Operation pangolin rescue: Raven’s on the job

It’s early to rise and early to bed, with lots of jam-packed activity in between, for nine-month-old pup Raven, pictured, the newest in-training member of the K9 pangolin counter-poaching unit – part of the African Pangolin Working Group.

It was last year that just over R85 000 was raised during the Hill’s Pet Nutrition webinar series to help obtain and train Raven as a pangolin-dedicated detection dog.

She is fuelled exclusively by Hill’s Science Plan Large Breed Puppy and MSD Animal Health takes care of her needs for the treatment and prevention of tick, flea and mite infestations.

Nutrition is important for dogs in training.

Preparing Raven for operating under challenging circumstances – and keeping her in top shape – requires a comprehensive plan for her care.

“A food that works with the pet’s biology is vital for dogs training at Raven’s level, as they can expend up to four times as much energy as usual when they’re on the job – panting, excitement, stress and the need to cover long distances at speed burn huge amounts of calories,” says Hill’s pet nutrition veterinary advisor Dr Guy Fyvie.

“Hill’s is the perfect complement for a well-rounded working counter-poaching K9,” he adds.

He also explains how important downtime and play time is for Raven.

“After the morning training session, we play together in the afternoon; this is extremely important to keep her drive up and enforce our bond.

“In her down time, she runs around, spends time with me on the couch while I watch TV and loves to play in water; much like any other nine-month-old pup, really, just with quite a lot more gusto.”