Meet the Education Team

Chris Mason is a Certified Nose Work Instructor with the National Association of Canine Scent Work (NACSW™) and is on the K9 Nose Work® Education Team as a member of the CNWI Manual Task Force. She teaches a group of regular students in the Los Angles area, gives seminars all over the country and is a regular instructor at K9 Nose Work® camps.

She has been training her own dogs since 1989 (obedience, agility, flyball, show ring), and training and competing with K9 Nose Work® dogs since 2008. Chris and her dog GoGo were the first team with a Bull Terrier to achieve the Elite Level in K9 Nose Work® competition. GoGo eventually achieved ELT2 before retiring from competition. Chris is currently handling Badger at Elite as well as starting her new youngster, Pixie.

Chris’s focus within the sport of K9 Nose Work® is working with breeds and types of dogs not always associated with canine performance sports – stubborn bull breeds, creative terrier types, and independent hounds. She has developed a unique set of tools, skills, and exercises for success with Nose Work dogs with their own agendas. She is also very active in developing a curriculum for working with puppies and young dogs to build a strong foundation for a later career in K9 Nose Work®.

Chris was a professional horse trainer and riding instructor for over 30 years, instructing and competing in equestrian sports and teaching people how to better understand their animals. She started riding at age 5 and competed in show jumping and dressage through her 20s. After moving to the east coast, she ran a combined-training competition barn in Maryland and finished her career specializing in dressage. In 2000, Chris retired from equestrian sport and moved back to her home state of California.

Chris also volunteered as a zoo keeper for several years at the Los Angeles Zoo, where she worked with birds, rhinoceroses, elephants, tapirs, and various other exotic animals. The only thing she loves doing as much as working with animals is teaching people to work with animals.

Chris lives in Los Angeles, California with her husband and two Bull Terriers.