The Scholarly ScentZ, LLC

03/25/2025

03/24/2025

It's a huge weekend recap for the students of TSS!

There were 8 handler teams with 9 competing dogs who attended the Columbus All Breed Training Club's AKC Scent Work trial. We made the most of the cold temps and avoiding the rain with a super fun potluck lunch over the 2 days.

A special shoutout to TSS student Alissa who volunteered over both days! It was great seeing my student getting out there to learn about AKC Scent Work and to donate her time so the rest of us could play!

The cliff notes version of the weekend: 2 days, 9 dogs, countless Qs, tons of placements, with 19 titles earned! We had a team make history for their breed! Additionally, for a HUGE first for my program there were THREE teams from TSS that earning HIT and 1 HITC in their levels across some very large classes!

I am so very proud of everyone, for putting in the work, building solid foundations and showcasing amazing sportsmanship over both days! I am super proud of our student community, it's really special!

Now onto the details for each team!

Huge congrats to TSS student team Denise and Gizmo who competed on Saturday earning their SCN, SIN, SEN, SBN, and overall SWN titles! They also earned their first Q towards their SHDN title! A special surprise announcement was made on Sunday that they earned HIT from Novice Trial 2 on Saturday!

Huge congrats to TSS student team Jenn and Ginko who both debuted for the first time in AKC Scent Work and they had an incredible showing! They earned their SIN, SEN, and SBN titles with Qs towards their SCN and overall SWN titles! Not only did team Ginko place in most of their runs, they also were another team that earned HIT from Novice Trial 2 on Sunday!

Huge congrats to TSS student team Cindy and C**t who earned their SEN, overall SWN, and SIA titles! They also earned Qs towards their SEA title and showed the world that short dogs can compete just as fast if not faster than the big dogs!

Huge congrats to TSS student team Cindy and Banner who earned their SEA and Qs towards their SBA and overall SWA titles! They also debuted in the Excellent level and showed strongly, which is a huge jump from Advanced and they did so well!

Huge congrats to TSS student team Alicia and Roy! Fresh off of competing at MOTC in Scent Work the weekend prior, they continued their strong performance earning their SBA, SCA, and overall SWA titles! Roy has come a super long way in his focus and clarity and I'm so proud!

Huge congrats to TSS student team Catherine and Q! Fresh off of competing at MOTC in Scent Work the weekend prior, they kept searching strong and earned their SBEE and overall SWEE titles, making them the 2nd Visla team ever to earn that level elite title! They also rocked it in Masters, earning their SCM and Qs towards their SEM, SIME, and SCME titles!

Huge congrats to TSS student team Ross and Ginger (not pictured) who earned their first detective Qs with placements! They also earned Qs towards their SIME and SEME as they inch closer to their SWME title!

I also had a chance to complete with both of my dogs on Sunday which was a great! We had great momentum coming into Sunday after a strong showing at MOTC the weekend prior!

Zuri earned Qs towards her SEEE, SIEE, SIME, and SHDME titles as we inch closer to the overall "super elite" designation for any team who has earned elite titles at all levels across all of the elements including HD!

Figment earned his SINE title and 1 Q towards his SENE and overall SWNE titles! He competed in all elements at Advanced earning Qs towards his SCA, SBAE, SIAE, SEAE, and SHDA titles! The best news came via my email inbox that we earned HIT AND HITC for Trial 2 Advanced on Sunday! I have never earned a HIT before and so that was super special for me!

I am so super amazed and proud of my teams, I'm lucky to instruct, coach, and mentor everyone in my student circle and beyond. I am really lucky to have such great teams who trust in me to train them!

03/21/2025

I just wanted to wish everyone stepping to the start line this weekend with their canine partners the best of luck, especially my TSS students competing this weekend!

03/20/2025

03/17/2025

WEBINAR DOUBLE HEADER!! Clearing Areas Part 1 and 2
THURSDAY, March 20 @ 3 PM PT and 6 PM PT, hosted by Fenzi Dog Sports Academy

Sign up at: https://www.fenzidogsportsacademy.com/self-study/webinars

Picture this. You step the line and survey several thousand square feet that you have to search. You only have a matter of a few minutes and you have no idea how many hides there are. There could be a bunch, or there could be absolutely none. You know your dog is amazing and you want so much for all of that great training to result in a confident, successful, and complete search. This webinar series has been developed with you in mind.

Clearing areas of unknown number of hides while under time pressure and as efficiently as possible requires you to have excellent observation skills of BOTH your dog AND the search area. In this two part presentation, we will cover both in depth. While you can watch just one part, you will get a full picture with both.

Part 1: What is your dog telling you?

If you are at the level where you don’t know how many hides there are, odds are you already know pretty well how to read your dog. You probably have a pretty good handle on things like changes of behavior and alert behavior… Or, maybe you are aspiring to this level and you want to learn what you need to train for next.

Part 1 covers an interpretation of the dog’s body language as they work things like unproductive space (areas without odor), pooling or trapping odor, converging odor, and high hides. We will also get explore what tells your dog gives you when there just isn’t anything else to find! Expect lots of example videos in different scenarios.

Part 2: What is the search area telling you?

As you increase in level, the need to also increase your situational awareness. This means that you need to be able to assess a search area in a way that you can quickly set the flow of the search based on a rapid evaluation of air flow. You will need to look for trouble spots and have a plan for how quickly (or thoroughly) you will cover each portion of the search area. And ultimately, you will need to be able to set your search pace so that you actually finish clearing the entire area without lingering too long in some spots or rushing through others.

Part 2 covers easy to remember rules of thumb for understanding air flow. For instance, did you know that air generally moves towards heat sources like windows? We will cover how these rules of thumbs should inform us as to the most efficient flow through the area in a way that our dog will get in the way of odor. We will also look at other major drivers of air flow and identify trouble areas or “traps” that can generate more than typical false alerts or eat up a handler’s time. Lastly, we will cover the concept of “pace” and how being aware of the pace with respect to search area coverage can minimize false alerts and missed hides.

NOTE: This is a repeat from 2022 so please check your library! That said, Q&A will be LIVE!

03/17/2025

Competition season kicked off for TSS and it's our first brag post of the year!

A small contingent of TSS teams ventured to the MOTC AKC Scent Work trial to play with our dogs and had some very challenging weather to work through, so I'm proud of all the teams for rocking it!

On Saturday TSS student team Catherine and Q earned their first Master title their Master Interior title! They also earned a Master Exterior Q towards their title and earned 2 Excellent Buried Q's towards their Excellent Buried Elite and overall Excellent Elite titles! I am proud to see them really gel as a team especially at Masters which is a true test of team work in AKC.

On Sunday TSS student team Alicia and Roy had an outstanding performance in Advanced with a near perfect day, earning their Advanced Container and Advanced Exterior titles, and Q's towards their Advanced Interior and Container titles. Not only did they do that, but much to her surprise they did so well that they earned HIGH IN TRIAL for trial 2 on Sunday! The advanced classes were massive so this was an incredible accomplishment and I'm so proud of how far this team has come in trust and focused searching on both ends of the leash!

I also took the opportunity to play with my dogs and did not come away empty handed. Zuri earned her HD Excellent Elite title and Q's towards her Master HD Elite, Excellent Exterior Elite, and Excellent Interior Elite titles! Figment earned his HD Novice Elite and Container Novice Elite titles as well as Q's towards his Novice Interior Elite and Novice Exterior Elite titles closing in on his overall Novice Elite title. He also debuted in Advanced across all elements landing his Advanced Interior, Advanced Exterior, and Advanced Buried titles as well as Q's towards his Advanced Container and Advanced HD titles.

I'm so proud of all of the TSS teams and can't wait to cheer even more of them on this upcoming weekend at the CATC AKC Scent Work trial!

03/14/2025

Good luck to everyone stepping to the line this weekend with their canine partners, especially my TSS teams trialing at MOTC this weekend!

03/14/2025

🐕🍄 Morel mushroom season is almost here, and your dog can help you find the jackpot! Join Dr. Linda Randall's Morel Mushroom Hunting class starting March 22 and train your pup to sniff out these tasty treasures!

Sign up now, space is limited!

03/12/2025

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 12TH @ 6PM!!

We get a little behind on posting this webinar, but you DO NOT WANT TO MISS OUT!

In this webinar we will go over all of the things to think about OUTSIDE of training to prepare you for your next trial or ORT. You will learn what you can expect on a trial day and how you can best prepare for a fun day with your dog. This is not limited to NACSW - if you have questions about other organizations we can answer them!

Lori will cover her list of frequently asked questions and then we will open the webinar up for all of YOUR questions. This webinar will be informal and participation is encouraged.

Do you need to know where everyone gets their gear and what you need for trial day? How do you motivate your dog after the mid-day break? What trials can you/should you enter? Rule questions??? What to do while you're waiting...all day.

If you can't make the live webinar, no worries - it will be recorded! Participants who attend live will also receive the recorded version. If you can't attend live and have burning questions that you need answered - send them to us in advance and we will make sure we cover them.

We're looking forward to "seeing" you there! Registration can be found on the Workshops & Events page of the website.

03/11/2025

NW camp in Colorado opens in 2 days! One day I hope to make it out there!

Hi All, we are going to open up general registration for Colorado camp a little earlier than planned.

03/08/2025

03/06/2025

Becoming the best handler and partner for your dog starts with one powerful foundation—believing in yourself.

While believing in your dog is easy, self acceptance can be difficult, especially in the face of adversity.
Setbacks in training are inevitable; it’s how you handle those moments that will define your partnership.

Your wins won't shape you as a trainer; what you overcome empowers your development, resilience, integrity, and confidence far more than any victory ever could.
Part of believing in yourself is self-acceptance. It includes not being preoccupied with what others think or say about you and letting go of expectations.

Fear of failure is probably the number 1 obstacle we see for dog/handler teams but I believe it’s important to normalize fear. It’s ok to be afraid,
‘courage isn’t the absence of fear, it’s being afraid and doing it anyway’
How you rise is far more important than the fall.
—You become what you practice and rehearse. Consistent good habits lead to mastery and confidence.

Honest assessment of both yourself and your dog provide a roadmap for improvement. This clarity gives you direction and the ability to improve with purpose.
Everyone wants to do well, but some don’t want to hear that it takes time, often years of study and dedication, to be successful. It’s the work that leads to the results.

Developing self-belief includes focusing on the process, not the outcome.
Embrace that you may need to improve and change…
Humans are the only beings that can be different tomorrow, simply by making the decision to do so; an amazing opportunity.

Follow a proven methodology and believe in it.
Believe in doing the work.
Believe there is not one definition of success.
Believe in your partnership with your dog.
Believe in yourself—

macraway.com