All About Scent Work Podcast

In this new series, we are highlighting individuals and businesses who are giving back to the Scent Work community. For this episode, we spoke with Marcella Winslow, a professional photographer who has been instrumental in creating memories for countless dog and handler teams throughout the Western United States. As we touch upon in this episode, having a talented, thoughtful and experienced professional to capture these memories and moments with our dogs is immensely valuable and important. If you are not already, please support the professional photographers and videographers who work Scent Work trials. Their photos and videos not only can be provide you with helpful information for you training, they are also precious memories that can look back on when your dog is no longer with you. Check out Marcella's business Facebook Page, Pawprintz: https://www.facebook.com/pawprintz.pics ----more---- Scent Work University is an online dog training platform focused on all things Scent Work. SWU courses, seminars

As dog trainers and handlers, we use rewards to communicate to our dogs when they have done a good job. But when it comes to Scent Work, this message can be easily muddled and confused depending on the reward placement and timing! In this episode, we discuss the importance of effective reward usage as well as exercises you can try to improve your own timing and mechanical skills. ----more---- Scent Work University is an online dog training platform focused on all things Scent Work. SWU courses, seminars, webinars and eBook are not only for those who are interested in competition, but also for those dog owners who are simply looking for something fun and engaging to do with their dogs. Check out Scent Work University today! Interested in another dog sport? Dog Sport University is sister online dog training platform, give it a peek and see what it has to offer you and your dog. Want to help your dog in the manner department? Maybe you have a new puppy? Check out our newest online dog training platform, Pet

A challenge many experienced Scent Work handlers will encounter, but do not often talk about, is trying to adjust to a new canine teammate. You, as the handler, have more knowledge and experience, perhaps even reaching high levels of success, but your new dog does not. How can you adjust your expectations, training plan and goals to this new dog? We discuss this, and more, with a roundtable of instructors, Michelle Doram, Michael McManus and Natalie McManus. ----more---- Scent Work University is an online dog training platform focused on all things Scent Work. SWU courses, seminars, webinars and eBook are not only for those who are interested in competition, but also for those dog owners who are simply looking for something fun and engaging to do with their dogs. Check out Scent Work University today! Interested in another dog sport? Dog Sport University is sister online dog training platform, give it a peek and see what it has to offer you and your dog. Want to help your dog in the manner department? Ma

In this episode, we speak with Geryah Dingle of Dingle Days YouTube channel about her dog training journey, how she got started in Scent Work and the consulting services she offers to help dog training professionals bring their services into the virtual space. ----more---- If you are an instructor looking to create virtual training solutions for your clients, whether it be training videos, online classes or more, reach out to Geryah to see how she can help! With her experience with video, audio and editing, she can point you in the right direction or even partner with you to create quality solutions for your clients. Find Geryah's YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/c/DingleDays/featured Here is Geryah's website - look under Videography Services for more information: https://www.dingledaysphotography.com/ ____________________________________________________________ Scent Work University is an online dog training platform focused on all things Scent Work. SWU courses, seminars, webinars and eB

In this episode, we speak with the Co-Founder of NACSW™ and Founder of the K9 Nose Work® Shelter Program, Jill Marie O'Brien and Steven DeTata, CNWI who is spearheading the growth of the program and spreading the word on social media. This wonderful program pairs up of K9 Nose Work® certified instructors, or those who are going through the certified instructor program, with shelters and rescues to provide much-needed enrichment to shelter dogs.  ----more---- If you want to learn more about the K9 Nose Work® Shelter Program and how you can get involved, whether you an instructor, volunteer or shelter staff member, be sure to check out the program's Facebook Page here. You should also check out the webinar Jill offered that goes into even more detail about the program.  There are also some articles that offer a great overview of using K9 Nose Work® in shelters. Article 1. Article 2. Article 3.  If you interested in learning more about K9 Nose Work® and/or NACSW™, click this link, which includes information

"My dog lied!" This is a common statement made by handlers...but is it true? Are dogs knowingly going around lying to their people about where hides are? Or, are our dogs merely playing the game they thought we wanted them to play? We answer this question in this episode! ----more---- Scent Work University is an online dog training platform focused on all things Scent Work. SWU courses, seminars, webinars and eBook are not only for those who are interested in competition, but also for those dog owners who are simply looking for something fun and engaging to do with their dogs. Check out Scent Work University today! Interested in another dog sport? Dog Sport University is sister online dog training platform, give it a peek and see what it has to offer you and your dog. Want to help your dog in the manner department? Maybe you have a new puppy? Check out our newest online dog training platform, Pet Dog U, where we offer online dog training courses, webinars, seminars as well as a regularly updated blog and

In this short episode, we continue to discuss Cyber Scent Work, Inc. and how it can help resident shelter dogs. This is a feature of Cyber Scent Work, Inc. that we are particularly excited about! Check out Cyber Scent Work, Inc. here: https://www.cyberscentwork.com/ Are you a staff member of a shelter and interested in applying for approval? You can here: https://www.cyberscentwork.com/shelter-approval Be sure to follow Cyber Scent Work, Inc. on social media: Facebook Instagram Twitter ----more---- Scent Work University is an online dog training platform focused on all things Scent Work. SWU courses, seminars, webinars and eBook are not only for those who are interested in competition, but also for those dog owners who are simply looking for something fun and engaging to do with their dogs. Check out Scent Work University today! Interested in another dog sport? Dog Sport University is sister online dog training platform, give it a peek and see what it has to offer you and your dog. Want to help your

In this episode, we speak with Sean McMurray of Tails U Win! Canine Center, LLC in Manchester, CT about a brand new organization, Cyber Scent Work, Inc. that is launching on June 7, 2021. Cyber Scent Work is the perfect bridge between training and trialing in Scent Work and stands to provide a service that has been needed for a LONG time. Check out Cyber Scent Work here: https://www.cyberscentwork.com/ Be sure to follow Cyber Scent Work on social media: Facebook Instagram Twitter ----more---- Scent Work University is an online dog training platform focused on all things Scent Work. SWU courses, seminars, webinars and eBook are not only for those who are interested in competition, but also for those dog owners who are simply looking for something fun and engaging to do with their dogs. Check out Scent Work University today! Interested in another dog sport? Dog Sport University is sister online dog training platform, give it a peek and see what it has to offer you and your dog. Want to help your dog in

We received a wonderful question regarding what to do when, at an AKC Scent Work Trial, a dog hits upon a blue "x" showing where a hide used to be - do you reward or not?! The best thing to do was to pose this question to a panel of our talented instructors to get their take! In this episode we hear from Michelle Doram of White Collar K9, Khara Schuetzner of The Doggie Spot and Michael and Natalie McManus of Ready Sit Go. We look forward to having many more conversations with these talented instructors and trainers, so if you have a question about Scent Work you would like for us to pose to them, let us know! ----more---- Scent Work University is an online dog training platform focused on all things Scent Work. SWU courses, seminars, webinars and eBook are not only for those who are interested in competition, but also for those dog owners who are simply looking for something fun and engaging to do with their dogs. Check out Scent Work University today! Interested in another dog sport? Dog Sport University

In dog training, we know it is advantageous to break things down, work one "D" (duration, distraction and distance) at a time. Doing so avoids confusion on behalf of the dog and prevents a multitude of issues and pitfalls from cropping up. Yet, when it comes to Scent Work training, these principles are either forgotten, pushed aside or flat out ignored! In this episode, we discuss why identifying all the various individual factors or elements of a given search area and/or exercise is a good idea. We delve into the importance of balancing the difficulty level of the hide against those factors and how this will ensure forward progression in our training, as opposed to going backwards. Basically, being mindful and thoughtful in how we train, even in Scent Work, is the way to go! ----more---- Scent Work University is an online dog training platform focused on all things Scent Work. SWU courses, seminars, webinars and eBook are not only for those who are interested in competition, but also for those dog owners

Strap in, our speaker is worked up. Every single dog on the planet should be doing Scent Work. Full stop. This should NOT be some exclusive club that is only open to top tier of dog and handler teams. People should not be rushing out to get dogs with professional detection dog breeding or background to do this activity. Every. Single. Dog. Can. Do. Scent. Work. As a community, we need to be more mindful about how we discuss this activity, the training options or approaches available and how we frame what the activity, and sport is. Because we can take this wonderful gift that we are FINALLY giving to our dogs, which celebrates them being a dog, and ruin it. We hope you give this episode a listen. It is blunt. There is raw emotion in it. But we owe it to our dogs to keep this activity fun and something that celebrates them being dogs...not just another way we as handlers can stroke our ego. ----more---- Scent Work University is an online dog training platform focused on all things Scent Work. SWU courses,

In our latest blog post, Trials and Tribulations of a Terrible Student, we discuss just how challenging it is to be a dog handler. Having to LEARN a skill yourself and then TEACH your dog a skill at the very same time is HARD! We build off of this topic in this episode by sharing the experiences of a terrible student and how her mental baggage derailed her more often than not. But it not all doom and gloom. We also offer some creative ways people can avoid these same pitfalls and better partner with their trainer and instructor. These types of open and honest discussions are important for our community to have. We hope you find this episode helpful. ----more---- Scent Work University is an online dog training platform focused on all things Scent Work. SWU courses, seminars, webinars and eBook are not only for those who are interested in competition, but also for those dog owners who are simply looking for something fun and engaging to do with their dogs. Check out Scent Work University today! Interested

Many of us will train on our own at some point when doing Scent Work with our dogs. You may even be doing all of your training one your own, preparing your hides, designing your searches and running your dog. In this podcast episode, we discuss the various factors we should keep in mind when training on our own so as to avoid leading our dog astray unintentionally. Some of the pointers covered in this podcast were also discussed in our latest blog, Where We See a Tree, Our Dog Sees a Forest, so be sure to check that out here. ----more---- Scent Work University is an online dog training platform focused on all things Scent Work. SWU courses, seminars, webinars and eBook are not only for those who are interested in competition, but also for those dog owners who are simply looking for something fun and engaging to do with their dogs. Check out Scent Work University today! Interested in another dog sport? Dog Sport University is sister online dog training platform, give it a peek and see what it has to offer

When it comes to dog training, we are constantly giving our dogs cues to indicate what we would like for them to do in any given moment. "Sit", "Down", "Come" and so on. The same can hold true in Scent Work. But what if the cue you may be using in your everyday life would have an unintended consequence if you used it in Scent Work? Is that even possible?! Yes, yes it is. In this episode, we discuss the importance of being as clear and mindful as we can when using cues, knowing what the true meaning of those cues are (to the dog), and whether using a certain cue could undermine the very thing we are trying to build in our Scent Work training. ----more---- Scent Work University is an online dog training platform focused on all things Scent Work. SWU courses, seminars, webinars and eBook are not only for those who are interested in competition, but also for those dog owners who are simply looking for something fun and engaging to do with their dogs. Check out Scent Work University today! Interested in anothe

This episode is designed more as a discussion-piece rather than a "listen as we declare answers on a given subject".  The question is rather simple: should there be an observable difference between a team playing Scent Work simply for "fun" and a team solely interested in competing? My gut tells me the answer should be "No". If that is the case, are we as a community, myself included, shooting ourselves in the foot with how we describe the delineation of the type of teams participating in Scent Work? Who knows?! Let's discuss! ----more---- Scent Work University is an online dog training platform focused on all things Scent Work. SWU courses and webinars are not only for those who are interested in competition, but also for those dog owners who are simply looking for something fun and engaging to do with their dogs. Check out Scent Work University today! Interested in another dog sport? Dog Sport University is sister online dog training platform, give it a peek and see what it has to offer you and your do

At some point in your Scent Work training journey, you will set a super challenging hide for your dog, oftentimes inadvertently. You then have to choose...what do you do? Do you just allow them the time and space to solve the problem, no matter how long that may take? Do you put them up, make an adjustment to the hide and let them immediately run it again? Or, do you put them up, essentially leaving the hide behind and unfound, so that you can tackle that specific problem in a completely different training session later? In this episode, we talk about these three options, the need to make split-second decisions and also owning up who are as a handler and trainer, not to mention how fluid all of this can truly be. ----more---- Scent Work University is an online dog training platform focused on all things Scent Work. SWU courses and webinars are not only for those who are interested in competition, but also for those dog owners who are simply looking for something fun and engaging to do with their dogs. Chec

A common human trait is to drill, practice and run repetitions ad nauseam. This is counterproductive, especially when we are talking about Scent Work. Doing so can undercut the very skills you are trying to build for yourself and your dog! In this episode, we delve into the difference between properly preparing training in Scent Work and overtraining, highlighting why we should avoid doing the latter. We also discuss why this not only important when building our dog's skills, but our own handler skills as well. ----more---- Scent Work University is an online dog training platform focused on all things Scent Work. SWU courses and webinars are not only for those who are interested in competition, but also for those dog owners who are simply looking for something fun and engaging to do with their dogs. Check out Scent Work University today! If you are interested in learning more about The Mindful Scent Work Instructor Webinar, you may do so here. Interested in another dog sport? Dog Sport University is sist

A common myth you hear about Scent Work is that instructors will demand absolute silence...as if this were some sort of military operation where there shall be NO noise and NO fun and NO joy! In this episode, we work to bust this myth and explain the reasoning behind why instructors may ask for handlers to be quiet as the dog is actively searching early in their career, but the major issues of trying to bake in absolute silence into your training and how this can come back to bite you later. ----more---- Scent Work University is an online dog training platform focused on all things Scent Work. SWU courses and webinars are not only for those who are interested in competition, but also for those dog owners who are simply looking for something fun and engaging to do with their dogs. Check out Scent Work University today! Interested in another dog sport? Dog Sport University is sister online dog training platform, give it a peek and see what it has to offer you and your dog. Want to help your dog in the mann

When it comes to Scent Work, there are certain types of equipment for both dogs and handlers that are common and trendy. But does this mean that these would be a good choice for you and your dog? In this episode, we discuss the importance of making smart equipment choices, how they may shift and change over time and the reasons why we should introduce certain types of equipment outside the context of Scent Work first. ----more---- Scent Work University is an online dog training platform focused on all things Scent Work. SWU courses and webinars are not only for those who are interested in competition, but also for those dog owners who are simply looking for something fun and engaging to do with their dogs. Check out Scent Work University today! Interested in another dog sport? Dog Sport University is sister online dog training platform, give it a peek and see what it has to offer you and your dog. Want to help your dog in the manner department? Maybe you have a new puppy? Check out our newest online dog

When we are trialing with our dogs in Scent Work, there is no reason you should abandon the very same principles you have come to relay upon on in training simply because your trialing! Yet, time and time again, you will see competitors doing this very thing! For instance, if you know a certain routine will set your dog up for success in training, you should absolutely try to use that same routine when you are trialing! At the very least, this episode will get you thinking and consider how you can approach your trialing experiences more thoughtfully. ----more----   Scent Work University is an online dog training platform focused on all things Scent Work. SWU courses and webinars are not only for those who are interested in competition, but also for those dog owners who are simply looking for something fun and engaging to do with their dogs. Check out Scent Work University today! Interested in another dog sport? Dog Sport University is sister online dog training platform, give it a peek and see what it h