K9 Detection Collaborative

23/10/2025

Thoughtful Thursday: Finding Coaches

Raven is just so excited to work that she can barely contain herself. She's fast, smart and sassy. Her concept of being a 22lb puppy in a large world means nothing to her. She thinks she can do it all!

As I was watching her try to jump onto a platform that Flash (who is significantly taller than her) did, it got me thinking about coaching and playing at a level higher than you think you can. I have several coaches and friends who continually ask me questions that make me think and hold me accountable, and push me to level up. These are not all the same person. I have been taking stock of who I have in my circle that I consider mentors/coaches/peers and realized that each of them plays a valuable part in my continued growth.

They ask me questions that requires me to be accountable or expand my thinking. They check in on how my training is going and we problem solve challenges. They also call me out when I am adding something to my plate or have let something go to the wayside. Finding a circle of people who will speak truth to you is important. It also requires a level of trust that they have your best interests at heart.

We do this for our dogs. A question I ask a lot of people is are you a coach or a cheerleader for your dog? My answer it, as usual, it depends.

For puppies, I am a cheerleader a lot. I want them to think they are 10 feet tall and bullet proof. That whatever I set in front of them or ask them to do they can accomplish. Maybe not with ease, but they can do because I see their potential and I want them to get there. As they get a little older, I move more into the realm of coach. I still want them to succeed, but sometimes failure is a very important component of learning. If done correctly it can create more grit and try. (Think of that variable schedule of reinforcement or a slot machine).

I am striving to be the best coach for my dogs and my students! Tell me about a time where you went from either cheerleader to coach or vice versa!
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Enrollment and notifications for the Detection Dog Trainer Academy are ongoing! Make sure you get in on the program for 2026. https://www.k9sensus.org/ddta

21/10/2025

“Search and rescue work is the volunteer profession that you pay to do and is one of the most stressful things you can ever do, because somebody else's life could depend on what you're doing.”

In part 2 of their conversation with Steve White, Robin Greubel and Stacy Barnett ask about the development of Hydrated Intensive Tracking (HITT), which evolved from experiments with scent-in-a-bottle methods.

Steve’s breakthrough came at a U.S. Police Canine Association seminar when handlers lacked marker training skills. By hybridizing traditional food-in-footstep methods with spray lines, Steve discovered that dogs crossing pavement with spray present kept their heads lower even after the spray evaporated. It’s classical conditioning at work!

Steve's training philosophy emphasizes creating calm, methodical working dogs rather than frantic high-energy animals. He seeks dogs with "conditioned emotional responses" of focused steadiness. He believes that clearheaded dogs perform better in difficult urban environments. This approach influenced his article training, where teaching dogs to find tiny objects like washers creates precision that makes finding larger targets effortless.

Robin and Stacy zero in on the importance of generalization and stimulus control. Dogs absolutely distinguish training from operations, requiring extensive work in operational environments. Steve advocates for the "Green Eggs and Ham" principle. That is, can your dog perform here, there, everywhere? Handlers often mistake lack of stimulus control for lack of behavior knowledge.

His current work with the United States Police Canine Association's Best Practices Working Group aims to preserve police canine programs by shifting focus toward the irreplaceable value of dogs' olfactory capabilities while promoting cooperation-based control.

You can find Steve White:
Proactive K9 Website (http://www.proactivek9.com/)

USPCA YouTube Channel: Where you can find Steve's three-part series on odor/scent fundamentals, a 1000-hour eyes presentation where he talks about the eight indicators of dogs being on odor, and Robin's presentations about the recipe for building a great training session.

20/10/2025

Check out this great learning opportunity! Get registered to hear from people outside the normal SAR world and expand your toolbox!

19/10/2025

Congratulations to K9 Flare for passing her certification in Narcotics Detection with the K9! Thank you to the judges for setting up a fair but hard test. Flare earned her pupcup from Culvers!

17/10/2025

Heads up! Notifications are going out for the next round of students for the year long K9Sensus Detection Dog Trainers Academy. Not only do you get 36 weeks of online training throughout the year, but it includes 10 days of training here at the foundation!

If you are interested in being part of this cohort, reach out!
Classes start Jan 1.

The K9Sensus Detection Dog Trainer Academy is a comprehensive program specifically designed to equip owner/handler/trainers with the fundamental skills necessary for success in canine detection. Whether you aim to work with in the private sector, train your own sport detection dog, or enhance your k...

16/10/2025

Thoughtful Thursday: Finding those moments of energy

I didn't really know I needed it. But I did. I needed some moments of energy.

It was seven days (including driving) with one day of networking and four incredible days of teaching Advanced Hide Setting & Odor Movement for narcotics and explosive K9 handlers. The American Tactical K9 Association (www.atk9.org) held and incredible conference at the Muscatatuck Urban Training Center (MUTC). They honored me by asking me to teach some of the almost 300 attendees of law enforcement and military from all over the world.

The enthusiasm of the other instructors, the venue, the opportunity to set hides that aged for five days, and the students who were open to coaching and off the wall suggestions provided a constant flow of energizing moments. The energizing moments of handlers pushing themselves to be at the top of their game, listening to and giving feedback, and the community of great people.

The energizing moments of the dogs (and handlers) having those 'ah-ha' moments. The joy of seeing progress in a few well set up problems to help provide a path forward in a training challenge.

The focused time to work with Belle and Raven during a crucial time in their training. Seeing them conquer dark stairways and hallways, running through and around many of the props without fear. Having them walk through After Hours Bite Club in the basement of the prison and not flinch. Both of them generalized the basics of their trained final response and hunt games while there.

These energizing moments have led to productivity when returning home. The 2026 calendar is started, event for next year are ready to go. The restructuring of the K9Sensus Detection Dog Trainer Academy to be a year long program with quarterly drops of content and the new courses online are now outlined. Plus there are a few other projects percolating.

I'm catching all of those energizing moments, holding onto them as tightly as I can and using them to propel my training and work.

Tell me about an energizing moment you've recently had!

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Notifications are going out for the 2026 K9Sensus Academy! You can still apply! https://www.k9sensus.org/ddta

16/10/2025

Trainers know that generalization is key for effectiveness in our detection dogs. Make sure you are getting out there and working on all sorts of target odors! Thanks to the handlers who participated in this study and to the scientists committed to bridging the gap between science and practice. Huge props to Lauryn Degreef, Paola Tiedemann, Paul Bunker, Adele Quigley-Mcbride and the Global Forensic and Justice Center at FIU.

Explosive detection canines in the field: a multi-site black box validation study

In 2009, the National Research Council called upon the forensic science community to standardize the best practices and guidelines in the collection and a**l...

08/10/2025

"A chain is only as strong as the weakest link, and that applies to behavior change, too. So therefore, build fluency first of the individual component behaviors before you snap them together."

Two thirds of The Dames of Detection, Robin Greubel and Stacy Barnett, welcome Steve White, a veteran law enforcement K9 trainer whose 46-year career began in military working dog handling in 1975.

Steve discusses the challenges facing modern police canine programs, particularly how vendor-driven training models often prioritize efficiency over optimization, which creates sessions where handlers log hours without meaningful individual development.

Central to Steve's philosophy is building fluency in component behaviors before chaining them together. He emphasizes the "search-locate-report" sequence as the foundation of detection work, and warns against the common mistake of teaching dogs to retrieve training aids initially. This approach creates problems through the “law of primacy:” dogs default to their earliest learned behaviors under stress, leading to dangerous outcomes like consuming narcotics or explosives.

Steve traces his evolution from using sport castoff dogs from Europe to developing selection criteria focused on "self-righting" dogs: calm, confident animals who never seek fights but finish them. He shows us why it’s so important to understand the trade-offs inherent in every training decision! Don’t miss part two of this chat with Steve White, which drops 10/21/25.

Listen at: https://www.k9detectioncollaborative.com/post/talking-detection-with-steve-white-pt-1

02/10/2025

Thoughtful Thursday: Maintaining Motivation

This is the time of year I usually find myself struggling to maintain my motivation. Seminar season is done, we are looking at winter moving in, and computer work is piling up with some new things in the works. I find solace in regular chores and training dogs. But to be honest, sitting in front of the computer to write and create classes is sometimes very difficult.

Sitting at the computer is a habit, actually creating something while sitting here requires motivation and being inspired. Some days are easier than others. I've started looking at things in my life I find reinforcing. Taking the dogs for a walk, training the dogs, spending time with the donkeys, and playing a computer game (yes, I do that) are my reinforcers. I use them to help me get things done.

Write a module, take the dogs for a walk.
Get a concept down for a class, train Belle.
Finish a graphic, train Raven.
Write a Thoughtful Thursday, spend time with the baby donkey.
I may even get to the point of 'write one more paragraph and you can go do chores and then train'.

I also have habits that help support writing and creating. Between knowing when my most creative times of the day are, I specifically plan when to do chores for a break. Some days I don't have to get quite this granular, some days I do. A lot of the time once I get going, things flow and I can knock out two or three things, then go train dogs for the day. Those are the awesome days!

Creating those habits that you can rely on to keep the forward momentum helps fill the gaps when your motivation may falter. During the SWDI Master Trainer program we had to pick a time of day to do five minutes of obedience training. My 'cue' to do this was after my first cup of coffee. That worked until I went on travel and came back. I had to be conscious about starting it up again.

What are some cues you can use in your everyday life to help you with things so they become a habit? For those of you who do training logs, what is the 'cue' for you to get into that habit so there isn't a mad scramble?

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New classes are coming!

01/10/2025

Happy Black Dog Day!

We love all dogs but our black ones have their own special day. So some love and share a picture of yours!

26/09/2025

The ASB TR 084, Presentation of Canine Detection Evidence in Court is open for public comments. Comment Deadline, November 10, 2025. Please follow the link and the directions in order to submit comments!

Technical ReportASB Technical Report 084Presentation of Canine Detection Evidence in CourtFirst EditionTechnical ReportConsensus Body: Dogs and SensorsOpen for CommentShareShare on TwitterShare on FacebookShare on LinkedInDeadline: November 10, 2025Please download the TEMPLATE FOR COMMENTS for TR 08...

25/09/2025

Thoughtful Thursday: Embrace Those Mistakes

I'm watching Belle (5.5 months) put pieces of the detection game together. We are working through adding in her start cue, a small search, then her final response on the end. No, she is not on her target odor. We are using a 'throw away cue' to teach the chain. This is one of the reasons I use the Novel Odor Training Aid. (NOTA). Because there is a saying, "name it when you love it". I can name the chain with target odor later.

Why? Because there are lots of mistakes. There are butterflies to chase, people to meet, and things to climb. The world if full of distractions that should be in the background. She's a five month old puppy. It is important to me that I also give her time to be a puppy.

Do I reinforce all of her mistakes?
No. I have to balance behavior not at criteria, effort for doing the work, and fun. And part of generalizing a behavior and having a progression plan is that I can start at a known place in my plan and spin her up through it quickly in a new area if needed. I always know where to go back too.

Therefore, those mistakes are opportunities for me to find out what holes are in my training in new locations. I can build her understanding of the stimuli (odor) and the job in a systematic manner in new locations without dropping my criteria significantly(generalization). The goal is to get her the place in the plan she is at in my training building, and out in the world as fast as possible.

I am okay with her making mistakes. This is part of the learning process. No, I do not always make it easier. There are some days where I pack it up and we do something else. One of the things I really need her to learn is that I CAN NOT solve all the problems for her. If I continue to walk her into odor, or cue up her TFR, we are going to hit a bigger challenge later on in our work. She will learn to look to me for help. This is one of the last things I want to teach her.

Those mistakes are important for her to learn resiliency.
Those mistakes are important for me to learn holes in my training so I can slice behaviors thinner in later training.

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2026 will have some new courses coming online!