Alert! Scent Work

Joanne Soyke had a Border Collie named Flip who finally found a sport that let him use his powers for good rather than evil. From that moment, from competing to training to judging, she's made it her mission to bring the gift of scent work to every dog since. That mission is rooted in something she comes back to throughout this conversation. Dogs let us into their world when they search. They shar...

Melissa Sowa has been judging since buried hides had to be placed using a drill. She's competed through Summit in NACSW and detective in AKC, and judges for AKC, C-WAGS, and USCSS. When she talks about what works and what doesn't in this sport, she has seen it from just about every angle there is. And a lot of what she comes back to is the same idea. Take your time. At the start line. Covering you...

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 i...

Kristi Murdock might be the most appreciated person in AKC Scent Work. She built wesmellbetter.com, a free site that tracks every qualifying score, title, placement, and fastest-in-trial result in the sport. I talk to Kristi about the site's origin, what she thinks is the coolest feature more people need to know about, and how people use the site to increase their enjoyment of scent work. But this...

I ran under Karen Allen at a detective trial and didn't Q. What stayed with me wasn't the result, it was the feeling walking away. She was rooting for us. That's who she is as a judge, and it's a big part of why I wanted to have this conversation. One of the threads running through this whole conversation is how much we impact our dogs without realizing it. Body chatter. Disappointment going down...

When I started out in scent work, I thought it was simple: place a hide, dog finds the hide, call alert. Judith Guthrie started pulling that apart the first time I sat down near her at a trial. What she was saying about odor behavior and how handlers were impacting their dogs blew my mind. Judith brings together a deep understanding of odor theory, dog psychology, and handling strategy all in one...

In scent work, we talk a lot about odor theory, training, and handling technique. But there's something else affecting your performance, your dog's performance, and your experience of the sport that doesn't get nearly enough attention — pressure. Penny Scott-Fox has been watching what it does to competitors, dogs, clubs, and judges, and she wanted to talk about it. Before we get to the main topic,...

Many competitors have seen Ana's AKC trial debrief videos — breaking down hide placement, odor movement, and what teams were experiencing in the search area. In this episode, the judge, trainer, and competitor talks about the lessons she has learned from years of watching teams search. Before scent work, Ana had a career in medicine and medical education. She views judging as education — through t...

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 f...

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 perspecti...

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 a...

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 hiki...

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...

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 Interi...

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...

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 r...

Scent work isn’t just about ribbons. It’s about setbacks, resilience, and the bond that makes every trip to the start line a gift. In this episode, Tracy Hill offers practical takeaways for competitors while also opening up about the challenges that rarely make it to social media. From learning to process “no” to navigating the realities of a sick dog, she reflects on how those difficult moments s...

The first time I ran under Penny Scott Fox, she gave me a piece of feedback I still think about every time I step into a search area. We unpack what she meant by that comment — and how handlers can feel more confident calling finish when the run is actually done. A founding instructor with NACSW and one of the judges at the very first AKC scent work trial, Penny digs into why most handlers wait to...

Beyond her role as a judge and competitor, Donna opens the door to other ways the game is played that many handlers may not have seen before. She talks about why placing hides in training isn’t always about whether your dog can find them, a reward strategy in trial that could change how you earn a Q, and how to recognize and work around your own dog’s quirks. She also shares surprising advice for...

Excused from the crate area and rattled through her novice searches, Jennifer's first scent work trial was anything but smooth. Instead of quitting, that moment lit the fire. Jennifer talks about the overlooked skill that becomes critical in higher-level searches — especially buried; the hidden power of reward rituals that go beyond food; and how “my dog lies to me” usually means the dog is giving...

The distractor rule I learned the hard way from Ellen, and it can make the difference between qualifying or not. It was awkward in the moment, but unforgettable. We came back to that story, along with something I’ve noticed in Ellen's runs: when it looks like an alert to me, but she moves on. That led to a great discussion about the subtle signs of reading your dog and how every dog is unique. We...

Scent work wasn’t part of the plan. It started with Sam, anxious in agility but able to find his place in nose work. Then Rosie, her flat coat, lit up the moment she started searching, and her joy made the game contagious. Finally, Tana, the dog who was supposed to do agility but didn’t love it, found her stride in scent work and pulled Aleks all the way in. That was the start of an obsession with...

From first Qs to Detective titles, Hallie McMullen has been part of the journey for countless teams. Now she shares her judging philosophy and training insights. Hallie has judged for NACSW and AKC, while also competing with her own dogs and coaching teams through every stage of the sport. With more than 25 years of experience, starting in detection dog work before moving into sport, she brings a...

Episode Summary Laurie Schlossnagle helped build C-WAGS scent work and went on to judge the very first AKC Scent Work trial. In this conversation, she shares how she thinks through level-appropriate searches, why stable odor matters more than difficulty, and what handlers often overlook when competing. Laurie also reveals the personal story behind her signature distractor, and what it symbolizes b...