Blogs

With increased access to nosework/scent detection trials, new teams are out in droves competing in this very fun sport! I am delighted to see teams who were competitive in other sports, specifically agility, finding the joys of nosework. They are drawn to the...

In nose/scent work there's a lot of talk about false alerts and how we can talk our dogs into a hide. This is more common in container searches but we also see it vehicles, exteriors and interiors where airflow can pool odor. This got me thinking how both the DOG and...

"You got that one" A familiar phrase you've probably heard or used during an advanced nosework search. It’s what we might say when our dog goes back to a found hide. Although there are different approaches to handling found hides, the most common one is to not reward...

I was talking with someone today about blasting dogs and missing thresholds. We both had tried or advised starting further back from the start to help with checking the start area more thoroughly. It works. They get to blast and then settle into the search many feet...

As we celebrate ringing in the new year, it got me thinking about how we celebrate our "end line" routine, whether it's agility, obedience, nosework or another sport. We spend a lot of time training our start line routine and deciding what works best before we cross...

Teaching teams in multiple sports and training my own dogs I often see where we just go through the motion and are not present to watch and learn from the training session and our dog. All training sessions give us information if we are willing to watch and listen!...

First, I prematurely published this before I was done and had to quickly un-publish it. I heard from lots of people so it's nice to know my blogs are being enjoyed and that I need to get them out more frequently! Back on topic ... Being a good actor is kinda my thing!...

I was reflecting the other day how well my dogs sleep at night and wish I could do the same! They are out like a light, often belly up with the fan cooling their underside. They also even sleep in! I do have an older dog, who's age does affect how much she sleeps now,...

A training gem I picked up many years ago from Patti Hatfield Mah was that our seasoned dogs still need to have baby dog training days. Pick one day a week where you go back to training your foundations skills. Foundations is everything! Without a strong base,...

With many teams getting ready for NACSW NW3/L3 or AKC Master/Detective levels, having a solid search strategy and a strong mental game plan is key! At these higher levels, you will have unknown number of hides - very different from knowing how many in each search...