Alert! Scent Work

Alert! Scent Work

Alert! Scent Work is a podcast for everyone who's fallen down the scent work rabbit hole — and loves it there. Scot sits down with judges, competitors, and community builders from AKC, NACSW, ASCA, UKC, and beyond for the conversations you've always wanted to have but never had time for on trial day. We talk nose work and scent work training philosophy, competition mindset, and the perspectives that shape how we think about this dog sport. We celebrate the wins, laugh at the disasters, and dig into origin stories — because how did any of us end up here, completely obsessed with watching our dogs use their noses? Whether you're trialing every weekend or just discovering K9 nose work and scent work for the first time, this show is about the whole scent work life — the sport, the dogs, and the community that makes it all worth it.

  1. Ana Cilursu | Seeing Searches the Way Your Dog Does

    5 DAYS AGO

    Ana Cilursu | Seeing Searches the Way Your Dog Does

    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 the hides she sets, the briefings she gives, and the debriefs she shares publicly after every trial. In my observation, that medical background shows up in how she approaches the sport — doctors are always learning, digesting new material, and teaching it to others at the same time. You can see that in how deeply Ana understands odor theory and how dogs work. And if you've ever wondered what the dogs would say about us in the parking lot after a trial — Ana has some thoughts on that too. What we talk about: Ana's origin story — this is a familiar story about how scent work wasn't even the thing until it was the thingThe recurring themes she sees across her debriefs — what handlers consistently struggle with and what the best teams do differentlyClose proximity hides and convergence — why handlers miss them and what to do about itWhy handlers over-handle under pressure — and what the dog thinks about itThe twenty-plus picnic table search — what Ana was testing and why competitors over-focused on the objects instead of the odorHow dogs perceive a search area versus how handlers perceive it — and why that difference mattersAna's distractor philosophy — why she uses food distractors, what she tests with them, and why gummy bears tripped up more dogs than baconWhy the boundaries define where hides are placed but not where odor goes — and how to help your dog collect information outside the search areaRetiring Axel from competition — and why making that call was the right thing for their teamSeven questions with Ana — what she loves to see teams celebrate, her signature distractor, the best compliment she ever received, and what Axel and VI would say about her as a handler Find Ana: YouTube: Ana Cilurso for her AKC trial debrief videos: Training: Rots-n-Nots Nosework Staten Island Companion Dog Training Club — nose work instructor 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. Listen to the podcast and find everything here: https://www.AlertScentWork.com Follow along: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlertScentWork Subscribe to the newsletter: https://www.alertscentwork.com/newsletter/ #ScentWork

    52 min
  2. Sandra Tung | Be a Hot Date for Your Dog

    23 FEB

    Sandra Tung | Be a Hot Date for Your Dog

    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 flipping burgers," and "your dog is the subject matter expert, and you are the manager." If you've ever watched a Sandra Tung student at a trial, you already know these sayings. Her reputation precedes her. We also dig into how to balance honoring your dog's choices with being a good partner, her lazy trainer philosophy for building drive and confidence, and what she actually looks for when she's judging a team — whether they Q or not. What we talk about: Sandra's origin story — from her first Shiba Inu and rally obedience to becoming one of AKC's first scent work judgesWhy the dog is the subject matter expert and the handler is the manager — and what that actually means in a searchBe a hot date — what it means, where it came from, and why it matters more than finding the perfect high-value treat *The difference between a good team and a top team — and why it almost always comes down to the handlerHow to read whether your dog is in a productive area versus an unproductive oneWhy odor doesn't care about boundaries — and what Sandra tells her students about letting their dogs go outside the search areaHer lazy trainer philosophy — training with purpose, keeping sessions short, and why simple hides in new environments will take you further than complicated puzzlesHow running Shiba Inus made her a better handler and trainerTeaching dogs to move on from a hide on their own — and why she didn't realize that was a skill until dog number fiveMemory systems for remembering where you found your hides at higher levelsWhat Sandra looks for when she places hides — and why she loves testing teams on things they don't expectSeven questions with Sandra — her dog's favorite reward, advice for her beginner scent work self, how she bounces back from a tough trial day, and the best compliment she ever received at a trial Find Sandra: AKC Judges Directory — search Sandra Tung to bring her to your trial 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. Listen to the podcast and find everything here: https://www.AlertScentWork.com Follow along: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlertScentWork Subscribe to the newsletter: https://www.alertscentwork.com/newsletter/ #scentwork

    44 min
  3. Vicky Lovejoy | Productive Parking Lot Chatter, Fun Searches, and Inclusivity in Scent Work

    9 FEB

    Vicky Lovejoy | Productive Parking Lot Chatter, Fun Searches, and Inclusivity in Scent Work

    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 perspective on scent work that very few people can offer — she has seen it from just about every angle, as a competitor, a judge, a trainer, and someone who was there when the sport was invented. Her dogs, by the way, all have an aviation theme. Beryl Markham, the pilot. Amelia Earhart's Lockheed Vega. Bessie the Fire Horse. Gaston — said with a French accent. And Phoenix, the outlier. What we talk about: Vicky's origin story — from a shepherd with elbow dysplasia to being one of the first people to compete in what would become organized scent workWhat hooked her — and why she describes the sport as the dog teaching us rather than the other way aroundHow breed and individual tendencies shape how dogs search — including why her shepherds would catalog hides and check the perimeter before committing, and why herding dogs often go to the back of the search area firstHow judging has influenced how she competes — and a story about forcing a false alert at the end of a long trial day that she still thinks aboutWhat makes a search fun — not just technically challenging, but genuinely enjoyable for dog and handler togetherHow she thinks about setting hides and what she hopes competitors take away from her searchesThe parking lot conversation after a low Q rate — and how to turn post-search analysis into something productive instead of just ventingCherish the engagement — what she means by that and why the bond you build through scent work is unlike anything elseSeven questions with Vicky — her dog's favorite rewards, including touch games and a boing, her signature distractor, advice for her beginner self, and what she wishes more competitors understood about judges Find Vicky: Scent Work University: https://www.scentworku.com/collections/meet-vicky-lovejoy AKC Judges Directory — search Victoria Lovejoy to bring her to your trial Based in Eastern Washington — travels nationally 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. Listen to the podcast and find everything here: https://www.AlertScentWork.com Follow along: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlertScentWork Subscribe to the newsletter: https://www.alertscentwork.com/newsletter/

    37 min

About

Alert! Scent Work is a podcast for everyone who's fallen down the scent work rabbit hole — and loves it there. Scot sits down with judges, competitors, and community builders from AKC, NACSW, ASCA, UKC, and beyond for the conversations you've always wanted to have but never had time for on trial day. We talk nose work and scent work training philosophy, competition mindset, and the perspectives that shape how we think about this dog sport. We celebrate the wins, laugh at the disasters, and dig into origin stories — because how did any of us end up here, completely obsessed with watching our dogs use their noses? Whether you're trialing every weekend or just discovering K9 nose work and scent work for the first time, this show is about the whole scent work life — the sport, the dogs, and the community that makes it all worth it.

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