Alert! Scent Work

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 judges
• Why the dog is the subject matter expert and the handler is the manager — and what that actually means in a search
• Be 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 handler
• How to read whether your dog is in a productive area versus an unproductive one
• Why odor doesn't care about boundaries — and what Sandra tells her students about letting their dogs go outside the search area
• Her lazy trainer philosophy — training with purpose, keeping sessions short, and why simple hides in new environments will take you further than complicated puzzles
• How running Shiba Inus made her a better handler and trainer
• Teaching dogs to move on from a hide on their own — and why she didn't realize that was a skill until dog number five
• Memory systems for remembering where you found your hides at higher levels
• What Sandra looks for when she places hides — and why she loves testing teams on things they don't expect
• Seven 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 trial

Find Sandra:

AKC Judges Directory — search Sandra Tung to bring her to your trial

Alert! 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.com

Follow along: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlertScentWork

Subscribe to the newsletter: https://www.alertscentwork.com/newsletter/ #scentwork

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 figuring out what this sport could be alongside founders Ron Gaunt, Amy Herot, and Jill Marie O'Brien.

She has been competing and judging across AKC, NACSW, UKC, NASDA, and more ever since. In this episode, Vicky brings a perspective on scent work that very few people can offer — she has seen it from just about every angle, as a competitor, a judge, a trainer, and someone who was there when the sport was invented. Her dogs, by the way, all have an aviation theme. Beryl Markham, the pilot. Amelia Earhart's Lockheed Vega. Bessie the Fire Horse. Gaston — said with a French accent. And Phoenix, the outlier.

What we talk about:

• Vicky's origin story — from a shepherd with elbow dysplasia to being one of the first people to compete in what would become organized scent work
• What hooked her — and why she describes the sport as the dog teaching us rather than the other way around
• How breed and individual tendencies shape how dogs search — including why her shepherds would catalog hides and check the perimeter before committing, and why herding dogs often go to the back of the search area first
• How judging has influenced how she competes — and a story about forcing a false alert at the end of a long trial day that she still thinks about
• What makes a search fun — not just technically challenging, but genuinely enjoyable for dog and handler together
• How she thinks about setting hides and what she hopes competitors take away from her searches
• The parking lot conversation after a low Q rate — and how to turn post-search analysis into something productive instead of just venting
• Cherish the engagement — what she means by that and why the bond you build through scent work is unlike anything else
• Seven questions with Vicky — her dog's favorite rewards, including touch games and a boing, her signature distractor, advice for her beginner self, and what she wishes more competitors understood about judges

Find Vicky:

Scent Work University: https://www.scentworku.com/collections/meet-vicky-lovejoy

AKC Judges Directory — search Victoria Lovejoy to bring her to your trial Based in Eastern Washington — travels nationally

Alert! 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.com

Follow along: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlertScentWork

Subscribe to the newsletter: https://www.alertscentwork.com/newsletter/

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 competitor, trainer, and judge with CWAGS and UKC. She shares how scent work challenged her not just as a handler and trainer, but as a human — and how working with very different dogs has shaped the way she competes and judges.

We talk about scent work as a confidence builder for dogs who struggle in the world and for handlers who are still finding their footing. Lisa explores what it really means to let the dog lead, how to recognize when not to interrupt, and why giving dogs real decision-making power changes the search for both dog and handler.

We also dig into something most competitors wrestle with — how to celebrate and reward after a search that didn't go your way. And Lisa said something I'm still thinking about: the marker tells them when they did the right thing. The reward is about the relationship.

What we talk about:

• Lisa's origin story — how a friend named Toni kept bugging her about scent work, and why Luna changed everything once she finally said yes
• I train because of Luna, but I train the way I do because of Stark — what a difficult cattle dog taught Lisa about confidence, calm conversations, and choice
• Why confidence and scent work are more similar than people realize — and why the people who need one often resist the other
• What overconfidence actually is — and why it's not confidence at all
• Scent work as a safe space — why dogs who struggle in the world often thrive at a trial, and what that does for them over time
• The delicate dance of letting your dog lead — when to follow, when to step in, and how different dogs need completely different things from the same handler
• How having four very different dogs has shaped the way Lisa judges — and why judges who've only run one breed can develop blind spots
• Luna's master title — what that ribbon on the wall means, why Lisa has never watched the video, and why she wishes she hadn't been so focused on the goal
• What it means that scent work is a gift to us as handlers — not just to our dogs
• The reward sequence after a search that didn't go your way — and why the reward is about the relationship, not the result
• Why the best parties Lisa has ever seen as a judge were for dogs that didn't qualify
• Seven questions with Lisa — including the advice she'd give her beginner self, what her dogs would say about her as a handler, and why her business is called Quibbles and Bits

Find Lisa: quibblesandbits.com

Alert! 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.co

Follow along: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlertScentWork

Subscribe to the newsletter: https://www.alertscentwork.com/newsletter/

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 about pathways to odor. That was one of the moments that split my scent work journey into before-and-after. I almost skipped, and I haven't seen a search the same way since.

From clear interstates straight to source, to faint hiking trails that disappear into the overgrowth, Jill explains how dogs collect information long before they reach source — and why searching is a process, not a moment. She also talks about tendrils: the smaller threads of odor that branch off the main pathway, sometimes connecting back, sometimes breaking off entirely.

We also dig into how NACSW judging and certifying official roles differ from AKC, how judges determine a yes versus a no in a search — and what happens when a judge realizes mid-trial they got it wrong. Plus the challenge of wearing multiple hats at a trial without letting those roles bleed into your own searches.

What we talk about:

• Pathways to odor — why this framing changed how Scot reads his dog in a search
• The difference between an interstate to source and a hiking trail that disappears into the brush
• Odor tendrils — the smaller threads that branch off the main pathway and how they help explain pooling and trapping
• Ron Gaunt's influence on Jill — collection of information, the conversation the dog is having, and why Ron hides were set the way they were
• Why scent work made sense to Jill when other dog sports didn't — and what it means to be on even ground with every other dog trainer when a sport is new
• The difference between a certifying official and a judge in NACSW — and why AKC combines both roles
• How NACSW works toward consistency across regions so that an NW3 on the East Coast feels similar to one in Colorado
• What judges are actually evaluating — and what happens when a judge realizes mid-trial they got it wrong
• The challenge of hosting a trial and competing in it — and why Jill's results are showing her a different story than the one she tells herself
• Why miles matter more than a pre-search routine — and the ritual Jill doesn't realize she has
• Seven questions with Jill — including what she loves to see when she's judging, her dog's favorite reward, the best piece of advice that stuck with her, and what her dogs would say about her as a handler

Find Jill: MountainDogs.org

Scent Work University: ScentWorkU.com — search Jill Kovacevich

K9 Scent Fix podcast — with Aleks Woodroffe

Alert! 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.com

Follow along: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlertScentWork

Subscribe to the newsletter: https://www.alertscentwork.com/newsletter/

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 be the most important skill in the sport. She also reflects on the challenges and pressure she feels as a judge, balancing fairness, difficulty, and the desire for competitors to succeed.

Patrice shares why giving your dog just a few extra seconds can change an entire search, how handlers often interrupt problem-solving without realizing it, and what she notices from the judge’s side when teams succeed. We also explore her dog’s tendency to blast through thresholds, and how learning to work with that reality led to better strategy and less frustration.

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Season 1 is wrapped. Thank you for listening and sharing at trials!

The judge lineup for season 2 will be announced next week on my email list and Facebook.

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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, how the event was structured, and what it feels like to carry that kind of responsibility, judging the top AKC Scent Work teams at the first Scent Work Master Nationals.

We talk about how she approached designing her Master Interior and buried searches, what she observed from the teams over the three days, insights into the scoring system, and what she would make sure to practice if she were entering AKC Master Nationals as a competitor.

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 was like to compete, how she viewed the hide sets and scoring system as a judge, and what she thinks could be improved for future events from an organizer’s perspective.

Penny also talks about the strategy that kept her from getting caught up in the leaderboard, how she approached the event as a marathon rather than a sprint, and how the new scoring system completely changed her handling plan.

It’s a thoughtful look at the first-ever Master National from someone who’s helped shape the sport since its beginning.

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 first-ever AKC Master National Scent Work Champions. Leigh takes us inside the event, describing the search areas, the pressure, and the strategy that turned a shaky start into being the first-ever national champions.

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 the highest-placing Australian Shepherd. A few years earlier, a trainer told her Neo didn’t have the drive to be competitive, so you can imagine how good it felt when he finished sixth overall.

She talks about what the weekend was really like, the nerves, the searches, the challenges, and her advice if you're thinking about going next year. You’ll hear how she trained, what surprised her once she got there, and the mindset that helped her actually enjoy it.