True North Canine Scent Trailing

08/11/2026

How do you get better at something?
Find people who are better at it — and ask them to teach you.

I’m so grateful for the learning opportunities I’ve had lately. A huge thank you to Paul at Scent Evidence K9 for the incredible Trained the Trainer course I took with him in May. I learned so much!

And thank you to Kat Albrecht for being willing to say YES and share your knowledge about finding lost pets.

We can’t grow and expand our services without people who are willing to teach, share, and open doors.

Find the people who say yes. Keep learning. Keep growing. There is always more to learn. 🐾

08/01/2026

🐾 Exciting News from True North Canine! 🐾

We're excited to share that True North Canine is expanding our services to better support our community.

Every year, we receive countless calls from families searching for their missing pets. While our hearts have always been with those families, we haven't always had the resources to help in the way we wanted.

That's about to change.

We're currently training a Dog Trailing Canine to help locate missing dogs and a Cat Detection Canine to assist in finding missing cats. This is an exciting new chapter for True North Canine, and one we're incredibly passionate about.

Our goal is simple: to give more families hope and provide another valuable resource when a beloved pet goes missing. We know how heartbreaking those moments can be, and we're committed to building the skills and expertise needed to help bring pets home.

We look forward to sharing our training journey with you and, most importantly, being able to serve our community in a whole new way.

Stay tuned for updates—there are exciting things ahead! 🐶🐱❤️

07/31/2026

Everyone loves watching the dog get the glory... and honestly, so do we. 🐾❤️
But every epic find has a secret ingredient: the amazing humans hiding behind the scenes (sometimes literally!).

Our volunteer hiders are the unsung heroes of training. They spend hours tucked behind trees, in the bush, or wherever the scenario calls for, all so our K9s can practice doing what they do best. And when that nose finds them? The celebration is just as rewarding for the hider as it is for the dog.

Of course, none of this happens without our incredible handlers, who put in countless hours building the trust, teamwork, and skills that make these moments possible. Great K9 teams aren't built overnight—and they're definitely not built alone.

So here's to the dogs stealing the spotlight, the handlers guiding them every step of the way, and the volunteers happily hiding in the background to make it all happen. We couldn't do it without any of you. 🧡

07/25/2026

🐾 Silver Sniffers is Coming! 🐾

Got a senior pup who still loves an adventure? 🧡 Join us at True North Canine for Silver Sniffers—a scent trailing class specially designed for older dogs!

🐶 Shorter, senior-friendly trails
🧠 Fun mental enrichment
💪 Gentle physical activity
❤️ A great way to spend quality time together

Senior dogs still thrive with opportunities to use their noses, explore, and stay active at a pace that suits them.

📅 Starting at the end of August
✨ Only 3 spots left!

To sign up or learn more, send us a PM or email. We'd love to have you and your silver-snouted sidekick join the fun! 🐾

07/21/2026

Preparation isn't about expecting the worst—it's about being ready when every detail matters.

At True North Canine, we partner with Scent Evidence Canine, the innovators behind the Scent Preservation Kit. Their system was developed after identifying critical flaws in traditional search protocols, leading to a better way to preserve a person's unique scent.

Each kit captures an individual's unique scent through their volatile organic compounds (VOCs), creating a clean, uncontaminated scent article. When stored properly, the preserved scent can remain viable for up to 10 years.

This preserved scent provides the ideal scent source for Scent Discriminant Trailing Canines, allowing them to work from a pure, uncontaminated scent rather than relying on items that may have been exposed to other people or environmental contamination.

A few minutes of preparation today could make a significant difference when time and accuracy matter most.

Learn more about how a Scent Preservation Kit can become an important part of your family's preparedness plan.

Scent Evidence K9 CEO and Scent Preservation Kit® developer, Paul C...

07/12/2026

Yesterday's trailing training was a great reminder that scent doesn't always play by the rules! 🌬️🐾
With the wind, buildings, and open fields, human scent was constantly moving, swirling, and settling in unexpected places. Instead of following a perfect line, our dogs had to figure out where the scent had traveled—and they did an awesome job!

Every trail is a new puzzle, and every environment teaches the dogs something different. It's amazing to watch them trust their noses and work through the challenge. That's why we train in all kinds of conditions—because the real world isn't predictable, and neither is scent!

07/11/2026

🌞 The dogs have spoken... it's just too darn hot to trail! 🐾

With summer temperatures here, we're pressing pause on our group trailing classes until the cooler days of fall. (Our dogs—and their noses—will thank us! 😎)

🍂 Fall registration is NOW OPEN! Here's what's on the schedule:

🐾 Intro to Scent Discriminant Trailing – Rural
🏙️ Intro to Scent Discriminant Trailing – Urban
🐕 Intermediate Urban
💛 NEW! Silver Sniffers – Scent Discriminant Trailing designed especially for our senior dogs. We're so excited to offer this class for the first time!

🎓 Mark your calendars for October!
Our 4-day intensive, The Science of Scent & the Art of Handling, is filling up fast, with only a few spots left. If you've been wanting to dive deeper into trailing, this is the workshop for you!

Not ready to wait until fall? Good news! 🎉
✅ Private lessons are available all summer.
✅ Drop-ins are continuing too (for teams who have completed Intro to Rural and Intro to Urban).

Whether you're just getting started or looking to build on your skills, we'd love to have you join us this fall.

📩 Send us a PM or email today to reserve your spot or ask any questions. Fall will be here before we know it, and we can't wait to hit the trails with you again!

07/06/2026

What a weekend! 🐾🌲

Spent yesterday out on the trails with the True North Canine Sporting Dogs crew. These dogs (and their humans!) know how to work hard and have an absolute blast doing it. 💪🐶

The only ones having more fun than us? The mosquitoes. 🦟😂 Pretty sure I donated a pint of blood every minute, but it was 100% worth it for an awesome day with great people and even better dogs.

Already looking forward to the next adventure! 🐕🌿

07/03/2026

Meet Lucy... professional scent discriminant trailing canine by day... professional grass-rolling goofball by every other opportunity. 🌿😂

Even the hardest-working dogs need to let their hair down once in a while. After all, it can't be all work and no play!

She may be capable of working aged scent trails with laser focus, but the second she's off duty? It's straight into the grass with zero dignity and absolutely no regrets.

Work hard. Play harder. That's the True North Canine way. 🐾💚

07/01/2026

🐾Want to be part of the action?

True North Canine is looking for Back-Up Handlers to join our team!

Backup handlers are an essential part of every deployment. They help keep the dog and handler safe, watch for critical details, navigate challenging terrain, and provide the support that makes successful searches possible.

No dog? No problem. You don't need to be a handler to make a real difference.

If you love the outdoors, have a keen eye for detail, stay calm under pressure, and want to be part of a team dedicated to bringing missing people home, we'd love to hear from you.

Want to explore if you've got what it takes? Send us a message and learn how you can get involved. 🐾