Georgia K9 National Training Center, LLC

10/16/2026

Reward timing, part 5/5: “We care about the trail loss, we internalize it, and we often wear it on our emotional sleeve for all to see, but dogs really do not. They are onto the next thing if allowed to do so and any canid emotional response will usually be interest in the new thing they just found that has nothing to do with the trail… By rewarding during stoppage, we are usually feeding our fears and rationalization and not training the dog. Worse yet, it is very possible to condition the dog for a situation where they expect the handler to do the work and guide them in to the finish on a regular basis. (J Schettler, Two Weeks to Operational Tracking: For Working Dog Handlers)

10/15/2026

Reward timing, part 4/5: “When training dog handlers in trailing I often encounter this reward problem. When dogs stop working for any reason, the solution I see is often the handler bringing the subject back to the dog and rewarding the dog. Worse yet is to bring the dog to the subject and then reward. This is akin to giving the dope dog the ball when he missed the dope in the cabinet and identified the truck door before you put him up!” (J Schettler, Two Weeks to Operational Tracking: For Working Dog Handlers)

10/14/2026

Reward timing, part 3/5: “Reward timing is one of the most essential components of good dog training, for all aspects of dog training, actually. It is what separates great dog work from average. We have a model to look at in this case and it is our detection experts in the field. The name of the game is rewarding at the source immediately when all the dog’s attention is focused there. When we reward after disengagement, we may teach the dog to look to us for clues.” (J Schettler, Two Weeks to Operational Tracking: For Working Dog Handlers)

10/13/2026

Reward timing, part 2/5: “When we reward dogs, and a runaway in the beginning, middle or end of a trail is a reward, we need to be very careful in the context in which dogs view the reward. In this case, we have to be absolutely sure the dog is in the “moment” of the subject’s trail or scent before we bring the subject or reward of the search back into the mix. If there is separation, then the reward could be meaningless or at worst, triggered by you and the dog learns that you created the reward and now the dog is looking to you for guidance and may simply stop to trigger a response from you. (J Schettler, Two Weeks to Operational Tracking: For Working Dog Handlers)

10/12/2026

Reward timing, part 1/5: “When a dog shuts down on a problem for any reason and it appears they no longer have odor or are working it, if you bring a subject back to the point of the problem and reward the dog by the runaway or fire trail game (or any other award), there is an extremely good chance there is no connection in the dog’s mind of the original trail, the down time of the problem, and then the subject coming back for the runaway game. There is simply too much separation. The runaway game is a new event and is treated as such. Yes, the dog chases the subject with abandon, but they would do that with or without the memory of the subject of the search. So, there is no way to prove the method to the problem solving. The gift given to the dog is now related to a new trail and not the original one. More importantly, the gift is given at the moment the dog stops working may teach the dog that it only needs to stop working to be rewarded. (J Schettler, Two Weeks to Operational Tracking: For Working Dog Handlers)

10/11/2026

Cheers to K9 Hades!

10/11/2026

“Interestingly, I find the trailing response from the second K9 happens even with normally non-trailing / tracking dogs that have had no formal training. All dogs can trail instinctively with absolutely no training. It is really just a matter of whether they chose to or not. Working with a second dog creates a competition factor that might just awaken the new job” (The Tao of Trailing, Jeff Schettler). Featured: Shayne Schettler’s sports trailing students from earlier this month.

10/03/2026

09/29/2026

Part 3 of 3 modified fire trail. In the second drill, Runner shows scent article to the dog without agitating her and walks away. Dog is led away for 3 minutes before being brought back to the scent article.

09/26/2026