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, and USCSS. When she talks about what works and what doesn't in this sport, she has seen it from just about every angle there is.And a lot of what she comes back to is the same idea. Take your time. At the start line. Covering your search area. Moving up the levels. Paying your dog. It shows up everywhere in this conversation and in everything she sees as a judge.We also spend a lot of time on the handler side of things, because in scent work we talk a lot about training the dog but there is just as much to work on as the human half of the team.What we talk about:Detective search coverage, what covering an area really means, and what Melissa does before she calls finishOne hide syndrome, why it's real, what causes it, and what to do about itHow competing at Summit changed how detective search areas feel to herMemory as a skill, she said she has a horrible memory and walked us through exactly how she trained herself out of itHow you start the search is how it's going to goWhat organizational psychology taught her about rewarding her dogThe pay discrepancy between training and trialing and what to do about itDon't rush the levels, why staying and getting more practice can make a real differenceWhy you might pay for a lack of nos at the lower levelsWhat she sees handlers do that costs them Qs, things that have nothing to do with the dogInfluencing your dog, her thoughts, and how she idiot proofs her own dogs in trainingUSCSS and the stupid handler trick, yes this is a real competition elementTwo judge stories, one involving a metal detector, one involving a monsoonSeven questions with Melissa, signature distractors, what her dogs would say about her, and what happened when she played a kitten meowing and frogs chirping as audio distractors at trialsFind Melissa: vforcedogtraining.comFacebook: VForce Dog TrainingAlert! Scent Work is a podcast for competitors, the parking lot conversations you'd never get to have at a trial, with the judges and community members you wish you had more time with.Listen to the podcast and find everything here: https://www.AlertScentWork.comFollow along: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlertScentWorkSubscribe to the newsletter: https://www.alertscentwork.com/newsletter/

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 world was shrinking, and so was hers. What happened when he started searching changed him. It also changed how she thinks about this activity: who it's for, what it can do, and why she believes every dog with a nose deserves to play it.She went on to build Scent Work University and produce over 140 episodes of the All About Scent Work podcast. When I asked her to distill all of those conversations down to some themes that keep coming up, she landed on odor will humble you and focus on the dog. What she said about the first one felt like she'd been following me around with a notebook. The second is a good paradigm for all of us to remember.We also get into something many competitors wrestle with: how much involvement the handler should have, and what that balance actually looks like in a search.And if you have a reactive or dog-aggressive dog, Dianna has a lot worth hearing that might help you.What we talk about:The two themes Dianna keeps hearing from the best in the sport and what they mean for the rest of usThe universal handler journey, why it looks the same for almost everyone, and why understanding it helps you push through the hard partsWhat focus on the dog really means when something is going wrong in a searchHow much involvement should a handler have, and what finding that equilibrium actually looks likeZeus, a dog-aggressive Doberman, and what scent work gave him that nothing else couldThe choice point, what it means for any dog to choose the work over whatever else is pulling at themWhat scent work surfaces about your dog during training and how to address it outside of a search so it stops costing you in the ringDogs with challenges, reactive, fearful, dog aggressive, and what perspectives and approaches can actually helpHow closed off a handler's life can become around a difficult dog, and what starts to open upScent work as the activity, not just the sport, and why Dianna will go to her grave defending every dog's right to play itSeven questions with Dianna, including what still delights her, the most rewarding thing someone has ever said to her, and the piece of advice that stuckFind Dianna: scentworku.com All About Scent Work podcastAlert! Scent Work is a podcast for competitors, the parking lot conversations you'd never get to have at a trial, with the judges and community members you wish you had more time with.Listen to the podcast and find everything here: https://www.AlertScentWork.comFollow along: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlertScentWorkSubscribe to the newsletter: https://www.alertscentwork.com/newsletter/

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 fastest-in-trial result in the sport. I talk to Kristi about the site's origin, what she thinks is the coolest feature more people need to know about, and how people use the site to increase their enjoyment of scent work.But this episode is also about Kristi as a competitor. We talk about why, at first, her dog didn't seem to like nosework, what she's learned about being a better handler, and why she considers herself a smellevangelist.What we talk about:The origin of wesmellbetter.com — holiday complaining, a visiting brother who knew how to scrape websites, and Doug deciding to learn PythonWhat other competitors say about the site.The alerts feature — Kristi's current infatuation and why you probably want to sign up for themThe Trial Finder, the achievement section, and the NQ tracking most people don't know aboutHow the site changed the way Scot thinks about titles, and why Kristi blames herself for his new spending habitsThe story of Kristi's first nose work dog — and what she figured out years later that explains everythingNose work as rehabilitation — how it became the right tool at exactly the right momentHandler challenges — living in the moment and what Kristi calls odor gogglesWhat coaching finally taught her about her job as a handlerStress management for dog sports — Hélène Lawler's curriculum and what it actually addressesSeven questions with Kristi — including her dog's favorite reward, what her dog would say about her as a handler, a very specific strategy she had for dealing with a very unique distractor in a Detective search.Find Kristi: wesmellbetter.com — sign up for a free account and the alerts featureFacebook: We Smell BetterAlert! Scent Work is a podcast for competitors — the parking lot conversations you'd never get to have at a trial, with the judges and community members you wish you had more time with.Listen to the podcast and find everything here: https://www.AlertScentWork.comFollow along: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlertScentWorkSubscribe to the newsletter: https://www.alertscentwork.com/newsletter/

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 is as a judge, and it's a big part of why I wanted to have this conversation.One of the threads running through this whole conversation is how much we impact our dogs without realizing it. Body chatter. Disappointment going down the leash. Turning away at the wrong moment. Not opening your body to give permission. A lot of us are probably in that same place.We also both got into something we're each actively working through — what happens when your dog stops searching and starts asking you questions.And inaccessibles. What makes them challenging, and she and Scot talk about how their dogs each handle them.What we talk about:Karen's origin story — a cattle dog rescue who was hard to do activities with, and how scent work became the thing that finally workedWhat changed in Aspen after scent workNewton, who is deaf in one ear and very sound sensitive — and Larkin, who can shut down easilyHow Karen plans a search — the Cirrus tool, the yes zone, and videoing search areas before trial daySniff and dismiss — and why patience matters more than most competitors realizeCollection, false alerts, and nerves — why it's more complicated than it looksWhat Karen loves to see in a team when she's judging — and what she admits she's still working on herselfHow much we impact our dogs without realizing it — what Karen sees as a judge and what Scot admitted about MurphyWhat counts as a win when you don't get the QThe boundaries — what newer competitors get wrong about themWhen your dog stops searching and starts asking you questionsInaccessibles — why they're hard to call and why we don't practice them enoughEscential Nosework ABCs — Karen's new business and what it focuses onSeven questions with KarenFind Karen: AKC Judges Directory — search Karen AllenEscential Nosework ABC: noseworkabcs.comAlert! Scent Work is a podcast for competitors — the parking lot conversations you'd never get to have at a trial, with the judges and community members you wish you had more time with.Listen to the podcast and find everything here: https://www.AlertScentWork.comFollow along: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlertScentWorkSubscribe to the newsletter: https://www.alertscentwork.com/newsletter/

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 down near her at a trial. What she was saying about odor behavior and how handlers were impacting their dogs blew my mind. Judith brings together a deep understanding of odor theory, dog psychology, and handling strategy all in one place. I didn't even know they were three separate things.In this conversation, she shares her 100 rule — a framework for balancing environment, airflow, hide complexity, and time to create level-appropriate challenges. Understanding it makes you a smarter competitor and a better trainer. She also talks about independence and hunt drive — what to do when your dog isn't in odor right away and how to train for it. And we talk about why not every search should be run the same, and why getting out of your local bubble and showing under judges you've never seen is one of the fastest ways to grow.What we talk about:Judith's origin story — SAR dogs, retired police dogs, horses, protection sports, and how Buddha brought it all into focusWhy scent work was such a powerful tool for a genetically reactive dog — and the important caveat that goes with thatWhat made Buddha and Judith such an effective team — and how she built that foundation from five weeks oldRon Gaunt's thumbs up / thumbs down feedback method — frustrating and brilliant at the same timeThe 100 rule — Judith's judging framework for creating level-appropriate challenges, and how competitors can use it to better understand what's going on in a searchHow time pressure fits into the 100 rule — and why a short time limit isn't what you think it isIndependence — the number one lesson from professional detection work, and why it matters in sport tooHow to build hunt drive in a dog that goes flat when there's no odor at the start lineRegional trends in scent work — why you should be putting yourself in front of judges from outside your areaThe names judges give to odor puzzles — and how closeness and inaccessibility work as modifiersWhy two hides of the same odor close together is not the problem your human brain thinks it isShrimp, demo dogs, and why training a dog to show you the whole odor picture can become a competition problemSeven questions with Judith — including what it means to honor the dog, her signature distractor, and why her dog would call her annoyingFind Judith: Facebook: Nose Dogs Detection Services Scent Work University: scentworku.com — search Judith Guthrie for classes and webinarsAlert! Scent Work is a podcast for competitors — the parking lot conversations you'd never get to have at a trial, with the judges and community members you wish you had more time with.Listen to the podcast and find everything here: https://www.AlertScentWork.comFollow along: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlertScentWorkSubscribe to the newsletter: https://www.alertscentwork.com/newsletter/

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 experience of the sport that doesn't get nearly enough attention — pressure. Penny Scott-Fox has been watching what it does to competitors, dogs, clubs, and judges, and she wanted to talk about it.Before we get to the main topic, we start with her recent 2 minute and 14 second detective run. I had to ask how that was even possible. What followed was a conversation about how to better train for detective, how to build a dog that drives to odor, and two very different handling philosophies based on the dogs we each have. I think a lot of people will see themselves in this conversation.Then we get into the main topic, pressure in scent work. Through the conversation, we uncovered ideas that will help competitors, trial committees, and judges alike succeed and enjoy the sport more fully.What we talk about:The 2:14 detective run — what made it possible, and what it reveals about foundation training and building a dog that drives to odorWhy dogs that have sailed through the lower levels sometimes hit a wall in detective — and what to do about it in trainingTwo different handling philosophies for detective — Penny's and mine — and why the dog you have shapes everythingPenny's 40th detective Q — and the bronze, silver, and gold detective titles her club awards that AKC doesn't recognizePressure on the dog and how it impacts your partner in scent workPressure on the handler and what both of us do to take the edge off, including Penny's ritual to reduce pressure in obedience (works for scent work too)Why pressure on the handler almost pushed me out of the sport, and the two rules that made it fun againPressure on clubs. What the growth of scent work is doing to trial quality, and how clubs can best serve competitorsPressure on judges, why the push to be the judge that sets sexy hides isn't always good for dogs or competitors, and a conversation about what really makes the sport fun for competitorsFind Penny at scott-foxdogtraining.comAlert! Scent Work is a podcast for competitors — the parking lot conversations you'd never get to have at a trial, with the judges and community members you wish you had more time with.Listen to the podcast and find everything here: https://www.AlertScentWork.comFollow along: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlertScentWork Subscribe to the newsletter: https://www.alertscentwork.com/newsletter/

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 episode, the judge, trainer, and competitor talks about the lessons she has learned from years of watching teams search.Before scent work, Ana had a career in medicine and medical education. She views judging as education — through the hides she sets, the briefings she gives, and the debriefs she shares publicly after every trial. In my observation, that medical background shows up in how she approaches the sport — doctors are always learning, digesting new material, and teaching it to others at the same time. You can see that in how deeply Ana understands odor theory and how dogs work.And if you've ever wondered what the dogs would say about us in the parking lot after a trial — Ana has some thoughts on that too.What we talk about:Ana's origin story — this is a familiar story about how scent work wasn't even the thing until it was the thingThe recurring themes she sees across her debriefs — what handlers consistently struggle with and what the best teams do differentlyClose proximity hides and convergence — why handlers miss them and what to do about itWhy handlers over-handle under pressure — and what the dog thinks about itThe twenty-plus picnic table search — what Ana was testing and why competitors over-focused on the objects instead of the odorHow dogs perceive a search area versus how handlers perceive it — and why that difference mattersAna's distractor philosophy — why she uses food distractors, what she tests with them, and why gummy bears tripped up more dogs than baconWhy the boundaries define where hides are placed but not where odor goes — and how to help your dog collect information outside the search areaRetiring Axel from competition — and why making that call was the right thing for their teamSeven questions with Ana — what she loves to see teams celebrate, her signature distractor, the best compliment she ever received, and what Axel and VI would say about her as a handlerFind Ana: YouTube: Ana Cilursu for her AKC trial debrief videos:Training: Rots-n-Nots NoseworkStaten Island Companion Dog Training Club — nose work instructorAlert! Scent Work is a podcast for competitors — the parking lot conversations you'd never get to have at a trial, with the judges and community members you wish you had more time with.Listen to the podcast and find everything here:https://www.AlertScentWork.comFollow along: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlertScentWorkSubscribe to the newsletter: https://www.alertscentwork.com/newsletter/ #ScentWork

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 AKC even had a scent work program.Much of our conversation revolves around the job of the handler in scent work — which Sandra reinforces with t-shirt-worthy sayings like "be a hot date to your dog," "pay a dog a CEO salary for flipping burgers," and "your dog is the subject matter expert, and you are the manager."If you've ever watched a Sandra Tung student at a trial, you already know these sayings. Her reputation precedes her. We also dig into how to balance honoring your dog's choices with being a good partner, her lazy trainer philosophy for building drive and confidence, and what she actually looks for when she's judging a team — whether they Q or not.What we talk about:Sandra's origin story — from her first Shiba Inu and rally obedience to becoming one of AKC's first scent work judgesWhy the dog is the subject matter expert and the handler is the manager — and what that actually means in a searchBe a hot date — what it means, where it came from, and why it matters more than finding the perfect high-value treat *The difference between a good team and a top team — and why it almost always comes down to the handlerHow to read whether your dog is in a productive area versus an unproductive oneWhy odor doesn't care about boundaries — and what Sandra tells her students about letting their dogs go outside the search areaHer lazy trainer philosophy — training with purpose, keeping sessions short, and why simple hides in new environments will take you further than complicated puzzlesHow running Shiba Inus made her a better handler and trainerTeaching dogs to move on from a hide on their own — and why she didn't realize that was a skill until dog number fiveMemory systems for remembering where you found your hides at higher levelsWhat Sandra looks for when she places hides — and why she loves testing teams on things they don't expectSeven questions with Sandra — her dog's favorite reward, advice for her beginner scent work self, how she bounces back from a tough trial day, and the best compliment she ever received at a trialFind Sandra:AKC Judges Directory — search Sandra Tung to bring her to your trialAlert! Scent Work is a podcast for competitors — the parking lot conversations you'd never get to have at a trial, with the judges and community members you wish you had more time with.Listen to the podcast and find everything here:https://www.AlertScentWork.comFollow along: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlertScentWorkSubscribe to the newsletter: https://www.alertscentwork.com/newsletter/ #scentwork

Vicky Lovejoy brings perspective from the earliest days of scent work, before formal trials existed, through today. She competes and judges across multiple organizations and has seen the sport from just about every angle.We talk about what makes a search fun and rewarding for both dog and handler. We also discuss how breed and individual tendencies shape the way dogs search, using examples from working her shepherds. And we get into those familiar “parking lot conversations", especially after a low-Q element, and how to turn post-search analysis into something productive instead of just venting.