Pinnacle Dog Training

04/24/2026

Training Challenge: Can you read the signs that Gracie is solving an odor puzzle? Here is a Master Exterior search with three hides. Watch the video and let me know what changes of behavior you see. I created a video that notes some of the changes of behavior and you can find that on YouTube. I'll also post it here after a few weeks to give people time to do the challenge. The video notes 15 changes and it doesn't include all of them!

Noticing changes of behavior in our dogs when they are solving odor puzzles helps with recognizing how many hides there are in an area. This is a great strength when doing searches with an unknown number of hides.

Here are some common changes of behavior that you can watch for:
-Bracketing (moving from side to side or up and down to test odor concentration)
-Breathing changes
-Direction changes
-Circling (going out to test the edges of the odor plume)
-Mouth closing
-Nose lifts
-Pace changes

Sometimes it helps to just focus on one of them at a time when watching videos.

After doing this challenge, what changes of behavior do you often notice with your dog when you practice?

04/12/2026

Training Tip: Observe your dog’s behavior with each hide they solve! Videoing your practices and rewatching your videos can be so helpful with this. By observing your dog's behavior, you can learn to read your dog and understand when they are working an odor plume or hunting for odor. Questions that come up from observing lead to more learning as well!

Here is a video that notes the changes of behavior that Gracie showed as she solved a hide that was greater than 6 feet high! This was from a detective search.

The video notes when Gracie was bracketing. Bracketing is when a dog moves back and forth to gather information about the concentration of the odor in order to narrow down the location of the source. You can also see how Gracie went in a wide circle to check the edges and how her nose was held high when she was bracketing the high hide.

As a note, when starting out with scent work, it’s best to set accessible hides (where your dog can get to the highest concentration of odor). So wait to set really high hides until your dog is ready.

Do you see a change of direction or bracketing when you search with your dog this week? Let me know what you observe!

04/08/2026

We had a great time at the Bristle Nose trial in March! The judges set some challenging hides and the search areas were interesting! Competing has been such a fun way to make memories and see where our training has been going well and what can be improved.

Some highlights:
-Gracie qualified in Detective under Judge Deanna Bunn.
-Gracie solved a high inaccessible hide (about six feet high) in a Detective run.
-Gracie placed second in Master Containers.
-Judge Patrice Dodd paid us a compliment. She said we had good leash handling in a tight space in one of her searches.

There were also some funny moments - like when I hit my head on a metal bar during a detective search and my hat flew off (including my camera which was attached to my hat). I had to laugh about that!

02/27/2026

Learning to read your dog when they are working an odor plume is an essential skill. It's especially helpful to be able to read your dog when doing searches with an unknown number of hides. This video shows some of the behavior you may see when your dog is working a plume.

There are so many signs that show when a dog is working an odor plume. Watch Gracies head throughout the video. Right before the change of direction, Gracie’...

02/11/2026

A local trial is coming up in March! The Bristle Nose Scent Work club will be hosting a trial at Utah State Fairpark. There are some really fun search areas at this location!

Dates: March 27 - 29
Location: Utah State Fairpark

Elements: Containers, Buried, Exterior, and Handler Discrimination
Classes: Novice through Master and Detective

Time Period to Enter: Opens February 24 at 7:00 AM Mountain Time (MT) and closes on March 16 at 5:00 PM Mountain Time (MT)

The Premium can be found on the AKC website using the event search.

02/04/2026

It's amazing that dogs can find buried hides! Today we did a search with the hides submerged in water. The bins were set up 2 hours before we did the search. It was a windy day and the busy road next to the bins also affected the air flow.

This setup was aged for 2 hours. It was a windy day and the cars in the nearby street also affected the air flow.

01/30/2026

Is Gracie saying “thank you”? I like to think so. As she has gotten older, she likes to have her own space more often - except after we do scent work or go to a trial. Gracie shows she wants to be connected by putting her head on my feet or curling into me on the couch. There have been times her tail wags while she is in REM too! There is something really rewarding about growing together as a team!

01/22/2026

Watching videos of your practices is a great way to learn to read your dog and think about what is happening with the odor. From our short practice today, two clove hides were aged for 15 minutes. I first noticed a change of direction at second 4 where Gracie arcs around to walk closer to the garage door. Then you can see her testing the odor concentrations with the back and forth movement of her head. She determines the general direction of the source and speeds up to go towards the front door to find the first hide. Then she walks back along the wall until she realizes that the concentration of the odor changed significantly and she turns around to find the second hide. It's amazing to watch the problem solving process!

The hides were aged for about 15 minutes. The wind was blowing from the garbage cans towards the front door when we did the search.

01/10/2026

Where you place hides when you practice with your dog will affect how your dog searches. Setting hides in corners will help your dog learn to push into corners. This video is from an AKC Detective search. Gracie pushed in the the corner right at the start of the video. She also lead me into the tight space to get to the back corner of the building. Happy training!

Gracie cleared the interior space and found all 3 hides!

01/02/2026

Scent Work Classes in Clearfield Utah!
When: Saturday mornings and some availability during the week.
Where: Practices held in different locations to help your dog learn to search in new places! Great for trial preparation.

After doing the classes for multiple weeks, Heidi P. said it was:
"The very best scent work training we've had. They work with you step by step and give feedback, encouragement, and direction. It's made the difference in our ability to have fun AND compete."

12/30/2025

Gracie turned ten this December, which caused me to reflect on the fun we've had over the years. I've seen how scent work has deepened our connection, and I'm grateful for all the fun memories in training and at trials. Scent work can fulfill the mental needs of dogs at any age. Thanks to Paws Time Photos for these fun pictures from the 2025 Bristle Nose trial at Camp Tracy!