Instructor Talk: Leveraging Primary

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. Speaker: Dianna L. Santos ----more---- Scent Work University is an online dog training platform focused on all things Scent Work. Our online courses, seminars, webinars and eBooks 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 other dog sports, helping a new dog or puppy learn the ropes to be more successful at home and when out and about? Check out Pet Dog U, where we offer online dog training courses, webinars, mini-webinars, seminars as well as a regularly updated blog and podcast for all of your dog training needs! #allaboutscentworkpodcast #scentwork #nosework #scentworkpodcast #noseworkpodcast #scentworktraining #noseworktraining #onlinescentwork #onlinenosework #virtualscentwork #virtualnosework #scentworku #scentworkuniversity PODCAST TRANSCRIPT Read the full podcast transcript here.

24 Feb 202139min

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. Speaker: Dianna L. Santos ----more---- Scent Work University is an online dog training platform focused on all things Scent Work. Our online courses, seminars, webinars and eBooks 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 other dog sports, helping a new dog or puppy learn the ropes to be more successful at home and when out and about? Check out Pet Dog U, where we offer online dog training courses, webinars, mini-webinars, seminars as well as a regularly updated blog and podcast for all of your dog training needs! #allaboutscentworkpodcast #scentwork #nosework #scentworkpodcast #noseworkpodcast #scentworktraining #noseworktraining #onlinescentwork #onlinenosework #virtualscentwork #virtualnosework #scentworku #scentworkuniversity PODCAST TRANSCRIPT Read the full podcast transcript here.

5 Feb 202123min

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. Speaker: Dianna L. Santos ----more---- Scent Work University is an online dog training platform focused on all things Scent Work. Our online courses, seminars, webinars and eBooks 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 other dog sports, helping a new dog or puppy learn the ropes to be more successful at home and when out and about? Check out Pet Dog U, where we offer online dog training courses, webinars, mini-webinars, seminars as well as a regularly updated blog and podcast for all of your dog training needs! #allaboutscentworkpodcast #scentwork #nosework #scentworkpodcast #noseworkpodcast #scentworktraining #noseworktraining #onlinescentwork #onlinenosework #virtualscentwork #virtualnosework #scentworku #scentworkuniversity PODCAST TRANSCRIPT Read the full podcast transcript here.

10 Jan 202125min

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! Speaker: Dianna L. Santos ----more---- Scent Work University is an online dog training platform focused on all things Scent Work. Our online courses, seminars, webinars and eBooks 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 other dog sports, helping a new dog or puppy learn the ropes to be more successful at home and when out and about? Check out Pet Dog U, where we offer online dog training courses, webinars, mini-webinars, seminars as well as a regularly updated blog and podcast for all of your dog training needs! #allaboutscentworkpodcast #scentwork #nosework #scentworkpodcast #noseworkpodcast #scentworktraining #noseworktraining #onlinescentwork #onlinenosework #virtualscentwork #virtualnosework #scentworku #scentworkuniversity PODCAST TRANSCRIPT Read the full podcast transcript here.

7 Des 202018min

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. Speaker: Dianna L. Santos ----more---- Scent Work University is an online dog training platform focused on all things Scent Work. Our online courses, seminars, webinars and eBooks 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 other dog sports, helping a new dog or puppy learn the ropes to be more successful at home and when out and about? Check out Pet Dog U, where we offer online dog training courses, webinars, mini-webinars, seminars as well as a regularly updated blog and podcast for all of your dog training needs! #allaboutscentworkpodcast #scentwork #nosework #scentworkpodcast #noseworkpodcast #scentworktraining #noseworktraining #onlinescentwork #onlinenosework #virtualscentwork #virtualnosework #scentworku #scentworkuniversity PODCAST TRANSCRIPT Read the full podcast transcript here.

25 Okt 202021min

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. Speaker: Dianna L. Santos ----more---- Scent Work University is an online dog training platform focused on all things Scent Work. Our online courses, seminars, webinars and eBooks 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 other dog sports, helping a new dog or puppy learn the ropes to be more successful at home and when out and about? Check out Pet Dog U, where we offer online dog training courses, webinars, mini-webinars, seminars as well as a regularly updated blog and podcast for all of your dog training needs! #allaboutscentworkpodcast #scentwork #nosework #scentworkpodcast #noseworkpodcast #scentworktraining #noseworktraining #onlinescentwork #onlinenosework #virtualscentwork #virtualnosework #scentworku #scentworkuniversity PODCAST TRANSCRIPT Read the full podcast transcript here.

20 Sep 202023min

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. Speaker: Dianna L. Santos ----more---- Scent Work University is an online dog training platform focused on all things Scent Work. Our online courses, seminars, webinars and eBooks 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 other dog sports, helping a new dog or puppy learn the ropes to be more successful at home and when out and about? Check out Pet Dog U, where we offer online dog training courses, webinars, mini-webinars, seminars as well as a regularly updated blog and podcast for all of your dog training needs! #allaboutscentworkpodcast #scentwork #nosework #scentworkpodcast #noseworkpodcast #scentworktraining #noseworktraining #onlinescentwork #onlinenosework #virtualscentwork #virtualnosework #scentworku #scentworkuniversity PODCAST TRANSCRIPT Read the full podcast transcript here.

14 Aug 202018min

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. Speaker: Dianna L. Santos ----more---- Scent Work University is an online dog training platform focused on all things Scent Work. Our online courses, seminars, webinars and eBooks 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 other dog sports, helping a new dog or puppy learn the ropes to be more successful at home and when out and about? Check out Pet Dog U, where we offer online dog training courses, webinars, mini-webinars, seminars as well as a regularly updated blog and podcast for all of your dog training needs! #allaboutscentworkpodcast #scentwork #nosework #scentworkpodcast #noseworkpodcast #scentworktraining #noseworktraining #onlinescentwork #onlinenosework #virtualscentwork #virtualnosework #scentworku #scentworkuniversity PODCAST TRANSCRIPT Read the full podcast transcript here.

6 Aug 202026min