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FDSA Training Camp 2023

Sarah Owings

About Sarah Owings

Sarah Owings (she/her) is a long time educator. She specializes in the practical application of learning principles, transforming the lives of challenging dogs, as well as the lives of the humans that care for them. As an international speaker and regular contributor to both online and in-person conferences, she is known for innovative approaches to tough behavior problems and her compassionate and insightful teaching.

Sarah has written for Clean Run Magazine on topics such as stimulus control, release cues, and reinforcement-specific cues. She currently gets her fill of what she calls “brave learning” as a member of the ClickerExpo faculty, and as a curriculum designer and instructor for several online training platforms.

In the past she has advised the Glendale Humane Society in Los Angeles, as well as the training team at Marin Humane Society in Northern, CA, where she now also teaches classes. Sarah is an avid Nose Work competitor, currently competing at the Summit level with her canine teammate, Tucker. She shares her life with her husband, Fred, Tucker, a small herd of pet cattle, a dove named Latte, and a tortoise named Bug on a fifteen acre ranch in Petaluma, CA.

2023  camp sessions

Friday, Oct. 6

11:00AM - 12:30PM

Expo Hall A

Leash Handling Spotlight: Choice Points and Pivot Points

Experience Level: Intermediate/Advanced

Leash handling is a skill. Matching the dog’s pace, anticipating changes of direction, avoiding leash tangles, managing the length of line, and anchoring at just the right moment are hallmarks of top nose work competitors. But these dance moves don’t come naturally. They have to be practiced.

In this session we are going to focus on leash skills, two in particular: anticipating choice points as the dog moves through the search area, and providing a pivot point when needed to set subtle boundaries to support the dog’s ability to work efficiently and effectively. Dogs should already be on odor, and familiar with multi-hide searches in novel environments.

Friday, Oct. 6

4:00PM - 6:00PM

Expo Hall A

Solve It! Building Motivation With Mazes and Odor Puzzles

Experience Level: Novice & Above

In order to solve complex odor problems in complex environments, a search dog needs a strong, “can do” spirit. Some dogs seem born with this spirit, but in reality, learning through experience is a powerful force for all. Mazes, 3D challenges, and barrier work provide fun opportunities for dogs to learn that there are many roads to success.

In this session, come give your dog the opportunity to learn that persistence pays off, and pushing a little harder to get to source is always worth the effort. Dogs should already be on odor.

Saturday, Oct. 7

11:00AM - 12:40PM

Expo Hall A

Painting the Picture: What is your dog’s behavior revealing about odor?

Experience Level: Intermediate/Advanced

When dogs respond to odor, they are following dovetailing pathways through the air that humans cannot see. Becoming more attuned to this secret world requires close observation of body language. Can you tell what type of hide your dog is working long before he actually tells you where it is? How soon in a search can you recognize the telltale signs of a ground hide, an inaccessible hide, converging hides, or a high hide?

In this session we are going to test different types of hide placements and let the dogs teach us about what the odor is doing. Dogs should already be on odor, and familiar with multi-hide searches in novel environments.

Saturday, Oct. 7

4:00PM - 6:00PM

Expo Hall A

“Search”—“Alert”—“Find Another”—“Finished”— Search Cues Tune Up

Experience Level: Intermediate/Advanced

From the moment you say “search” to everything that happens after you call “finished,” you and your dog are continuously responding to a stream of cues—both from the environment and from each other. Your dog is in charge of following the odor cue, but his job can either be helped or hindered by you. How clear are you really at your end of the leash? Are you sending conflicting signals and creating uncertainty? Or are you supporting your dog’s work?

In this session we’ll be looking at common communication glitches that happen in searches, such as confusion about repayment at hides, exactly when and how reinforcement is going to happen, or ending searches abruptly in a way that may be confusing or demotivating. Dogs should already be on odor, with some experience searching for multiple hides.

Sunday, Oct. 8

11:00AM - 12:40PM

Expo Hall A

Dog Pee, Food Smell, Critters and Confusing Humans—Oh My! Making Distractions Less Relevant

Experience Level: Novice & Above

“How do I get my dog to stop… (fill in the blank here… marking on pee, going after food, sniffing for critters, etc)?” is a common request among nosework students. But often our very attempt to fix these issues backfires, and the behaviors we don’t want grow more persistent. This is because tackling distraction problems head-on frequently sets dogs up to practice the habit of losing focus—and, as we all know, practice makes perfect!

Come learn new ways to make distractions less relevant via antecedent arrangements, finely splitting environmental criteria, speed drills, and motivation games.

Sunday, Oct. 8

3:50PM - 5:30PM

Expo Hall A

Great Expectations: How Messing With Your Dog’s Mind Can Increase Clarity About Source

Experience Level: Novice & Above

In both training and trialing, dogs frequently encounter hides in boxes, on chairs, or under tables. Dogs also quickly learn to focus on objects that look like training aids, such as tins or tubes, and smells associated with training aids, such as putty. If too regimented, even your movements or positioning can inadvertently pull your dog’s focus away from the all important odor cue. Over time, repetition of these set patterns can create expectations about where to look for odor, resulting in, at best, inefficient searching, and at worst, fringe or false alerts.

In this session we’ll be using fun, mind-bending hide placements to help clarify for the dogs that only following odor to source matters—no matter what the picture is. Dogs should already be on odor.