K9 Detection Collaborative

07/03/2025

It's always great to see research coming out that has practical applications. Here is some great research by Sally Dickinson (who is teaching HRD for the K9Sensus Foundation in September!) and the effects of frustration on SAR dogs.

"Our results revealed significant decreases in heart rate variability following frustration and increased latency in the search task, suggesting that frustration had a more pronounced impact on the dogs' physiological state and performance compared to exercise. By examining the effects of psychological and physiological stress, this study contributes to a deeper understanding of how different stressors influence SAR dog performance and welfare. These findings provide valuable insights for optimizing training methodologies and operational preparedness, ensuring both the effectiveness and well-being of SAR dogs in the field."

Here's a link to the full article.

Despite advances in modern technology, dogs remain the primary detection tool in search and rescue (SAR) missions, locating missing persons across diverse and dynamic environments, including wilderness, avalanche zones, water, and disaster areas. Their exceptional olfactory abilities, combined with....

06/03/2025

Thoughtful Thursday: Are you busy in your training or are you productive?

With the weather being so cold a couple of weeks ago I found myself sitting at my computer without very much to show for it. I spent quite a few hours trying to learn a new software to do recordings, which was frustrating, and pretty much spun my wheels on several fronts. I was trying to convince myself that since I was sitting in front of my computer that I was being productive.

I would have been much more productive if I had shut it down and walked away for several days to clear my head. I have actually done that and went and trained dogs for a few days, recentered and am now sitting down to write this particular Thoughtful Thursday before going out to train.

When I train, I have goals in mind. Criteria that I'm shifting to help create clarity for my dog, to build a skill or to generalize a behavior. If I find myself stewing in a particular behavioral place to long I have no problem putting up the dog, or slicing down the behavior to get us out of that place.

When I find myself doing a lot of busy work, or productive procrastination, and not handling some of the bigger things that need to get done, I realize I have to take a hard look at what is holding me in the place where I'm at. In dog training, it's usually a skill or behavior that I don't like training. This then results in not much progress or inconsistent progress being made.

Last year it was teaching blind send outs to my dogs. Now I love teaching them because I have focused on it for a few months and am seeing huge progress.

With Niko, I had a problem with his out, that was my primary goal this winter. Now we have huge progress, at least for us.

I'm still working on heeling.

So one of the things to ask yourself in your training, are you just busy training or are you productively training?

Now I'm off to productively do some computer work so I can reinforce myself by training!

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The K9Sensus Detection Dog Trainer Academy format has evolved into a year long program! We are now enrolling students for January of 2026 for the exact same price!

02/03/2025

Make sure to join Robin at the Symposium!!!!

Meet Robin Greubel, CEO of K9Sensus!

What will you learn from Robin?

This hands-on class provides handlers with practical exercises and enrichment activities to enhance their canine partner’s mental acuity, obedience, and physical fitness. Exercises and examples are the foundations of verbal directionals, functional obedience, and fitness activities tailored to support mission readiness and build engagement.

The course emphasizes free-shaping techniques and activities that develop trainer skills while encouraging dogs to think critically before acting. Additional focus areas include recognizing arousal and building the ability to manage frustration. This class strengthens the bond between handler and canine while preparing teams for operational challenges.

Join Robin at the 2025 U.S. Army MWD Symposium to enhance readiness, lethality, and mission success for MWD/K9 teams across the force.

Learn from the best. Train to win. Strengthen the force.

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27/02/2025

Thoughtful Thursday: Final response, indication, alert, or change of behavior?

Making sure we are all speaking a common vocabulary is important! It helps foster clear communication between all parties and circumvents confusion. Also, when we use very precise terms, we can have robust and productive conversations around the same thing! Whether we are talking to fellow canine trainers, clients, scientists, or our family, using the same words is always helpful.

In my travels, one of the most confusing terms are those surrounding the dog’s behavior telling us it found target odor. Depending on where you live alert, trained final response, or indication can all mean the same or different thing. In addition, there are the terms of change of behavior(CoB) and interest.

As you read through the definitions, notice the slight differences in the definitions. Alert encompasses the entire sequence of behaviors whereas final response is about one specific behavior. Change of behavior is how the handler interprets that the dog detects the trained odor/scent so being able to differentiate those behaviors from when a dog is working a distractor/diversion.

Why does this matter?

We do serious work with our dogs. We need to have robust and respectful conversations about training, deployments, and capabilities.

When the conversation stakes are high, having a common vocabulary reduces confusion, which is always good!

Tell me about a time where having a training conversation and you realized part way through you were talking about different things?

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You can check out all of the great documents that the ASB Dogs and Sensors committee has been up to. Make sure to look filter for Dogs and Sensors and published standards: https://www.aafs.org/search/standards

26/02/2025

Robin will be there as an instructor! For all of our military, law-enforcement, and NATO friends, please check it out!

Who: DoD MWD Program, DoD MWD Veterinary Services, Interagency, Law Enforcement, and NATO/Foreign K9 Partners

What: 2025 U.S. Army MWD Symposium

When: 26 April – 2 May 2025

Where: Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center, 5884 A St, Alpena, MI 49707

Why: Lethality and mission success start with strong leadership. This symposium focuses on advanced K9 training, professional military education, and leadership development to ensure MWD teams are prepared for combat, law enforcement, and domestic operations. Strengthening our leaders strengthens the force.

25/02/2025

Episode #132: "What Else Should you NOT Do with your Dog?"

"Can a dog excel at multiple areas in detection work, or will attempting multiple specialties only compromise their performance?

Our hosts Robin Greubel, Stacy Barnett, and Crystal Wing tackle not just the technical, but also the ethical and/or legal considerations of cross-training your dogs. After all, when a dog is run through both narcotics and explosives detection work and engaged in a high-stakes operation, the consequences can be disastrous if they are unable to respond to the right odors on time–simply because their training emphasizes diversity over specialization.

At the same time, if done strategically, it is possible to cross-train in order to supplement detection ability, rather than cause frustration as odors compete in the field.

“I don’t want to be the person that is responsible for a bad guy getting away or for not bringing somebody home.”

But it’s not just your dog’s interests and strengths that you have to consider, but your own as a handler as well. The Dames of Detection invite us to find our “why” when thinking about cross-training our canine. We need to consider our particular skill set and career goals before adding more training to our plate."

Listen to this episode on any podcast player or our website to see the show notes and special links:
https://www.k9detectioncollaborative.com/post/what-else-should-you-not-do-with-your-dog

Check out k9detectioncollaborative.com to enjoy the freebies and tell your friends so you can keep the conversations going.

Stacy can be found Scentsabilities Nosework Training on Facebook or on Instagram
Robin can be found K9Sensus Foundation on Facebook and Instagram
Crystal can be found on Facebook CB K9 or Evolution Working Dog Club or Instagram

21/02/2025

It's great to see additional research coming out evaluating training!

Things to understand is that even the use of the conditioned reinforcer (clicker/marker) depends on the observation skills and timing skills of the trainer, understanding how to manipulate your criteria and reinforcement!

From the study...."Compared to dogs trained with the reward only, dogs trained with the marker as a signal for reward completed the training phase in fewer trials, performed the alert response more accurately in the odor recognition test, indicated the location of the odor source more precisely in the operational searches, and exhibited greater resistance to extinction when the primary reward for a correct response was withheld. These results provide evidence supporting the effectiveness of markers in animal training, and demonstrate benefits specific to the challenges commonly faced in detection dog training."

Training detection dogs to alert to an odor requires precision in the timing and delivery of stimulus presentations in order to condition a strong association between odor and reward and to train a desired alert behavior that communicates the presence and location of the odor source. Marker training...

20/02/2025

Thoughtful Thursday: Where is your focus?

In this video...my focus was on that flag. The one I almost tripped over. I had plenty of space to step over it or walk to either side. My brain was half paying attention to my dog and the other half was saying, "DO NOT STEP ON THE FLAG!"

So what did I do.
I stepped on the flag.
I almost tripped over it.

The focus of this training problem was a longer search time (minimum of four minutes), in an unknown location, with a single bullet casing. I didn't have planned a scuffing handler stumble but that was added in as a last minute diversion for my dog. Flash didn't care.

I spent a lot of time giggling about this search on the way home and also realized it taught me a wonderful lesson.

That small flag was inconsequential in my search area. But because I was focused on it and gave it my attention, it literally almost tripped up my entire plan.What a great reminder to keep your attention focused on where you need it. Do not get distracted by the little waving flags, the short term easy fixes, the rabbit holes that distract you from your goal.

If you are focused on the obstacles in your path, the obstacles become bigger. Focus on the path and the goal, then you see the path around the obstacles.

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K9Sensus has launched a private coaching community! Make sure you join in for discussions, training advice, and support! https://www.k9sensus.org/k9sensuscoachingcommunity

20/02/2025

2 spots just opened in Wisconsin to train with Crystal. Check out this post for more information!

18/02/2025

Getting out in the community is always fun! Today it was a short trip to the Winterset Iowa High School to talk to their Human Biology class about cadaver dogs and how dogs smell. Flash came along as my teaching assistant since this is not Niko's cup of tea. Make sure you inspire the next generation of scientists!

17/02/2025

In honor of Presidents’ Day, we thought it would be fun to reflect on some lesser-known facts about past U.S. presidents. From Abraham Lincoln’s wrestling prowess to Calvin Coolidge’s fondness for raccoons, history holds many surprises beyond the politics!

Please do note that our office will be closed on Monday, February 17, in observance of the holiday, and we’ll reopen on Tuesday, February 18. If you need anything while we’re closed, don’t hesitate to reach out — we’ll respond as soon as possible upon our return.

15/02/2025

Don't say you weren't warned!

Class registration for Stacy's Nosework classes CLOSE today!! Yep, you CAN still have 24/7 access to those lectures and sample videos... and have access for at least a year... pretty cool! And totally affordable at $65.

Lots to choose from.... heads up... NW370 and NW465 don't come around very often in the rotation....

NW101 Introduction to Nosework: If you are interested in the sport, I will get you started off with solid foundations. Avoid the mistakes from Day 1!

NW370 Hide Placement for Powerful Training: Learn about Scent Theory and how to make it work for you to support Intentional Training and Search Area Analysis.

NW465 Making the Inaccessible Hide Easy: Start from scratch or fix your existing problems... or just make your dog stronger! Deep Hides, Contained Hides, High Hides. Systematic training!

Registration Links:
NW101: https://www.fenzidogsportsacademy.com/index.php/courses/13342
NW370: https://www.fenzidogsportsacademy.com/index.php/courses/4897
NW465: https://www.fenzidogsportsacademy.com/index.php/courses/31922

https://scentsabilitiesnw.com/online-classes/

14/02/2025

The Key to the High Drive Dog

Reflecting this morning and thinking about puppies, my mind went back to when I dipped my toe into the world of the high drive dog... I realized not only that the drive, when channeled, is a feeling like no other, but also how much work (and mistakes) it takes to get to the point of being effective with these incredible animals.

We can't underestimate the importance of the handler with these dogs because they will push us in ways that we didn't know existed and their world is truly sink or swim. And even when we eventually rise to the occasion, our blunders and mistakes can follow us with behaviors that might drive us a little crazy!

Is there a formula? Yep! There is... but there is no recipe. Ultimately we need Engagement and Focus though those two things can be like swinging at the moon with a golf club to the uninitiated.

1) PLAY. You HAVE to play with these dogs. Play makes you valuable. It makes you worth their time and helps them to decide that whatever you are doing is more important then the other options. BTW, this takes skill... in part because of #2.

2) CONNECTION. This is the hardest part of the Engagement Equation. Without connection, your dog might as well be playing by themselves. This is the YOU that you need to bring to the table. This may be voice, eye contact, facial expression, body postures.... this is what makes us reinforcing. BTW, this is hard to learn.

3) CRITERIA. When we train, we have to have a clear understanding of what exactly we are trying to reinforce and how to split that down into the parts that the dog can successfully understand. Of course, this is nothing without #4.

4) CONSISTENCY. Our dogs are smart but frustration or confusion can come out in detrimental ways with the high drive dog. With lower drive dogs, you get quitting. With high drive dogs you get at best creativity you don't want, and at worst, well... with some breeds that is where the ouchy parts might come in.

5) BOUNDARIES. Dogs need to understand how to dog in our world. What we can put up with in a less self motivated dog, a high drive dog will just make living with them difficult. Practicing self control and reinforcement for good choices turns into an easier to train dog who wants to work with you in general. This is hard too sometimes but every moment is a potential training moment!

6) LEARNING THEORY. Yeah, you need to know all about reinforcement and how it differs from rewards. And you need to be able to see and adjust arousal. And you need to know what increases desired behaviors and decreases unwanted ones. And you need to know how to adjust those within your own philosophical training approach, whatever that might be (this is NOT a training approach post!)

There are probably a smattering of other things but these are the things that I have learned.... and recognizing that when I started with high drive dogs I really didn't have any clue about what I needed to be successful. However, I am a good observer, a curious learner, and an intuitive trainer. That probably saved my bacon! I am still learning too!

These dogs are challenging. The trouble is, that when they come together they look so darn smooth... like on autopilot. Not.

13/02/2025

Thoughtful Thursday: Just Grow

Being seen can be seductive. Getting those clicks, likes, little heart emoji's and all that jazz. Did you know some of the highest employers of behavior analysts are the social media companies? They are trying to figure out how to keep all of us glued to our screens. Any one who is trying to sell you something is trying to figure out how to keep your eyes on their page, screen, or reel for more than three seconds. (BTW, thanks for reading this far!)

I found that limiting my screen time has been really important. I have more time to train my dogs, a lot more time growing and developing my training chops, and working on skills that I had let become rusty.

A lot more time refining how I think about training, and teaching, not only my dogs, but my students.
A lot more time reading, thinking, and watching trainers more advanced than I am train. Because we can always be better.

Reaching out to old mentors and cultivating relationships with new ones.

A lot of growth, even when watching videos of myself is not fun.

Each time I train I watch the video. Most of my training videos never see the light of day because they don't meet my standards. I missed a behavior, I set a problem poorly, my body language was off, my timing was slow and so on. I think this may be one of the reasons I spend a lot of time breaking things down into such thin slices, so that I limit the number of factors where I can possibly make a mistake. Thereby setting my dog up for success.

At the end of the day, dog training is not a competition with someone else. It is actually about how well you communicate with your canine partner.

One of the best compliments I have ever received was after a routine training day someone I didn't know well said to me, "the relationship you have with your dog is amazing, you were so in tune." That feeling of being in sync and mind melded with your dog is like a drug.

In a time where there is so much focus placed on what other people think, focus on your own growth.

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Join the K9Sensus Coaching Community for more growth opportunities! https://www.k9sensus.org/k9sensuscoachingcommunity