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 us
• The universal handler journey, why it looks the same for almost everyone, and why understanding it helps you push through the hard parts
• What focus on the dog really means when something is going wrong in a search
• How much involvement should a handler have, and what finding that equilibrium actually looks like
• Zeus, a dog-aggressive Doberman, and what scent work gave him that nothing else could
• The choice point, what it means for any dog to choose the work over whatever else is pulling at them
• What scent work surfaces about your dog during training and how to address it outside of a search so it stops costing you in the ring
• Dogs with challenges, reactive, fearful, dog aggressive, and what perspectives and approaches can actually help
• How closed off a handler's life can become around a difficult dog, and what starts to open up
• Scent work as the activity, not just the sport, and why Dianna will go to her grave defending every dog's right to play it
• Seven questions with Dianna, including what still delights her, the most rewarding thing someone has ever said to her, and the piece of advice that stuck

Find Dianna: scentworku.com All About Scent Work podcast

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.

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