All About Scent Work Podcast

Do you feel as though you are running at top speed on a hamster wheel and unable to get off? There are many of us in the sniffing community that may feel this way!

Handlers who are doing all of the things all of the time, running themselves, and their dogs, ragged. Trial hosts, who after spending months working tirelessly to prep for an event, find themselves receiving requests to host even more events before the current one is wra...

When it comes to trialing in Scent Work within the United States, there many competition organizations to choose from. This variety grants us an incredible opportunity: to be strategic. This is true for new and seasoned competitors alike. We can more fully realize the potential of mindfully leveraging our choices, deciding which organization we compete with, when and why and even carefully choosing which classes we sign up for.

In ...

Why are we doing Scent Work in the first place? What drew us to this activity? We are all so incredibly busy, stretched ridiculously thin, constantly rushing from one thing to next. Why then are we still squeezing searching into our already jam-packed calendars? Is it really all about the titles or ribbons? Or is it something else? Could it be the addictive joy that our dogs exude as they rush around working a space? If so, wouldn'...

There are many moving pieces when it comes to the activity of Scent Work. A common misconception is that Scent Work is easy: train dog to find thing, hide thing in area, dog finds thing, give dog cookie. Yet, to accomplish even this watered down version of Scent Work requires concentrated work and focus. Otherwise our searches will be messy, lackluster and ineffective.

In this episode, we discuss how Scent Work is rather complicate...

You're tackling a search with your dog. They have found a few hides and there are one or more hides left. Suddenly, they stop and look back at you. They are not near anything, they are not alerting...no, they are asking a dreaded question! Now what?! Is this the end of the world? What does mean?! What do you do?!

In this episode, we discuss the meaning behind our dog's asking questions in Scent Work, what this can look like and how...

It is far too easy to develop blind spots when training or trialing with our dogs, working with clients, designing searches as a trial official, finding or running trials as a host or evaluating rules or regulations as a competition organization staff member. Our perspective may be rather limited, causing us to not see the fullest and most accurate picture possible. This skewed perspective may then color the decisions we make, the ...

Instructors are tasked to share their knowledge and expertise with their human clients in such a way that the client can then internalize, understand and interpret that information for their dog. This is no easy task! However, it becomes close to impossible if the way this information is packaged causes the client to not want to receive it. 

In this episode, we discuss the art of giving and receiving information. Tone, facial expre...

It is all too common to find ourselves making statements such as, "At this stage, I should do THIS" or "After this STEP, I follow this STEP and then that STEP." What's the issue you may ask? Well, this line of thinking is rather concrete. Individual needs of the dog, handler or team, unique factors for that given search, environment or training session or trialing search are not taken into account. 

In this episode, we discuss the ...

In this spotlight episode, we have the distinct privilege to speak to Kayla Dever and Samantha Winslow of Every Dog Nosework about how they plunged into helping build the Nose Work community in their area. This includes developing their training skills, competition accolades, hosting trials, workshops, seminars and more.

An amazing example of doers who are giving back to the sniffing community and sharing their love for all things ...

It is interesting how when it comes to Scent Work, everything is seemingly viewed through the lens of the dog's ability to hunt and source their hides. If something doesn't go well, that means we must do more searches, right?

In this episode, we discuss how there are so many skills a dog, handler and team need to be successful in Scent Work, many of which have absolutely nothing to do with hunting or odor! Thus, there are times dri...

In this Spotlight Series episode, we have the distinct privilege of speaking with Lori Timberlake of Do Over Dog Training regarding her amazing Foster Dog Sniffer School program. This is an incredible program designed to help shelter and foster dogs within Lori's community by providing them an opportunity to enjoy all the benefits Nose Work has to offer.

Lori recently offered a webinar where she went into more detail about how this...

The choices we make regarding our reactive, sensitive and aggressive dogs is an important conversation to have. It is paramount that safety be a significant factor. This is especially true when we are considering whether to trial with our dog or not. We delve into this important topic in this podcast episode.

If your dog is struggling with behavioral issues, please seek out professional, reputable help. This professional should be ...

When it comes to training or trialing in Scent Work, we oftentimes have a running dialogue in our mind that may be less than accurate. Some common examples include:

"My dog is distracted!"

"My dog lies!"

"My dog is so lazy!"

"My leash handling is awful!"

"I cannot read my dog!"

"My memory is terrible, I cannot remember where we have been or what hides I have called!"

These declarative statements become a self-fulfilling prophecy of...

Competing in Scent Work involves receiving qualifying or non-qualifying scores, earning titles or even placements...but what does all of this really mean?!

Does every Q earned mean our training is utterly perfect, unicorns and rainbows, whereas every NQ should be met with blowing up our training and starting over from scratch? If we do not earn a placement at a trial, do we have a ton of work ahead of us whereas earning a placement...

We are living through an exciting time where there is a plethora of learning opportunities within the Scent Work training community! This includes access to countless experienced instructors and trainers who offer unique viewpoints and training approaches, creative training exercises and much more.

The way we take in and utilize all this information matters.

In this episode, we discuss the importance of being a critical consumer, a...

As we play Scent Work, we work to develop skills for the dog, handler and team in our classes and training sessions. Especially for teams who are interested in competing, testing those skills with blind hides, time limits and other potential stressors is key. Traditionally, mock trials and Sniff N' Gos were the type of events that met this need. However, we can all agree the more creative the event, the more likely we are to partic...

One of the many wonderful aspects of Scent Work is how it is a benefical activity for so many categories of dogs, including reactive dogs.

In this episode, we have the privilege to speak with Christina Young of Positive Dog, a certified dog behavior consultant with IAABC and PPG, about playing the Scent Work game with reactive dogs.

Learn more about Christina:

Positive Dog Website

Leash Reactivity: Make Walks Fun Again Webinar

Prim...

Whether it be due to old age, injuries, illness or simply not wanting to play the game anymore, we may find ourselves faced with the prospect of retiring our dogs from Nose Work.

In this episode, we speak with Lori Timberlake of Do Over Dog Training about her personal journey with her senior girl Daisy who, while still full of spice and vinegar, made it clear she much preferred romps in the woods over playing Nose Work. 

We are so ...

We are all incredibly busy, fluttering around doing a million things at once. How often have you found yourself trying to squeeze in a Scent Work training session? "I've got a few minutes...let's do a quick search!"

In this episode, Dianna explains how one such "I can do this quick!" training session went completely off the rails, how breathing and staying mindful would have been a far better solution yet the learning she was able ...