Blogs

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...

In my nosework classes, I talk more and more about how important handler mechanics are. Mechanics include your handling (position, movement, leash), timing, markers/cues, and delivery of reinforcement (having them ready, not dropping treats).  This is very ingrained...

As discussed in my last blog on how training methods need to make sense to you ... I'd like to chat about how I handle false alerts in nosework and why the approach makes sense to me. You need to decide what makes sense to you. A false alert is the dog's incorrect...

Scent detection training is rapidly growing in popularity in the competitive dog sport community. Known as Nosework or Scent Work, the sport involves searching for essential oils or handler scent, using training methods similar to what professional K9 detection...