One of the hurdles we have to overcome is in the sales of dogs. Everyone would like to have a clear understanding of what the assessment will look like and how it is evaluated – including existing vendors. A vendor recently brought 11 dogs to be evaluated for the DOD (Department of Defense). This vendor […]

Above is the primary website for doing large contract business with federal agencies. If you set the search for 365 days and use key word canines you can see current offerings and some contracts awarded in the past year. I have pulled out some general statements from some of the offerings. There is much more […]

This program has been helping people to raise detection dogs since February of 2019. That means that we have people now with adult dogs who want to know what the next step is for them to have the dog looked at for purchase. The how of it is a little complicated. It is complicated by […]

I watched a very interesting movie last week. The central theme was based on the unreliable narrator. This concept is one of great import to raising and training dogs. Everyone that keeps a dog thinks there is something profoundly unique about their dog. Their narrative is highly biased, based on their feeling for their dog, […]

I will be blogging this week on the hunt test assessment. I would like to thank those who have sent videos of their assessment attempts; it shows me what I need to do to make the process standardized for everyone. The reason this test is important is that it is a test validated across 600 […]

Here is the sequence of events for the TSA/ACS Hunt test. Remember, it should be done in the same order every time. 1. A walk to the site for Chase Retrieve (located near the site for the Hidden Grass test). 2. Chase Retrieve - Tease the dog with the scented rolled towel in a manner that you can create focus and […]

Resilience is far more that environmental soundness and social ability. Resilience is the ability to continue to perform functional training under stresses that are both natural and artificial. The typical pet dog spends most of its days in very calm and familiar places. The working detection dog lives his life in almost an opposite environment […]

English novelists of centuries past gave us timeless characters who hopscotched from the printed page into our cultural consciousness, from Daniel DeFoe’s “Robinson Crusoe” to Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein.” And in the dog world, there is one exceedingly rare terrier that owes its name – and arguably its continued existence – to a peripheral character in […]

Like many of you in the sport, I haven’t been to a dog show since early March. The cancellation of shows nationwide began a little later that month, as we sheltered in place to deal with the pandemic. Of course, our lives in dogs continued during that forced hiatus; we whelped litters, groomed, kept up […]

For Valerie Schuter, doing a good deed for a dog turned into her downsizing Pinschers. The 30-year Doberman Pinscher breeder and rescue volunteer helped another breeder and ended up transitioning to the smaller German Pinschers—notably Bentley—GCH Diamond Bay A Chevelle Bentley Tribute. This conformation Grand Champion has a passion for people and racked up 13 […]