IMPORTANT NOTE: This course is open ONLY to NACSW instructors.

Enhanced Education Day 2024

Saturday November 9, 2024

8:30AM – 5:00PM Pacific Time

(This event will be recorded)

Cost: $150.00

CNWI CEUs: 10 for the weekend

CCPDT CEUs: 7 for CPDT-KA and CPDT-KSA for the weekend

Presentations will be recorded and available for viewing/download after the event. You will be sent the links after the event.

NOTE: To guarantee access to the live presentation, we recommend registering (including payment) by Thursday November 7th. Beyond that day, we cannot guarantee that the live links will be emailed to you on time. However, the recorded links will be sent to you after the live event (14 days post event).

Location: Online Event (via Zoom)

Topics and Instructors

2024 Featured Instructors:
Amy Herot, Co-Founder NACSW & K9 Nose Work
Jill Marie O’Brien, Co-Founder NACSW & K9 Nose Work
Barbara Schwerdt, CNWI, NACSW Senior Faculty
Chris Busch, CNWI

Course Topics:

• Instructor Updates and Q & A (Jill Marie O’Brien and Amy Herot)

• “Final Responses: Is That Your Final Answer or Should You Phone a Friend?” with Jill Marie O’Brien

This discussion will focus on insights and ideas on the why, when, and should you build in a more formal and/or defined final response behavior for your client’s dogs. What is a final response? Does it mean what many think it means? What is right for your dog or other students may not be right for all dogs. Can you work on final responses and still be a K9 Nose Work® instructor? The answer may surprise some of you.

• “Working Vehicle Searches” with Amy Herot

Strategy and management of vehicle searches is dependent on the surrounding environment, the search parameters and the level search. As teams build efficiency and understanding, more tools may be applied and finessed as needed. From an instructor point of view, it’s important to recognize how to build the understanding of conducting a vehicle search, for both dog and handler, as well as how to know when to add, develop or employ various tools. This talk will break down the phases of training and benchmarks needed to build efficient and enjoyable vehicle searches with students.

• “Vehicle Dynamics” with Chris Busch

This webinar will address some common vehicle terminology and vehicle aerodynamics affecting odor, as well as appropriate hide placement on different types of vehicles, including buses, trucks, and high-profile vehicles.  We will discuss how dogs respond to odor movement on and around vehicles, and some key decision points for a successful find.

• “Effective Coaching in Nose Work Classes” with Barbara Schwerdt

Based on information we received from our K9 Nose Work® Instructors, in this interactive webinar we’ll explore how you would define a good coach, how to determine how your students like to be coached, how YOU like to be coached as a student, examples of coaching, what to include, when to coach, how to deal with difficult students or students with physical challenges, and so much more!

If you have a topic you would like to have covered as it relates to coaching, please reach out to Barbara Schwerdt at nosek9s@safeathomepetcare.com NO LATER THAN September 15, 2024!

Registration

Please register for the course in your instructor portal Course Catalog. Login link below:

https://education.k9nosework.com/login

Registration and course related questions may be sent to registrations@k9nosework.com. Technical questions about logging in to the Education website, such as pass phrase resets, should be emailed to: educationadmin@k9nosework.com

Presenter Bios

AMY HEROT, CO-FOUNDER: Amy is a professional K9 trainer and handler and brings over twenty years of experience to her work. She has certified teams in Narcotics and Explosives and has logged over 1,500 instructional hours in detection dog training. In the canine sport world Amy has trained dogs for tracking, agility, sheepherding, protection sports, and detection. She has competed nationally with her Dutch Shepherd, Maya and took 3rd place in Narcotics Detection at the Gold Coast K9 Working Dog Trials and 1st place, open division, at the Oxnard Police K9 Foundation Inaugural Trial, 2009. Her Belgian Malinois, Seven, is a nationally certified explosives detection dog and took 1st place in the Explosives Building Search at the 2009 Ventura County Sheriff’s K9 Trial and holds an APR1 title. Amy holds a Bachelor of Science from NYU and is nationally certified through the Certification Council for Professional Dog Trainers (CCPDT). Additionally, she is a graduate of the Balu Academy for Dog Trainers and is a John Rogerson associate here in the U.S. Her professional memberships and affiliations include the Association of Pet Dog Trainers (APDT), Southern California Dog Trainers’ Forum (SCDTF), Southern California Schutzhund Club, California Narcotics Canine Association (CNCA) and International Association of Bomb Technicians and Investigators (IABTI). Amy has dedicated much volunteer time and expertise to the betterment of shelter dogs. Some of Amy’s other achievements have been the 2007 President’s Volunteer Service Award, spcaLA’s 2005 Outstanding H.E.A.L. (Helping Enhance Animals Lives) Volunteer and 2006 Volunteer of the Year. Amy is also the owner of the Los Angeles based company, All Good Dogs, LLC, which offers training services and is a supplier of K9 Nose Work Products. www.allgooddogs.biz.

JILL MARIE O’BRIEN, CPDT-KA, CO-FOUNDER: Jill Marie has been working with and training dogs since 1987. As co-founder of the National Association of Canine Scent Work and K9 Nose Work, Jill Marie has focused her attention on the development of the K9 Nose Work program. Her work has taken her to almost all the States of the Union, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Japan and most recently Sweden. K9 Nose Work is one of the fastest growing activities and sports in the world. In 1996, Jill Marie joined spcaLA and developed the agency’s first Animal Behavior and Training Department since its inception in 1877. During her time at spcaLA she created the HEAL program (Helping Enhance Animals’ Lives) to improve and enrich the lives of the animal clients in the shelter, developed the Standards Program for enhanced assessments, performed behavior modification and placement recommendations and wrote the dog training curriculum for the TLC program designed for at-risk youth. Jill Marie’s tenure working in the shelter environment has given her a unique insight into how successful dog/human relationships are developed and sustained. Jill Marie’s years of dog training experience includes developing a behavior assessment protocol for use in the shelter environment, agility instruction and competition, tracking, Animal Assisted Therapy, Schutzhund and canine detection training along with many hours of K9 Nose Work development and instruction. As one of the founders of the sport of K9 Nose Work and the National Association of Canine Scent Work, LLC she is a strong believer in activities that enhance and cultivate teamwork between dog and handler. Jill Marie and her dog Beckett were a nationally certified Narcotics Detection Team and in 2009, took First Place in the novice division at the Oxnard Police K9 Inaugural Trial. Along with her involvement with the NACSW and K9 Nose Work, Jill Marie operates her own dog training and consulting business in the Los Angeles area. She shares her life with her son Aedan and husband Jim and two dogs Raven & Grip.

BARBARA SCHWERDT, CNWI™: Barbara and her German Shepherd Landis (R.I.P.) were involved in K9 Nose Work® since 2008. At the first sanctioned NW1 trial they earned “The Harry Award”, which was given to the most outstanding rescue dog that demonstrates extraordinary ability and spirit in nose work. They received a “Pronounced” designation for each of the three title levels: NW1, NW2, and NW3. Barbara and Landis were the 3rd team in the country to earn an NW3 Elite title. They qualified for the first four National Invitational events and competed in the first three, placing 2nd, 5th, and 12th. He earned his Elite 2 title before retiring. Landis was also part of the United States Naval Research Laboratory’s Odor Discrimination Study. Read more about Barbara here…

CHRIS BUSCH, CNWI™: In 2008, Chris and his first Weimaraner Barley started taking Fun Nose Work classes at the SPCALA in Long Beach.  Chris has had the opportunity to watch this fun game turn into a thriving sport that has grown nationwide. He has been active with the National Association of Canine Scent Work ™ (NACSW) from the very beginning.  He has also spent countless hours volunteering at trials across the country.  Chris is currently active as a Certifying Official and Trial Judge at NACSW™ trials and ORT’s.  He also helps with training new COs as a Supervising Certifying Official. To learn more about animal behavior Chris volunteered for many years with the behavior and education department at his local shelter. During the time he spent at the shelter he helped with assessing dogs before being adopted and for special programs, which involved the dogs interacting with children and/or elderly people. 

Barley was the first Weimaraner to achieve an NW1, NW2 and NW3 x2 title.  Barley and Chris had also achieved their NW3 Elite title and had been invited and competed in two NACSW™ National Invitational Trials.  They also participated in the year-long Navel Research Lab Detection Dog Study.  Chris is currently teaching all levels of K9 Nose Work classes at the SPCALA in Long Beach.  He also teaches specialized workshops and skills clinics and hosts many seminars and coaching clinics to handler/dogs teams in his area. In 2018 Wōden, also a Weimaraner, became his new nose work partner and they are currently working on their NW2 title.