Meet the Instructors

Khara is the owner of “The Doggie Spot, LLC,” a training, grooming, and retail shop in Shawnee, Oklahoma, and is a NACSW™ Certifying Official and Judge. Her love of K9 Nose Work started in 2010 at the APDT Conference in Atlanta and progressed to instructing at both Georgia and Colorado Camps.

 Khara started teaching K9 Nose Work in 2011, while continuing to compete with her personal dogs in multiple trials.

Cooper, her first dog as a professional handler, got washed out of the Human Remains Detection Program at the age of 18 months due to environmental sensitivity leading to reactivity. “Super Duper Cooper” became the dog who started her career in Nose Work. In 2017 Cooper retired from Nosework competition after earning his ELT1. 

Over the years, Khara has run various dogs in K9 Nose Work. She currently has three dogs competing: Winnie (ACD/Bassett, Dachshund, Beagle, Rottie mix), Whiskey, (Yellow Labrador) and Cinnamon (Bavarian Mountain Hound), 

Khara is a Certified Professional Dog Trainer-Knowledge and Skills Assessed (CPDT-KSA), a professional member of the Association of Professional Dog Trainers (APDT), a member of the Animal Behavior Society (ABS), and a member of the North American Police Working Dog Association (NAPWDA), United States Police Canine Association (USPCA), National Network of Canine Detection Services (NNCDS), and a lifetime member of National Association for Search and Rescue (NASAR). Khara’s household includes: 8 rescue dogs, 2 human remains detection dogs, three rescue cats, one donkey, chickens, a rescue paint horse, a herd of Dorper sheep, and one VERY patient husband. 

Khara strongly believes that “Humans need to listen more to what the animals are telling us and learn to work with them, not against them.”