Yes! The training wall was built in a way that it can be broken down and brought to other training venues. However the location should be within a reasonable driving distance from San Diego. Contact us for details.
While it may be true that your dog isn’t a “professional” but don’t doubt your dog’s ability to detect odor. Pet dog or Professional dog, their olfactory senses are amazing. Our training scenarios are challenging but we are right there with you to provide guidance and most importantly- feedback. More than once we have heard handlers say that they were surprised at just how good they did doing some very difficult scenarios. Set the bar high!
When we train with us, you get over 60 years of K9 experience. While all of our instructors have similar training philosophies, we each have our own style and methodology to obtain a training goal. You can pick and choose what works best for you. One instructor may have a technique that makes more sense to you and taught in a way that is clearer to you than the others.
The dogs need to be searching and indicating on all three target odors that are used in sports or whatever ever odor you bring. As a guideline, we have found that NW1 or similar status is preferred. Most professional teams should have at least one certification in their history (ie CA POST or CNCA). The majority of our seminars and workshops are not odor imprinting unless otherwise indicated. We do realize that some teams are advanced but just don’t have the titles or certifications. If you feel that are advanced enough to attend a seminar or workshop, just contact us and we’ll be happy to discuss it with you.
The main objective is that you learn from the mistakes you make at our seminar. Our philosophy is to challenge you- to really push your K9 teams limits. This isn’t a competition, this training- this is where you are supposed to make mistakes and handler errors. If a training session isn’t challenging, then we are just running through the motions. Not much is learned when training is easy and you just fly through it. This is also the place to try out something new and expand your skills.
A seminar is typically a 1 or 2 day event with multiple instructors. Seminar days are usually 8 hours long. Several elements such as vehicles, exteriors, interiors, or containers may be discussed and trained. Normal attendance is 24 to 30 working teams. A workshop is a smaller and shorter training session (4 hours or so) with just one instructor focused on one or two topics.
Using the training wall and it's other foundational partners (boxes and odor tubes) teaches the dogs to drive their noses into a target odor and a stronger indication when they reach the source. The dogs are also rewarded from the source and not the handler. This increases a dogs abilitity to work independantly and away from the handler. The farther the dog is from the handler, the chances are less for errors made by the end of the leash with two legs.
We provide the target odors used in NACSW (Anise, Birch, and Clove) however we are NOT limited to just these target odors. Bring whatever target odor you are trained for (narcotics, explosives, mold, bed bugs, etc.) and we will be happy to place those odors in the scenarios for you. Our seminars and workshops are open to all detection dogs.
After a safety brief, training site walk through, and any classroom instruction students are divided into working groups and given a running order. Students will stay in those groups throughout the seminar. Each working group will rotate through the search scenarios with a different instructor. Each scenario typically takes about two hours for the working group to complete. Students are highly encouraged to return to working group once they have completed a scenario and observe the other students. Students often learn more by watching the others go through the scenarios than they do going through it on their own.
