Force Free Dale Dog Training

10/11/2026

W O W 🐾🤪

Two of our sniffy superstars each made their debut in TRAVELING to a nosework trial this weekend, and both came home with brand new shiny titles! 🤩

Traveling adds another element of complexity to your trial weekend- how will your dog cope with a hotel (or tent camping!), resting the night before in an unfamiliar location, added human pressure to remember to pack everything for a successful trial AND nights away with your dog, etc.
Traveling to trial is also incredibly FUN!

Keri and Gus played NW3 yesterday in Youngstown, PA and came home with their second NW3 title, a third place in their vehicle search (!), their NW3-Vehicle element title, and 4/6 of their searches earned a Pronounced designation from the judges 🤯

Megan and Piper conquered their NW2 on their second attempt in Rock Island, IL and worked through a long trial day with incredible stamina 😍

Both of these teams have worked SO HARD and we could not be more proud of their accomplishments this weekend!!! It takes a lot of guts to put your training on display at a dog trial - don’t forget that! So many added pressures that you just don’t experience in regular training.

Way to go, Team Gussie and Team Pipes!! We are so so so proud of you and can’t wait for what’s next!

10/08/2026

The FFD duo is reunited for the next 3 days at CANIS Conference 😍

Megan is also here representing the Family Dog Mediation: LEGS in Motion vendor booth, and I’m sitting in on a variety of presentations ranging from behavior medication use and arousal regulation strategies in shelters, factors driving behavioral euthanasia decisions, measuring overall welfare, and a lot of sport-related topics 🤩

Have a great week!

10/06/2026

FFD merch is here for two more days! Our storefront with Ink Detroit is live thru Thursday, October 8th.

Founded in 2005 Ink Detroit is the best place to find T-Shirts, sweatshirts, hoodies, jackets, hats, or just need a great gift for that proud Detroiter. Home of I Love Detroit, Detroitish, and The Great Lakes State Brand products.

10/05/2026

A beautiful day to spend getting our shelter dogs out on two big group walks, assisting in Confident Connections class- a small group class where we help shy shelter dogs learn that meeting people is cool- and then Behavior Basics class- teaching shelter dogs and volunteers how to work together to learn basic life skills 😍

10/04/2026

Another great weekend for our super sniffers 😍

🩵 Torque & Rosie debuted in the Champion Class in Shed Hunt this weekend and brought home a FIRST PLACE in a large and competitive class! 😍

💜 Harley Quinn & Colleen earned two more Qualifying Runs in the Working Class in Shed Hunt this weekend- two Qs closer to their Working Shed Dog title!

🩵 Piper & Megan played AKC Scent Work this weekend and brought home a lot of new titles! Advanced Exteriors, Advanced Containers, and Advanced Buried to finish up their Overall Advanced title! Pipes also earned two 4th place finishes out of her searches!

❤️ Brooks & Matt are working on their Novice Elite titles, qualified in all 8 of their searches and brought home two High in Trial ribbons!

💛 Charlie & Allison also earned a bunch of titles today cleaning up the Excellent class, bringing home their Exterior, Container, and Buried Excellent titles today with 4 placements!

We also had all kinds of fun & wins at the EDN Mystery Sniff & Go on Saturday, and a full & fun two classes of nosework this morning. A BEAUTIFUL weekend to play all kinds of sniffy games 😍 WAY TO GO everyone! We’re so proud of you for testing your training and stepping up to the start line with your best friends. Let’s have a great week! 🤩

09/28/2026

Rosie and I started offering intro to Fetch and Shed Hunt this year (mostly Rosie- I play the Support Staff) and have had some of our dogs start trialing this summer! This has been a super fun expansion for our nosework club - thank you Rosie for sharing your knowledge and love for this sport and building another fun and inclusive community 🤍🐾

In UKC Shed Hunt, dogs have up to 15 mins per run to find and retrieve 4-5 hidden shed antlers from a 50x100 yard sized course. Dogs run off leash and in the woods- FUN! Some brags from our FFD Shed Dogs this weekend:

🦌 Team Xenia
2 Qs, one in under 3 mins, earning her a 4th place! This was Xenia and Sonja’s first Shed Hunt trial! A great entry to the sport!!

🦌 Team Olive
2 Qs with a Personal Best time of 5:27, earning her a 5th place! Olive & Elise also earned their Working title, earned after 5 Qs in the working class. Congrats!!! 🎉

🦌 Team Harley Quinn
This smart and sassy girl brings home 2 Qs in her first ever Shed Hunt trial! Way to go Colleen and HQ! 😍

🦌 Team Obie
This guy had a great weekend! 2 speedy Qs earning him a 4th place on Saturday, and a 1st place on Sunday! He also brings home a new Personal Best time of 2:00!

🦌 Team Howdy
Everyone’s favorite cow-print clown brought home 2 Qs and a new Personal Best time of 3:36! Go Howdy Girl!! 🤠

🦌 Team Wrecker
Wrecker also earns himself 2 Qs with a new Personal Best time of 4:44! A good lab doing what a good lab loves to do! 😍

What a lovely weekend of hunting through the woods! Congrats to everyone else that earned titles or had fun training sessions or took a nice decompression walk or just hung around the house with their buddies. You’re all winners to us 🤪🤪

09/23/2026

Our last fetch test of the year! Super fun and welcoming group with a fully fenced fetch field - perfect for newbies!

Enjoy a decompressing one-way trail through the tall grass after your test. Also offering CGC/trick dog testing!

Come earn a new title this fall :)

Our Fall Fetch Test and AKC Testing Day is fast approaching!!!

We will be offering the following!
All Levels of AKC Fetch ⚾
AKC Canine Good Citizen and Community Canine Testing🏆
AKC Trick Dog Testing Novice - Advanced 🐶
AKC Fit Dog Walk 🐾

You can leave our event with multiple new titles!!!

Get your entries in before we fill!

Register Here ⤵

https://pci.jotform.com/form/262417709006051

08/30/2026

A great organization doing important work 🤍

When we talk about outreach, we often show you the dogs living outdoors. The dogs on heavy chains. The dogs who need a dog house, a safer tether, or a secure kennel.

But that is only part of what outreach looks like.

Every month, we visit hundreds of dogs living inside with their families. They sleep on couches and in beds. They have favorite toys and favorite spots in the house. Their lives probably look a lot like your dog’s life.

They are loved. Their families just need a little help.

Maybe it is dog food to get through the month. Flea prevention. Vaccines or spay/neuter. Sometimes it is simply a few basic supplies that make caring for their dog a little easier.

These stories don’t get the same attention as a skinny dog or a heavy chain. There is no dramatic before-and-after photo. Nothing that immediately stops you in your tracks.

And honestly, that’s the goal.

The happy dog curled up in their bed doesn’t look like a dog who needed help. You cannot see the bag of food that helped a family through a difficult month or the veterinary care they could not have afforded on their own.

A crisis avoided isn’t very dramatic. But it is incredibly important.

Outreach isn’t defined by whether a dog lives inside or outside. It is about meeting families where they are, removing barriers when we can, and helping keep the dogs they love safe, healthy, and at home.

Sometimes the best outcome is the one you would never know happened.

08/30/2026

A beautiful day to play nosework 🤪🌧️

Arc of containers with lots of hides to promote DRIVING - a little vehicle wrap action - a single deep accessible in some stacks of trash bins to build PURSUIT - a lovely (wet) Sunday morning.

Thanks for coming and braving the rain with us!

08/28/2026

We were so lucky to have Christine out capturing these moments of our teams trialing at camp!! 🤩

Nosework is magical. 🤍

That look when they find it. 🥹🐾
(Link in comments for Level 1 photos from the NACSW at Camp with FFD)

As an observer (and photographer), I absolutely love these moments—the instant they catch the scent, follow their nose, and then… BINGO. They found it!

There’s something almost magical about watching a dog and their human work together like this. Gracie and her person were completely in sync, and the celebration that followed was just the best. ❤️

These are the moments I love capturing—not just the find, but the connection, teamwork, trust, and pure joy that comes with it.

Nosework really is for every dog AND their humans. 🐶👃❤️
Force Free Dale Dog Training