Alert! Scent Work

Penny Scott-Fox & Jeff McMahon | Penny Scott-Fox and Jeff McMahon | Getting the Most Out of a Scent Work Camp

When you go to a scent work camp or an all-day seminar, how do you get the most out of it? What stops people from fully committing to new ideas? And when you leave with a

Caroline Oldham | Make the Journey the Priority

If the journey with your dog in this sport is the priority, success can fall into place for any team. And Caroline Oldham puts a lot of effort into focusing on the journe

Joanne Soyke | Becoming a Better Listener

Joanne Soyke had a Border Collie named Flip who finally found a sport that let him use his powers for good rather than evil. From that moment, from competing to training

Melissa Sowa | Take Your Time

Melissa Sowa has been judging since buried hides had to be placed using a drill. She's competed through Summit in NACSW and detective in AKC, and judges for AKC, C-WAGS,

Dianna Santos | Odor Will Humble You

Dianna Santos came to scent work through a dog-aggressive Doberman who needed a reason to be a dog. Zeus couldn't go for walks. He couldn't be around other dogs. His worl

Kristi Murdock | The Smellevangelist Behind WeSmellBetter.com

Kristi Murdock might be the most appreciated person in AKC Scent Work. She built wesmellbetter.com, a free site that tracks every qualifying score, title, placement, and

Karen Allen | How Much We Impact Our Dogs Without Realizing It

I ran under Karen Allen at a detective trial and didn't Q. What stayed with me wasn't the result, it was the feeling walking away. She was rooting for us. That's who she

Judith Guthrie | The Judging Framework That Makes You a Better Competitor

When I started out in scent work, I thought it was simple: place a hide, dog finds the hide, call alert. Judith Guthrie started pulling that apart the first time I sat do

Penny Scott-Fox | Pressure in Scent Work — How It's Affecting Everyone and What We Can Do

In scent work, we talk a lot about odor theory, training, and handling technique. But there's something else affecting your performance, your dog's performance, and your

Ana Cilursu | Seeing Searches the Way Your Dog Does

Many competitors have seen Ana's AKC trial debrief videos — breaking down hide placement, odor movement, and what teams were experiencing in the search area. In this epis

Sandra Tung | Be a Hot Date for Your Dog

One of the first AKC Scent Work judges and an AKC Scent Work Expert Judge, Sandra Tung is also a trainer and high-level competitor who has been in the sport since before

Vicky Lovejoy | Productive Parking Lot Chatter, Fun Searches, and Inclusivity in Scent Work

Vicky Lovejoy was there at the very beginning — before formal trials existed, before organizations formed, when a group of enthusiasts in the Los Angeles area were just f

Lisa Quibell | When Scent Work Changes Both Dog and Handler

For some, scent work is more than a sport and ribbons. It's a shared process that can change both dog and handler in ways you never saw coming. Lisa Quibell is a competi

Jill Kovacevich | Pathways to Odor

I almost skipped the Box Mania. Containers sounded boring. But during the session, Jill started narrating the searches and the behavior she was observing. And she talked

Patrice Dodd | The Power of Presence and Attention in Scent Work

AKC scent work judge and competitor Patrice Dodd talks about why scent work is one of the few places in life where she can be fully present, and why handler attention may

Mary Quinn | Judging AKC Master Nationals

From the moment she got the phone call inviting her to judge AKC Master Nationals, to arriving at the Roberts Center, Mary talks about what was running through her mind,

Penny Scott-Fox | Lessons from the First Master National

At AKC Master National, Penny Scott-Fox brought every part of her scent work experience with her. She talks about the AKC Master National through three lenses: what it w

Leigh and Rhubarb | From Day One Setback To Master National Champions

One mistake most of us have made happened in her very first run, and it dropped her to 118th place for that element. But by day three, Leigh Gelotte and Rhubarb were the

Lena and Neo | Proving Them Wrong at Master Nationals

Lena went to the first AKC Scent Work Master Nationals mostly to support the event, but she also had a couple of goals. She wanted to make it into the top 100 and have th

Tracy Hill | Setbacks, Sick Dogs, and Showing Up Anyway

Scent work isn’t just about ribbons. It’s about setbacks, resilience, and the bond that makes every trip to the start line a gift. In this episode, Tracy Hill offers pra