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RESEARCH USING
(AND LIFE WITH)
NEWFOUNDLAND DOGS

    Kaloosit, Consie's and my first Newfoundland dog, joined our family to help me in the woods while I was doing field research on the ecology and behavior of fishers in Upper Peninsula Michigan for my PhD in the early 1970s. I needed to haul gear into the woods and chose to have a living companion help me with the work rather than a snowmachine. Kaloosit hauled gear into the woods, including heavy telemetry towers. She also hauled live-trapped fishers out of the woods for handling and then back to the trap sites. She was a constant companion in the woods and a selfless handwarmer on sub-zero days.

    When doing pilot research on weasels on the Apostle Islands, Kaloosit again helped by hauling weasel traps deep into the woods by travois. She also packed other gear.

    Since then, we have harness trained all of our dogs and have trained most to use backpacks. Even when the dogs could not contribute to my research directly, they have joined me in the field. All have learned to respect and to behave around wild critters, especially those in live traps**PIC**.

    Our dogs have all been house dogs and have shared all of our lives, not just my research. Newfoundland dogs are excellent companions for people with active, complete lives. They are smart and easy to train for diverse jobs . They are excellent companions in the water, in canoes and other boats and on hikes and camping trips. Since the 1970s, we have bred Newfoundland dogs that can join me in my research but also that can join Consie and me, our daughter, and other families in their active lives.