Today, Stacy, Robin, and Crystal sit down with special guest Amy Herot, co-founder of K9 Nose Work. Amy has over 20 years of experience under her belt as a trainer, handler, and educator. She has certified teams in Narcotics and Explosives and has logged over 1,500 instructional hours in detection dog training.

Amy kicks off the conversation by sharing what drew her to the world of detection and how initial experiments with essential oils eventually led to the development of K9 Nose Work’s methodology as it exists today.

“We didn’t say, ‘Let’s create a dog sport.’ We just said, ‘Let’s create an outlet for dogs to have fun and for people to learn about this side of their dog.’” For Amy and her team, the community they created was dedicated to building who the dog is and encouraging our furry friends to bring us into their world in order to better understand and work with them.

Listen in as Amy shares how to get the best out of Nose Work competitions by letting your dog be the star of the show, navigating competition nerves, knowing how best to work with a ‘reactive dog,’ and using nosework to improve yourself holistically as a K9 trainer.

Key Topics:

• Amy’s background in detection work (01:54)
• The goal of K9 Nose Work (09:21)
• Behind the glamor of detection work (15:40)
• What’s next for K9 Nose Work? (23:08)
• Letting the dog be the star of the show (30:20)
• What Amy would change or add to nosework competitions (35:16)
• Competition nerves (42:11)
• Working with a reactive dog (50:27)
• How nosework makes you a better trainer overall (50:21)
• How nosework practitioners pick their dogs (56:37)
• How Amy would explain her profession to her parents (58:47)

Resources:

• Find Amy here
• Learn how to host a trial
• Learn how to become an instructor

We want to hear from you:

• Check out the K9 Detection Collaborative FB page and comment on the episode post!
• K9Sensus Foundation can be found on Facebook and Instagram. We have a Trainer’s Group on Facebook!
• Scentsabilities Nosework is also on Facebook. Here is a Facebook group you should join!
• Crystal Wing K9 Coach can be found here!
• You can follow us for notifications of upcoming episodes, find us at k9detectioncollaborative.com to enjoy the freebies and tell your friends so you can keep the conversations going.

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