Webinar: Reinforcement Strategies for the Detection K9
COST:
$40 for General Public (incl. Lapsed NACSW Instructors and those who have registered for an instructor course but have not yet attended Segment 1)
$30 for NACSW Instructors (CNWI/ANWI/PNWI) in active status
INSTRUCTOR: Craig Schultz
DATE/TIME: Thursday March 19, 2026 / 6:00-7:30pm Pacific Time
WEBINAR DESCRIPTION:
This webinar will discuss basic principles in operant conditioning that are centered on reinforcement. A brief overview of reinforcement will be provided with a deeper dive into some of the different reinforcement strategies that the detection K9 handler may find useful to help the K9 reach its fullest potential in detection. The discussion will also entail how each of the strategies can be applied with examples in detection applications, the nuanced approaches for each of them, and how a good fundamental grasp of the concepts can go a long way in creating a working relationship between handler and K9 that is built on fairness and clarity in communication.
NACSW CEUs: 3 for CNWI
REGISTRATION:
Please click the link below to begin the registration process. You will be asked for your name and email, then payment information.
NOTE: Active NACSW instructors should use the “unpublished” email address associated with their instructor portal account.
Description
ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:
With nearly 35 years of experience in the animal training/behavior management industry, his animal training experiences range from training exotic animals in the zoological industry for show production purposes and cooperative health care procedures to training detection canines in various capacities for the last 22 years. As a Training Specialist/Instructor for the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Detector Dog Training Center, he procured and trained canines, conducted certifications and instructed handler teams from state, federal and international agencies.
In addition to his full-time employment, he also assisted in training canines in a volunteer capacity for search and rescue applications in wilderness live-find, disaster, and human remains, where he certified with his personal canine as a member of Kansas Search and Rescue Dog Association (KSARDA). During this timeframe in 2005 he also lectured and developed hands on practical workshops for veterinary conferences and various veterinary colleges to help expose current and future veterinary behavior professionals to the possibilities of training domestic animals to cooperate in their own health care procedures through training.
In 2019, Craig established “K9 Behavior Consortium” with the goal of helping handlers reach their fullest potential through understanding how dogs learn and how to maximize their training with sound, scientifically based principles in behavior analysis. Craig currently trains detection canines for the federal government. In 2021 Craig coedited “Canines: The Original Biosensors” with Dr. Lauryn DeGreeff.
