreseeable future but we are happy to hear from you if you think you can offer your skills voluntarily. Voluntary work looks great on a CV and could help you secure another job in the future. 

• Can I donate items to Dogs4Wildlife?

We do collect a small amount of items such as books and pencils to take to the schools and communities around the reserves. Please get in contact at info@dogs4wildlife.org to find out more or keep an eye out on our social media for specific campaigns.
Specialist dog training and handler equipment is always needed for our work. If you think you could help please send us details of the items and your location to: info@dogs4wildlife.org. 

• Why do you train your dog’s initially in the UK?

At Dogs 4 Wildlife we aim for quality rather than quantity. This quality begins with breeding from healthy, proven and purposeful bloodlines we have access to in the UK. Our professional trainers are also experts in selecting the best puppy from the litter that shows the highest aptitude for the operational life they will have. It also gives us the ability to imprint the right foundations so we know that the selected dog has the best possible start in its life protecting endangered wildlife. It has so far brought many successes in the field and is a proven formula.

• Do the dogs react to the change in temperature once deployed in Africa?

Our dogs show little reaction to the change in temperature once in Africa. These dogs will naturally loose or gain their coat, according to the conditions. The dogs we bred and raise are highly adaptable. In The stages of deployment, they are not spent working, we allow our dogs to get used to their new environment so that they do not overheat during exercise. In this time the dogs also fully bond with the new handler before any work resumes, this is usually up to and around 6 weeks of bonding and building a solid working relationship.

• What breed of dog does Dogs 4 Wildlife use and why?

Primarily Dutch & Belgian Shepherd Dogs. We have vast experience with this breed and find no other has the adaptability and level of characteristics that the role and life of an anti-poaching dog requires. Their speed, intelligence and agility are rarely surpassed making them perfect for a long and rewarding operational life.

• Are the dogs in danger of being hurt / harmed themselves?

It may seem surprising given the circumstances, but there have been no reports of anti-poaching dogs being harmed whilst on operation. There are a number of reasons for this;
All of the dogs when out on active operations wear ballistic body armour. Most operations happen during the night, where under the cover of darkness visibility is greatly reduced. None of the poaching gangs are specialists in the use of firearms and to hit an Anti Poaching Dog in the dark where they reach speeds of up to 30+KPH, which gives the poacher less than 3-4 seconds to raise his rifle to stop the dog, is virtually impossible. None of the dogs we have raised and supplied so far, have been lost or even injured in the line of duty in a number of years, not forgetting the dog unit is always backed up by a fully armed ranger unit. The welfare of the dogs within the rangers care is of the utmost priority, and although they carry out a potentially dangerous task, the safety of the dog teams and handlers is paramount. Combine this with the fact that the majority of poachers are often terrified of the presence of these dogs therefore mostly all confrontations do not end in violence.
Dogs 4 Wildlife believes that involving community in conserving their countries wildlife is hugely beneficial and has been proven to produce better results. Working against communities invokes anger and disconnects local people from their own countries future, therefore violence should be avoided. 

• Why does Dogs 4 Wildlife not use rescue dogs?

We fully appreciate that thousands of dogs are in need of finding new homes every year. The dogs that we require for this type of application, have to have the desired temperament, character and aptitude. We can only achieve this when we personally select a highly capable breed, which has been bred from a healthy, proven bloodlines. This is why we breed our own Anti-Poaching Dogs in house. 
We wouldn’t want to deploy a dog that isn’t fit for purpose; this puts both dog and handler at risk. In the future, with your support, we hope to train detection dogs and this type of dog could be obtained from rescue facilities given the circumstance and the abilities of the individual dog.