Have you ever been to a Scent Work trial, and the atmosphere was just...wrong? Everyone seemed stressed and miserable, and a dark cloud hung over everyone and everything? There are plenty of reasons why this can happen, but you as a competitor can help prevent it!

In this episode, we discuss what Scent Work trial officials dread, and in so doing, showcasing what they would deem the "ideal competitor", the competitor who refrains from doing some of the very things that can drag a trial down. Now, that is not to say all the blame or responsibility lies at the feet of the competitors. Nothing could be further from the truth! But, this is a topic not many competitors think about, or give enough credence to. You, as the competitor, are a crucial part of the puzzle to ensure your Scent Work trial goes well! So let's figure what you should do, and pitfalls to avoid.

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Scent Work University is an online dog training platform focused on all things Scent Work. SWU courses and webinars are not only for those who are interested in competiton, but also for those dog owners who are simply looking for something fun and engaging to do with their dogs. Check out Scent Work University today!

Interested in another dog sport, or looking for help getting your dog to learn some manners? Dog Sport University is sister online dog training platform, give it a peek and see what it has to offer you and your dog.

PODCAST TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to the Scent Work University All About Scent Work podcast. In this podcast we'll be talking about all things Scent Work. We'll be giving you behind the scenes look as far as what your instructor or trial officials may be going through, we'll be giving you training tips, and we'll just be discussing everything that goes along with doing Scent Work with your dog, whether you're interested in competition or not.

In this episode we're going to be talking about what officials would consider an ideal competitor at a Scent Work trial, and how you may be able to work towards becoming one of those ideal competitors. All right, let's get started.

Before we get started, I just want to take a really quick moment to introduce myself. My name is Dianna Santos. I'm the Owner and Lead Instructor for both Scent Work University and Dog Sport University. These are online dog training platforms that are designed to connect outstanding trainers with as many dog owners as possible. Both SWU and DSU are designed to provide quality, convenience, and flexibility. We hope that you'll check them out to see if there are any online programs that may be suitable for both you and your dog. Without further ado, let's dive into the podcast.

If you're competing in Scent Work, more often than not you've been at a trial where things just didn't seem to go all that well. Things went left. Everyone seemed stressed. The atmosphere wasn't all that great. Maybe there was some toxic people in the parking lot. Maybe there were just some other competitors who just didn't seem as though they were in this for the right reasons.

With this podcast what I want to talk about is from an official's perspective what it is that competitors can do in order to ensure that the trials don't ever get to that point. Now that's not say that all the responsibility lies in the shoulders of the competitors. That's not true. It is absolutely true that the competitors can be there in the right frame of mind, that officials could be there in the right frame of mind, and maybe the host isn't. Or maybe the host and the competitors are, but the officials aren't. It is definitely a group effort. If one of those elements is not working the way that it should, then it can affect the entire experience.

But what I'm hoping in this podcast to achieve is an understanding of just how important the competitors are to this whole formula, and that there are things that you can do to help improve the experience for everyone, and also it can help your overall performance becaus