I met puppy Millie for the first time today, and OMG—she is amazing! Such a confident and bright pup! She has incredible potential and could honestly excel at anything because she’s so driven. We did some motivational searches with her, and she was as fast as lightning! I’d love to see her again and do even more with her.#lab #labrador #lablove #labpuppy #labradorpuppy
Thank you to Kathryn from @trailingk9s for sharing her knowledge with us and to everyone who attended and made these two days so special!
I had such a fantastic two days of mantrailing with the instructors! I’m so lucky to have such a supportive and cool group of instructors nearby. It was all about gaining more knowledge, having fun, and competing for the prize (because points mean prizes! 😆), all while having the best time in the best company.
Why did we meet up? Because we want to be the best at what we do. This wasn’t about progressing our dogs—it was about investing in ourselves. We trailed each other’s dogs where possible, so I was lucky to work with the fastest dog in the world—Speedy Gonzales (Gin, the Springer), the stunning and incredibly strong Nala (Catahoula Leopard Dog), the young, strong, and fast Avon (Retriever), and I even did some tracking with Odessa (Peruvian Inca Orchid)
Of course, we trail our own dogs, but to better understand our clients—who have dogs of different breeds, sizes, and behaviors—we also trail each other’s dogs. Plus, we took turns instructing each other. We were pushed out of our comfort zones more than once during these two days by Kathryn from TrailingK9s, but that’s the only way to grow!
We even used smoke bombs to visualize how scent moves in different environments—especially in places where dogs displayed certain behaviors, helping us understand the reasons behind them. What an amazing experience!
All the tagged instructors are committed to improving for their clients just as much as for themselves, which I think is so important when choosing an instructor.
My heart goes out to Alwyn—he’s very noise-sensitive (we couldn’t hear a thing, but he could, and I’m starting to get paranoid! 👻). ❤️
He’s such a clever boy, and I was extremely proud of him in our last session. He walked in with so much confidence and searched beautifully. Plus, his indication is just amazing! 👏🐾#welshspringerspaniel #scentdetection
Molly—I just love this girl with attitude! 😜 She’s making such amazing progress. Look at her little searches and that awesome indication! 👏🐾💪
💥SCI SCENT CONFERENCE 2025💥
The weekend was amazing! I’ve been watching webinars and listening to podcasts about scent for a long time because it’s such a fascinating topic, and there’s still so much we don’t know. 😱 That’s why it was incredible to finally see some of the experts I’ve been learning from live in one place! A huge thank you to Georgie from @endeavourcanine for organizing this—getting to listen to my top experts in person was an unforgettable experience.
The only thing that left me wanting more was time—I wish we had longer sessions with each speaker because their knowledge is unbelievable, and the way they presented was just fantastic.
Saturday:
🔹 Dr. Lauryn De Greef – The Good, the Bad, and the Smelly: All Things Detection Training Aids
🔹 Lilly Strassberg – Stimulus Control of Target Odours and the Trained Final Response
🔹 Paul Bunker – Saola: The Search for the Asian Unicorn with Detection Canines
🔹 Dr. Nathan Hall – Canine Sense and Scent Ability: Exploring Canine Detection Capabilities
🔹 Dr. Lorna Irish – Working at the Interface
🔹 Dr. Michele Maughan & Jenna Gadberry – The Movement and Manipulation of Odour Used for Detection
Sunday:
🔹 Dr. Lauryn De Greef – Odour Chemistry
🔹 Lilly Strassberg – Behaviour Fundamentals – Inspired by Simon Prins
🔹 Paul Bunker – Iguana Detection Canines: Meeting the Challenges of Training Canines to Detect Rare Species
🔹 Dr. Nathan Hall – Towards a Psychology of Canine Odour Perception
🔹 Dr. Lorna Irish – The Use of Dogs to Detect Human Remains
🔹 Dr. Michele Maughan & Jenna Gadberry – Training Aid Storage, Handling, and Usage Best Practices
As amazing as the learning was, one of the best parts of the weekend was catching up with so many great friends and meeting incredible people who share the same passion! It was fantastic to finally meet in person some of the people I’ve been following and learning from for so long. I’
Team Beni is just amazing! He’s searching for a catnip-scented objects, and his owner is really skilled at reading him. Beni is incredibly talented, which is why I’m spending my weekend thinking about how I can challenge this team. Last time, he found a scented mandarin, a hair bobble, and even a tiny piece of paper that was hidden behind the door! 😱 What will he find this week? Who knows—I’m still deciding! 🤣😈#boxer #boxerdog #boxerdogfans #boxerdogsofinstagram #boxerdoglovers
Nessa is so fast at everything she does that most of her photos are blurry🙈🤣#springer #springerspaniel #springerspanielsofinstagram #springerspanielpuppy
Molly is so funny—before she starts working, she has to run around and do the cutest shake-off I’ve ever seen! It starts from her nose and goes all the way to her tail—it’s just so cool to watch. I’ll try to record it for you. Her indication progression is coming along really well, and I just love watching her work!
