Vickery K9

10/22/2026

Life with dogs really be like “Can’t stop. Won’t stop!”

10/22/2026

10/21/2026

From his very first bird exposure as a puppy, to his second birthday this past week… Someone has certainly grown!

10/20/2026

Young Lark is coming right along!

10/18/2026

There’s a great deal more to developing a reliable detection dog than teaching them to find odor. Some of the most important preparation for a working career has very little to do with detection itself.

Consider the environments in which we expect these dogs to perform. In K9 Water Leak Detection, our dogs may find themselves navigating unfamiliar surfaces, working around heavy equipment, investigating tight or awkward spaces, or searching in busy areas with people, traffic, other dogs, livestock, and countless other distractions. They travel extensively, stay in unfamiliar places, and encounter situations that we couldn’t possibly anticipate or recreate in training. Through all of it, we need dogs that are confident, adaptable, and capable of remaining focused on the work in front of them.

That kind of reliability doesn’t happen by accident. It requires us to think beyond the technical aspects of detection and consider the dog as a whole. Environmental confidence, thoughtful obedience training, public access skills, and the ability to remain composed in unfamiliar situations are all part of preparing a dog for the demands of a working career.

These videos of Lark working on some basic obedience around town might not look particularly exciting, but this work is every bit as important to his development as his detection training. I’m not simply preparing him to recognize and locate target odor. I’m preparing him for a career that will ask him to put those skills to use in an enormous variety of environments and circumstances.

A dog can have extraordinary natural talent and exceptional detection skills, but neither will carry them very far if they can’t reliably perform their job in the real world.

10/17/2026

The number of times I’ve told myself next week will be less chaotic… 😂

At this point, I’ve just accepted that being perpetually busy is part of growing. And what a wonderful problem to have! There may be long days, but I’m certainly grateful for have them.

Here’s to all the women in dogs who can relate!

10/17/2026

Wishing the happiest of birthdays to K9 Kieran! ❤️

This boy has a zest for life that’s hard to put into words, and his happiness is absolutely infectious. He’s every bit as joyful as he is hardworking, and we’re so lucky to have him as part of the Vickery K9 team.

Happy birthday, buddy!