What to listen for:

Our hosts, Robin Greubel, Stacy Barnett, and Crystal Wing, break down how time, airflow, and placement reshape detection dog work!

They kick things off by describing a week of hides left up to 96 hours, the longest-out scenario that reveals how odor pools migrate and change. Drawing from this experience, our hosts brainstorm creative ways to design hides that can better help your dog read scents.

Central is the concept of "odor availability", which explains why surface area, sealing, and enclosure control whether a source itself (and not merely source size) ever presents to a dog.

Using a paint-flow metaphor, they explain how multiple sources age and send "tendrils" of scent through a structure, forcing dogs to sort overlapping plumes to find dominant streams.

They stress that short-set hides (minutes) produce different search behaviors than long-set hides (days), and that sport trials, which run many teams, may not reflect operational realities.

Robin, Stacy, and Crystal urge handlers to read odor-pool cues, practice sourcing through mixed plumes, and intentionally vary hide age and intensity so dogs learn robust, transferable detection skills across environments.

Key Topics:

• Why Replicate Longer Set Times and How to Mimic Aging (00:47)
• Defining “Odor Availability” (Surface Area, Sealing, Enclosure) (03:21)
• Paint-Flow and Tendrils Metaphor for Overlapping Sources (07:20)
• Odor Pools, Building “Breathing” and the Effects of Doors and Venting (11:46)
• Q-Tip Preparation, Dropper Size and Concentration Variability (19:51)
• Practical Hacks to Mimic Long Sets (Cent-Transfer, Freezing, Mixing) (36:14)
• Short-Set (Minutes) vs Long-Set (Days) and Sport vs Operational Hides (42:46)
• Upcoming Workshops (50:01)

Resources:

• Sniffer dogs tested in real-world scenarios reveal need for wider access to explosives, study finds (article)
• K9Nosework Source
• SciK9 Graphic
• K9Sensus Detection Dog Trainer Academy
• K9Sensus Next Years Schedule
• Fenzi DSA Link 

We want to hear from you:

• Check out the K9 Detection Collaborative FB page and comment on the episode post!
• K9Sensus Detection Dog Trainer Academy
• 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 (CB K9) can be found here!
• You can follow us for notifications of upcoming episodes, find us at k9detectioncollaborative.com