About this podcast
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.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 29 episodes
- Dylan Kyle - The Making of a Judge · 41 min · Season 3 Episode 5What does it actually take to become an AKC Scent Work judge? Dylan Kyle from Marysville, Ohio and I both got our provisional approvals on the same day. Him for excellent…
- Penny Scott-Fox & Jeff McMahon | Penny Scott-Fox and Jeff McMahon | Getting the Most Out of a Scent Work Camp · 37 min · Season 3 Episode 4When you go to a scent work camp or an all-day seminar, how do you get the most out of it? What stops people from fully committing to new ideas? And when you leave with a…
- Caroline Oldham | Make the Journey the Priority · 59 min · Season 3 Episode 3If the journey with your dog in this sport is the priority, success can fall into place for any team. And Caroline Oldham puts a lot of effort into focusing on the journey. And…
- Joanne Soyke | Becoming a Better Listener · 47 min · Season 3 Episode 2Joanne 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…
- Melissa Sowa | Take Your Time · 55 min · Season 3 Episode 1Melissa 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…
- Dianna Santos | Odor Will Humble You · 49 min · Season 2 Episode 11Dianna 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…
- Kristi Murdock | The Smellevangelist Behind WeSmellBetter.com · 45 min · Season 2 Episode 10Kristi 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…
- Karen Allen | How Much We Impact Our Dogs Without Realizing It · 26 min · Season 2 Episode 9I 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…
- Judith Guthrie | The Judging Framework That Makes You a Better Competitor · 51 min · Season 2 Episode 8When 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…
- Penny Scott-Fox | Pressure in Scent Work — How It's Affecting Everyone and What We Can Do · 40 min · Season 2 Episode 7In 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…
- Ana Cilursu | Seeing Searches the Way Your Dog Does · 52 min · Season 2 Episode 6Many 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…
- Sandra Tung | Be a Hot Date for Your Dog · 44 min · Season 2 Episode 5One 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…
- Vicky Lovejoy | Productive Parking Lot Chatter, Fun Searches, and Inclusivity in Scent Work · 37 min · Season 2 Episode 4Vicky 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…
- Lisa Quibell | When Scent Work Changes Both Dog and Handler · 49 min · Season 2 Episode 3For 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…
- Jill Kovacevich | Pathways to Odor · 27 min · Season 2 Episode 2I 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…
- Patrice Dodd | The Power of Presence and Attention in Scent Work · 40 min · Season 2 Episode 1AKC 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…
- Mary Quinn | Judging AKC Master Nationals · 38 min · Season 1 Episode 12From 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…
- Penny Scott-Fox | Lessons from the First Master National · 32 min · Season 1 Episode 11At 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…
- Leigh and Rhubarb | From Day One Setback To Master National Champions · 51 min · Season 1 Episode 10One 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…
- Lena and Neo | Proving Them Wrong at Master Nationals · 37 min · Season 1 Episode 9Lena 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…
