Art Of Odor

     I have never met a canine handler who didn't love researching and talking about their equipment.  While gear will never be a replacement for attention and training there can be no doubt that the equipment we choose to work in has a major impact on our overall experience.  These choices are highly personal but in this episode I am going to discuss some of my favorite pieces of kit, the pieces I won't use, the stuff I think everyone should have and even some stuff you might not have thought of before.  Sit back and relax to this episode of "Bob's favorite things".          All rights reserved Copyright Robert Boyles @ Art of Odor

I have had the great pleasure of both being welcomed into the competitive scent detection community as well as the joy of watching the sport grow and evolve.  It has been exciting to be part of the growth and to witness the evolution of how teams train and how teams handle search environments.  New talented and experienced trainers and handlers make themselves known to us more and more frequently.  The depth of knowledge in our field is growing.  I think that is a wonderful thing.  I am not sure that everyone in our community shares my happiness.  What are the roadblocks to our sports evolution and what can we do to continue that upward development?  All rights reserved Copyright Robert Boyles @ Art of Odor

     In this episode I go into detail trying to clarify what a "Fringe Alert" is as well as what it is not.  I'll discuss what I see most often as a judge and trainer that cause handlers to make calls off source in the fringes of odor.  Finally I will open the conversation on what handlers and trainers can do to help their dogs be more source driven and accurate through thoughtful hide placement and drills designed to keep you from crying out "What the Fringe?!"  I hope you enjoy.  There is a video companion course that goes along with this episode both prerecorded and as a live class with me.  For more details on that contact me through email (RBoyles0123@gmail.com) or Facebook@huntfindsmile   All rights reserved Copyright Robert Boyles @ Art of Odor

     There is an interesting phenomenon in recreational sport detection with the container elements.  Many teams get started on containers and ultimately find them to be a great source of struggle and heartache later in a trialing career.  Why are they so tricky?  Why do otherwise experienced teams run into so many problems with container searches.  I have been fielding this question for a long time.  In this episode I will discuss the top 5 reasons that I see teams struggle with what might seem a very simple element.  As a judge, event host and trainer I consistently see these five causes for container blues at every scent detection gathering.  Please join me for a discussion on container searches where I will go into some detail as to where these struggles begin and hopefully offer some advice on how to address them for the future. All Rights Reserved Copyright Robert Boyles @ Art of Odor

     How do you know when the search is complete and when to call "finished"?  How do things change when you know that a search area might be "blank"?  This is one of the most frequent questions that I get as a trainer in the recreation scent detection arena.  It is a simple enough concept to understand but a little more difficult to pull off.  In this episode I will get into how I approach this challenge and the training topics I focus on to help handlers become more confident calling finish when they don't know how many hides there might be, if any at all. All Rights Reserved Copyright Robert Boyles @ Art of Odor

     We have all heard that we need to learn how to "read" our dogs but what does that really mean?  It can refer to a lot of different behaviors that your search partner might present.  While many dogs are similar, no two dogs are exactly alike.  In this episode I will dive into the discussion on canine communication.  Learning to "read" a dog starts with a basic understanding of how the dog communicates information.  To become efficient and effective at this fundamental skill takes time and patience but I'm sure you have already begun the journey.  Join me in this discussion on canine communication and I hope that it helps you to enjoy more meaningful conversations with your dog! All Rights Reserved Copyright Robert Boyles @ Art of Odor  

     You may have heard about hunt drive but maybe your aren't sure what that means.  What are drives and how are we supposed to know the difference?  Do drives make a difference to our searches or training?  These are great questions and there has been a lot of talk about the subject.  I think it's time that I threw my hat in the ring.  In this episode I am going to explore three primary drives and I'll offer you a way to look at them in a way that has helped me a great deal.  Understanding each canine as a unique individual and the core motivators helps me design training and searching strategies.   All Rights Reserved Copyright Robert Boyles @ Art of Odor 

     Nearly everyone will agree that the odor hunting dog should be rewarded for its effort.  However, the type of reward that should be used is still open for debate.  It can be very easy to overlook the type of reward we use, and the way we deliver that reward because it is often just inherited from our first influences.  I have discovered that many handlers have never given much thought to the reward they are offering their partner, and those who have only know what their immediate circle of peers have told them.  It is a great big world out there and your team deserves options.  Let's find out if there is more to know about how we reward our canine partner.  All Rights Reserved Copyright Robert Boyles @ Art of Odor

     Before starting a search, in training or in trialing, how do you decide whether to use a leash or to cut the dog loose?  I am sometimes surprised that teams will often choose one option or the other without really considering the pros or cons.  There are benefits to being on leash as well as off leash.  In this episode I talk about my own experiences with leash choices and the process that I use to decide which option might be best for that dog during that search.  The choice is a personal one but I think that the most important thing is that we at least have the conversation and consider our options thoughtfully.  All Rights Reserved Copyright Robert Boyles @ Art of Odor 

     Making the most of each training opportunity means having a goal.  It means having a plan.  Purpose driven training allows us to make the most of our precious time working with and training with our canine partners.  Wouldn't it be nice to have some guidance to help you decide which direction to take your training.  If you want to know how I decide which training drills might be the most impactful for an odor hunting team then take a moment and enjoy this episode. I will share with you what it means to discover your search teams baselines and which baselines I think have the greatest impact on trial day.  Please enjoy! All Rights reserved Copyright Robert Boyles @ Art of Odor

     Recently a good friend of mine asked me how often they should train and for how long do I recommend that they train during each session.  This is such a common question and it is certainly one that I have asked before of my own trainers.  The answer may not be as simple as you were hoping for.  I thought it was a topic worth tackling so on this episode I offer some of my own opinions on this age old question.     All Rights reserved Copyright Robert Boyles @ Art of Odor

Odor obedience is a foundational skill.  A behavior that we hope to build and develop, something we grow through training over a searching career.  That term, “odor obedience”, gets tossed around a lot and I made the mistake of assuming everyone knew what I was talking about when I used the term on score sheets or at a training session.  Fortunately, some close friends and handlers called me out and have asked me to further explain what odor obedience is, and why we want more of it.  In this second “short” episode I will explain how I define odor obedience and some of the ways we can see how it might effect our searches. All Rights reserved Copyright Robert Boyles @ Art of Odor 

     If my dog finds the same odor twice, should I reward a second time?  I hear this question often.  Many of the questions that handlers ask me during training only take a few minutes to answer and discuss.  This is the first of the “Short Q&A” style episodes where I hope to answer, to the best of my ability, some of these questions.  So, what is your opinion?  Do you pay a second time, or not?  Have a listen and I will tell you what I do, and why I do it.   All rights reserved Copyright Robert Boyles @ Art of Odor

How do we achieve the most efficient and most effective search possible with our odor detecting canine partner?  Learning to work a search environment through patterning, and with a strategic plan can increase the frequency that we enjoy success.  But does detailing and patterning undermine the independent canine hunter that we all love so much?  Lots of handlers and trainers have their own opinions about the merits of training with patterns and detailing.  Some people have a strong dislike and others wouldn’t live without it.  In this episode I am going to dive in head first and offer my opinions on the topic. All rights reserved Copyright Robert Boyles @ Art of Odor 

A discussion on Odor Threshold may not be what you expect.  From a pro’s perspective, odor threshold is a way to consider your dogs relationship with target odor, based on the amount, or “weight” of odor that is available to them.  What is the difference between fringe odor and source odor?  How is accessible odor different from inaccessible odor?  It’s a question of how the available amount of odor impacts your dogs hunting behavior.  In this episode I talk a bit about how I visualize odor movement and how we can modify the amount of odor that is available to our dogs with well thought out hide placements.  I also talk about how all of this can play a major role in your training efforts. All rights reserved Copyright Robert Boyles @Art of Odor 

Welcome to the Art of Odor.  Thank you for taking a few minutes to check out the site and I hope that you take a listen to this brief introductory episode.  I am your host, Robert Boyles, and I am a retired professional canine handler, professional canine odor detection trainer, canine sport judge, and all around working dog super fan.  I'm going to share my stories from working a canine team on the street, I'm going to offer my experience and understanding on how I train teams and what I look for in a top notch team, and ultimately, I hope to share my passion for the art of canine odor detection with anyone and everyone.  Thank you and enjoy!

  Most professional odor detection teams imprint the target odors utilizing a bouquet method.  What is a bouquet?  How is it different from how most sport teams imprint odor?  How does it work?  Can I do it?  This episode is an introduction to training with an odor bouquet and will answer a lot of those questions!  There are two additonal episodes on the bouquet and they go into specific how to information on training aide preperation and step by step imprinting techniques.  This introductory episode is the primer for that conversation and even if you never intend to train with a bouquet it will defenitely be educational and an inside view of how the pro's train. All rights reserved Copyright Robert Boyles @ Art of Odor 

I've been on both sides of the discussion, Pro and Sport.  To this day I am still amazed at the lack of understanding between the two groups.  Honestly we could all do a better job of communicating and learning from what each other has to say.  On this episode, I'm going to try to advance that effort by talking openly about some of the truths and myths about professional working teams.  I couldn't possibly answer them all in this episode so if you have a sincere question that you want the truth about, leave me a comment and I promise to do the best that I can.  Enjoy! All rights reserved Copyright Robert Boyles @ Art of Odor 

  Finish behaviors, Trained final responses, Final Alerts  Oh my!  Probably one of the hottest contested topics in the sport.  I'm going to throw my hat in the ring and take this one head on.  The battle lines seem to be drawn pretty deep, but in my experience, most of the issues stem from a lack of understanding about what the other side is actually saying.  This is going to be a three part series where I cover history, training techniques, and the big "S", a stare final alert!  Whatever your opinion is on the topic I hope that you find this to be an informative discussion. All rights reserved Copyright Robert Boyles @ Art of Odor