Podcast Episode Details

Why you and your dog will love nose work with Bonnie Hartney

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Episode 46

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We learn what canine scent work is, why it's so good for dogs, and how to get started--and progress--in this activity with Certified Nose Work Instructor Bonnie Hartney of Ocean Park Dog Training.

We talk about:

• How Bonnie got started in scent work and how the activity first came about
• Why scent work is fun for dogs and for their humans
• What to expect at a beginner class
• Whether scent work is for all dogs
• The kinds of scent that are used, and how dogs progress from searching for food to searching for a target odour
• The kinds of searches that dogs can work up to
• What Bonnie has learned about her dogs from doing scent work
• Her advice for anyone taking a class 
• How Kristi's dog Archer is likely to do at scent work if she tries it
• Whether or not people can move from pet scent work classes to professional scent work
• And we find out what book Bonnie has been reading

If you'd like to give canine nose work a try, Bonnie recommends the following:

National Association of Canine Scent Work: https://www.nacsw.net/

Find an Instructor https://education.k9nosework.com/instructor_extsearch

Online Scent Training with Scent Work University:

https://www.scentworku.com/collections/foundation-sniffing-program

For shy and fearful dogs with Kelly Lee; https://www.dogkindtraining.com/sniff

The book Bonnie recommends is Finding Flora by Elinor Florence.

Bonnie Hartney is the owner and head instructor/trainer of Ocean Park Dog Training in Surrey, BC, which is AnimalKind accredited. Bonnie is a force-free, reward-based dog training professional, who brings knowledge and experience working with shelter dogs and pet dogs to advance other’s understanding of pet dog behaviour. Bonnie earned her CTC (Certificate in Training and Counselling) from a distinguished, international leader, Jean Donaldson at the Academy for Dog Trainers. To further her understanding of scent detection for pet dogs, Bonnie studied with NACSW (National Association of Canine Scent Work) founders and is a certified CNWI (Certified NoseWork Instructor) with 9

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About the co-hosts:

Kristi Benson is an honours graduate of, and now on staff with, the prestigious Academy for Dog Trainers and has her PCBC-A from the Pet Professional Accreditation Board. She lives in beautiful northern British Columbia, where she helps dog guardians through online classes. She is also a northern anthropologist.

Kristi Benson's website Facebook

Zazie Todd, PhD, is the award-winning author of Bark! The Science of Helping Your Anxious, Fearful, or Reactive Dog, Wag: The Science of Making Your Dog Happy and Purr: The Science of Making Your Cat Happy. She is the creator of the popular blog, Companion Animal Psychology, and has a column at Psychology Today. She lives in Maple Ridge, BC, with her husband, a dog and a cat.

Instagram BlueSky

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Published on 6 hours ago