by Julie Symons | Jun 14, 2017 | Dogs Sports
Why do you like being with your dog(s)? So much has changed with dog “ownership” since my childhood. Let’s call it companionship, as that sounds more like what it means to me! My dogs are my companions. More than a pet and a teammate, but also those...
by Julie Symons | Mar 25, 2017 | Dogs Sports
There has been a lot of buzz about new scent work dog sport programs over the last few years … nosework, barnhunt, and more recently handler discrimination scent work. We also hear about and see military and police detection dogs, and even usages in the medical...
by Julie Symons | Jan 30, 2017 | Dogs Sports
It’s true. Our dogs don’t have to find every hide. I still see people struggling with this concept and others embracing the idea to call it and review/recover. It’s quite liberating to abort a search! If I look back on my years of training sessions I...
by Julie Symons | Jan 22, 2017 | Dogs Sports
When it comes to dog training, it can be overwhelming with everything we need to train and prepare for to trial. Skills, precision, ring confidence, OUR confidence, weaning off primary and secondary reinforcers, etc. We all have goals and ambitions and want to do...
by Julie Symons | Jan 6, 2017 | Dogs Sports
The first year with a new dog is a test of patience! So much to train! So much to do! The first year is more about creating good manners, building a strong relationship, and simply learning about each other. For dog trainers, we also want to teach them fun tricks and...
by Julie Symons | Sep 10, 2016 | Dogs Sports
The last week of August I was on vacation. A staycation. It was a nice break from work and I enjoyed spending the last week of summer before school started for Ryan. I was so excited to have ALL this extra time to train Drac. I quickly realized that you really...
by Julie Symons | Aug 14, 2016 | Dogs Sports
My new puppy Drac joined our family about 8 months ago and I’ve been reflecting on how each new dog changes us and how we adjust to the new addition. First, it is EXTREMELY exciting to get a new puppy or dog. For dog trainers we always have new training ideas or...
by Julie Symons | Jul 16, 2016 | Dogs Sports
In the sport of Nosework, I’ve been noticing more and more dogs finding and then leaving odor. There can be many reasons for this, some more obvious than others. One reason a dog may leave source is picking up another scent cone if multiple hides are placed in...
by Julie Symons | Mar 8, 2016 | Dogs Sports
I’ve been continuing to build Drac’s value for odor, alternating between simple interior hides and containers. I recently introduced him to vented cardboard boxes and was using them in simple searches with just a few containers. ORT stands for Odor...
by Julie Symons | Feb 25, 2016 | Dogs Sports
A very important stage of learning is generalizing a behavior in new environments and/or with new conditions. With initial behavior training, you usually start in a familiar environment without distractions. If I only train in my living room, will my dog perform the...
by Julie Symons | Feb 13, 2016 | Dogs Sports
Three weeks ago today I started my new puppy on Nosework. That’s a very short amount of time but in dog training MUCH can be accomplished. I’ve been trying some new tactics – adjusting things for a puppy but also upping the ante when I felt he was...
by Julie Symons | Feb 9, 2016 | Dogs Sports
It seems not a week goes by without reading or being asked if Nosework interferes with other scent sports, whether being tracking, scent articles or more recently field hunting. We’ve all heard these types of concerns before with other sports. I was told by a...
