About us

The umbrella association for professional detection dog work

Who we are, why De-Dogs exists and who is behind it.

About us

Why De-Dogs exists

Problem

An invisible threat

Invasive species, plant diseases and harmful organisms threaten biodiversity, agriculture and forests – and are often detected only late.

Challenge

Uneven quality

Detection dogs find many of these organisms reliably and early. But insufficiently trained teams damage the credibility of the whole sector.

Solution

One quality standard

As an umbrella association, De-Dogs sets a quality standard for professional detection dog work – building trust among authorities and professionals.

Board

The people behind De-Dogs

Chiara Baschung

Chiara Baschung

President, De-Dogs

Heads a nature conservation organisation by profession. Has worked with detection dogs for nature conservation since university and co-founded wideso.

Stefan Rütten with Labrador Ginger

Stefan Rütten

Vice President, De-Dogs · Technical lead, PSS

Trained forestry worker and certified arboriculture specialist, self-employed in specialist site supervision and tree protection on construction sites. Trains detection dog teams against ALB and CLB with his Labrador Ginger.

Aline Lüscher

Aline Lüscher

Treasurer, De-Dogs

Professional dog trainer specialising in detection dogs, and master’s student at ZHAW (biodiversity and ecosystems). Co-founder of wideso.

Gaby Emenegger

Gaby Emenegger

Board member, De-Dogs

Partners & trust

Backed by practical experience

Detection dog team inspecting a storage yard

De-Dogs is currently being built by two founding organisations. On the one hand, IG Phyto-Spürhunde Schweiz (PSS) brings eight certified handlers and their dogs, deployed since 2011 against ALB and CLB for cantonal plant protection services, tree nurseries and garden centres. www.phyto-spuerhunde.ch

On the other hand, wideso – Wildlife Detection Solutions (founded in 2023 by Aline Lüscher and Chiara Baschung) adds the specialisation in the Japanese beetle: detection dogs are currently the only way to specifically find its larvae in the soil. wideso.ch

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Press & media

De-Dogs teams in the media

Wald und Holz · issue 1/25

„Gegen sie haben Invasive Baumschädlinge keine Chance“

Profile of Stefan Rütten and detection dog Ginger (PSS) in action against ALB and CLB.

Schweizer LandLiebe

„Der richtige Riecher“

Report from a training session of Phyto-Spürhunde Schweiz in the Bernese Seeland.

Press release wideso · July 2023

„Mit Spürhunden gegen den invasiven Japankäfer“

Successful pilot project by environmental engineers Chiara Baschung and Aline Lüscher, supported by ZHAW.

Project report wideso · ZHAW

Ausbildung von Japankäfer-Spürhunden

After 7 months of training, seven dogs reliably detected planted larvae; access to real scent is being expanded further to reach field readiness.

PDF downloads will follow on the finished website.

Ready to get involved?

Whether as a member, partner organisation or with a project enquiry – we look forward to hearing from you.