Building Value for Odor: Part 3 — Quality Over Quantity
Quality training isn't measured by the number of searches you run or the time you spend training. It's measured by the quality of the learning that takes place. Discover how memory consolidation, confidence, clarity, and meaningful reinforcement work together to strengthen your dog's value for odor.
Building Value for Odor: Part 2 — Is Your Dog Getting Paid Enough?
The value of odor isn't determined by the odor itself. It's determined by what your dog earns for finding it. In Part 2 of the Building Value for Odor series, learn how reinforcement influences motivation and why the quality of your rewards matters.
Building Value for Odor: Part 1 — Why Doesn’t My Dog Care About Odor?
Why doesn't your dog seem interested in odor? It isn't because they can't smell it. In Part 1 of the Building Value for Odor series, learn why odor has no inherent value to dogs and why creating motivation begins long before advanced training.
Why I Use Getxent Tubes in K9 Water Leak Detection Training
Actual chlorinated water and Getxent tubes each create different training opportunities. Learn why I use both to build Kieran's understanding of target odor and create training problems across a wide variety of environments and conditions.
Preparing Dogs to Work in the Heat
If we expect dogs to work, compete, or deploy in hot and humid conditions, they need experience in those conditions. But preparation and safety have to go hand in hand. Understanding how heat affects the individual dog is what allows handlers to make better decisions before performance suffers or a situation becomes dangerous.
What Is a Water Leak Detection Dog Actually Detecting?
Is a K9 Water Leak Detection dog simply finding water? A search in a completely saturated yard offered the perfect opportunity to demonstrate what Kieran is actually trained to detect.
Meet Kieran: Georgia's First Certified K9 Water Leak Detection Dog
Meet Kieran, a certified K9 Water Leak Detection dog whose confidence, enthusiasm, and problem-solving abilities help support water conservation efforts. Learn more about the dog behind Georgia's first certified K9 Water Leak Detection Team and the work he does both on and off the job.
Training Is Not Testing
Effective dog training isn't about expecting perfect performances in every repetition. It's about intentionally teaching individual skills, one piece at a time, until they come together into a confident, capable team.
Decision Making Is a Skill, Not a Milestone
We often expect dogs to make good decisions without ever teaching them how. Through Tavi's journey, I share why decision making is a skill that deserves to be trained intentionally and how that realization has changed the way I develop detection dogs.
Distractors Aren't the Problem
Distractors aren't something dogs are born ignoring. They're something we teach dogs to work through. Learn why I fill every container with information and how intentional training builds confident odor discrimination.