Turtle dogs trained to locate reclusive reptiles

TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) — Before you can study turtles, you have to first find them, and in an environment of hardwood forests, densely covered ground and damp bottomlands such as those at Oak Openings and some of the other Metroparks, that can make for a very lengthy session of hide and seek for biologists.

But bring a team of Boykin spaniels into the picture, and suddenly the playing field shifts in favor of the researchers. These dogs, from a breed known for its ability to retrieve waterfowl in swampy habitat, have been trained to pick up the scent of a turtle on the move, track the animal down,...