No domestic dogs are bred to be conservation detection dogs; there are no heritable, genetic traits to make certain dogs natural-born conservation detection dogs. Nevertheless, dogs have made valuable contributions over the last few decades to the preservation of endangered species, inhibiting the incursion of invasive species, and disrupting illegal wildlife trade. While it is still the rare dog who wants to make a career of working in the realm of conservation, there is much variation in the “anatomy” of a successful conservation detection dog. Their success is due to an interplay between inherent individual qualities among this diverse group of dogs and specialized training to parlay this raw capacity into accomplished conservation detection dogs. After a brief introduction to the field of conservation detection dogs, we’ll discuss the suites of physical characteristics, the inherent “drives”, and the roles of training, motivation, and relationship between the dog and handler which coalesce to “create” this unique dog and their contributions to wildlife conservation.