National Association of Canine Scent Work®
Instructor Certification Program Submission Guidelines

You will be eligible for the ANWI℠  title after you have completed the following:

• Days 1- 4 of the 8-day instructor course
• Midterm exam
• You have started teaching or have taught an Intro to K9 Nose Work® class or led a practice group

Once you have completed the above requirements, please email submissions@k9nosework.com to have your status changed to ANWI. Once your status has been changed, it will be reflected in the K9 Nose Work website’s “Find an Instructor” search page. Please update your business information in your instructor portal and check the option to be included in “Offers Online Classes” and/or “Show in Public Search” if you would like to be included.

Please send emails regarding your ANWI℠ status to submissions@k9nosework.com with the following subject line:

Name, ANWI Status Update (Example: Mary Smith, ANWI Status Update)

The Training Strand documents classes you’ve taken with a CNWI℠, ANWI℠ or PNWI℠ as a student. In the Training Strand Notes, please list only:

• As of 2024: Intro to K9NW℠ webinar with founders (included in instructor course fee)
• Intro to Odor (Date taken and instructor’s name)
• Exterior (Date taken and instructor’s name)
• Vehicle (Date taken and instructor’s name)

The Applied Training Strand documents classes you have taught. In the Applied Training Strand Notes, please list only:

• Intro to K9 Nose Work® (Date taught)
• Intro to Odor (Date taught)
• Exterior (Date taught)
• Vehicle (Date taught)

Video Content

Instructors should submit sample video of their classes, practice group, and/or shelter dog sessions using either YouTube unlisted link (NOT PRIVATE), Vimeo link or GoogleDrive link (be sure to set video so anyone with link can view. You can change it after review).

General submission information: You may create one large, edited video of all 4 classes, or you may submit separate shorter videos of each of the 4 classes. If you submit a compilation of all required video requirements, please label/title each section so we can easily navigate the video and/or find segments for follow up as needed. The total time of all video(s) should not exceed 35 minutes COMBINED or SUBMITTED INDIVIDUALLY ALL TOGETHER NOT MORE THAN 35 minutes.

Videos do not need to be submitted in any particular order if you are breaking them into individual segments. Some instructors may teach vehicles and exteriors with primary reward or may be instructing a combination class. However, the skills of each element should be demonstrated clearly. We recommend you record all dogs on your first lesson of each level or element, so any follow up recordings of those classes are more likely to ensure you have followed up with dogs from the first class. Submissions should aim to include at least two types of dogs per class. (Example: One run of the Maltese and one run of the German Shepherd on day one of Intro to Nose Work.) The video should be comprised of a couple of runs, ideally video should also include narration by the prospective instructor (coaching a team or instructing a group).

What are we looking for to be submitted? 

Videos of:

• Introduction to K9 Nose Work®
  • Class logistics and set up for dogs: search area set up, crate/car crate area away from search area (dogs should not be crated nor working in the line of sight or vicinity of non-searching dog), where will handlers be stationed to watch, entry/exit plan for teams coming and going from searches. The class logistics and set up for dogs is only necessary for Intro to K9 Nose Work. It is not required for Intro to Odor, Intro to Vehicles or Intro to Exteriors.
  • Instructor specific: Intro/first session lecture approximately 5 minutes (for example: History of K9NW/NACSW & nose work sports in general, rules of the class, what they can expect from a K9NW class specifically, etc.)
  • 2 dogs from the first session/first runs plus those same dogs from week 5 or 6. These should be under 1 minute per dog, per run, so approximately 4 minutes total.
  • Dogs appear to be working independently

• K9 Nose Work® Intro to Odor Class
  • Instructor specific: Intro to odor/first session lecture approximately 5 minutes (for example: Odors used for NACSW [or other odors from the country where your classes are taught if odors are different than NACSW], what they can expect from a K9NW Odor class specifically, how, and why we intro odors using the process we do etc.)
  • 2 dogs from first session/first runs plus those same dogs from week 5 or 6. These should be under 1 minute per dog, per run, so approximately 4 minutes total.
  • Dogs appear to be working independently

• Intro to Vehicles (Introducing Vehicles)
  • Show your initial set up of the session to be instructed
  • Submit a brief explanation you give to students of the process for starting Vehicle searches (under 5 minutes)
  • Video should show 2 dogs being introduced to searching Vehicles. First lesson only (under 2 minutes).

• Intro to Exteriors (Introducing Exteriors)
  • Show your initial set up of the session to be instructed
  • Submit a brief explanation you give to students of the process for starting Exterior searches (under 5 minutes)
  • Video should show 2 dogs being introduced to searching Exteriors. First lesson only (under 2 minutes)

• Other things to consider in your video submissions:
  • Verbal instructions are given in a coherent manner
  • That hide placement supports the learning goal for that lesson
  • That the setup of the training space meets minimal requirements for safety and learning and can be seen on video [dogs should not be crated nor working in the line of sight or vicinity of non-searching dog]
  • Coaching of dog and/or handler through a difficult situation

We do not need to see your best dogs in class. We are more interested in seeing how you instruct and coach different types of dogs with different styles and/or challenges. After reviewing your initial submissions, we may request additional footage, more class examples, or a video review of your teaching/instructional location.

Instructional Documents and Video Examples

Video Editing Programs and Video Submission Examples

How-To Guide for iMovie

NOTE: If you are co-instructing and both instructors are in the CNWI program at the same time, you may submit the same video clips of dogs, but each instructor must submit video where they individually appear to lead or coach the different levels. We want to have a feel for the teaching style of each instructor.

Video Submission Method

Please enter the URLs of your (YouTube, Vimeo, GoogleDrive) video or videos into the Video section of the Requirements Submissions tab in your instructor portal. You’ll have the option to add one link per piece or as an alternative, there is a compilation field for a combined video.

If you are having technical difficulties uploading your videos in your instructor portal, please email submissions@k9nosework.com to discuss other options.

We need 4 evaluations from different students from Introduction to K9 Nose Work®.

Via Webform (preferred method):
Share the following link with your students and have them submit the online evaluation form:

Instructor Evaluation (English)

Instructor Evaluation (Japanese)

Please check your instructor portal’s Requirements Status tab to see who has turned in an evaluation. We will not share the content of any evaluation with you. If there is something of concern brought up in an evaluation, we will discuss it with you.

Via Mail:
If your students are unable to access the online form, please contact us at submissions@k9nosework.com for instructions on how to submit by mail.

What to log:

80 hours total (adjustments can be requested for those working with shelters or other situations). Please keep track of all hours, and the education department will assess on a case-by-case basis.

Hours should include:

• • 40 hours as lead or co-instructor teaching hours (e. g. classes, clinics, privates, practice groups, shelter track) – must have teaching hours in all of the elements: Intro to K9 Nose Work®, Intro to Odor, Exterior, Vehicle.
  • 40 hours, which can include any or all of the following:
    • Additional teaching hours as lead or co-instructor
    • Observation hours (watching other dogs search (not your own dog) in a class that you are not teaching), e. g.
      • Auditing a class where you are not running a dog (worth about an hour)
      • Taking a class where you are running a dog but watching other students when it is not your turn (worth about .5 hours)
      • Auditing a workshop (hours will vary depending on the length of the workshop)
      • Taking a workshop and watching other dogs when it isn’t your turn (hours will vary)
      • Volunteering at a trial or ORT (but you have to list what your role was – if a role that would put you in the search area, worth about 2 hours per element)
      • Spectating a trial (worth about 2 hours per element)
      • Participating in a practice group and watching other dogs
      • Participating in a shelter group and watching other dogs
      • Other types of events are evaluated individually. Note that most webinars (incl. Enhanced Education Day) do NOT usually show a lot of videos of dogs searching, so the amount of actual observation time will vary greatly from webinar to webinar.
    • Practice groups
    • K9NW Shelter program

Please enter your data in the Excel spreadsheet (link below) and upload the document to the Files section of your Instructor Portal. Please only create and upload one Training Hours Log after all of the required hours have been documented.

Training Hours Log Sample and Blank Templates

Sample of Completed Training Log

Blank Training Log – xls

Blank Training Log – pdf

Training Hours Log Submission

Upload your Training Hours Log to your portal.

If you are having difficulty uploading, contact submissions@k9nosework.com, for further instructions.

For those who are not located in the USA, please read the information below for ORT alternative options:

ORT Alternatives PDF  / ORT Alternative Submission Fee

NOTE: Approved professional detection certifications may be valid in lieu of passing an ORT (date, location, & type of certification should be noted). Please contact submissions@k9nosework.com if you have a professional detection certification and have questions about what to submit.