“There are 100 ways to train a dog. And you’ve got to train the dog that’s in front of you.”

Our hosts, Robin Grubel and Stacy Barnett, unpack the role of markers in scent-detection training—and why a clicker or verbal “yes” isn’t a magic button. They explain the difference between a marker that signals the end of a behavior and a cue that asks the dog to do something. They also discuss how a click can accidentally become a cue for a trained final response if it’s used the same way every time and never faded.

Robin and Stacy talk about how to make verbal markers clearer and more consistent, when a clicker or whistle may offer better timing, and how reinforcement placement can shape a dog’s independence at odor. They explore the risks of hovering at the hide or pairing odor with food for too long, as well as how location-specific reinforcement cues—such as “eat” or “catch”—can help handlers communicate how a reward will be delivered.

Their central message: choose your training tools with a clear objective in mind, and adapt your approach to the dog and the skill you’re building. Whether you’re developing a trained final response, working on close-proximity hides, or building search skills, thoughtful marker use can give you more options and cleaner communication.

Key Topics:

• Markers versus Cues (03:30)
• What Makes a Verbal Marker Clear and Consistent (04:43)
• Timing Challenges with Verbal Markers (07:12)
• When to Use a Clicker—and When It May Not Be Needed (10:05)
• Pairing Odor with Food and Why to Fade It (12:13)
• Using Markers to Encourage Handler Distance and Dog Independence (19:28)
• Why Whistles Can Help with Loud Bark Alerts (22:09)
• Choosing Reinforcement Placement for the Training Goal (24:31)
• Location-Specific Reinforcement Cues and Arousal (29:42)
• How a Clicker Can Accidentally Become a Cue for the Trained Final Response (33:58)
• Distance, Duration, and the Six Ds (38:38)

Resources:

• Fenzi Dog Sports Academy – Schedule and Syllabus: https://www.fenzidogsportsacademy.com/schedule-and-syllabus
• K9 Sensus – Working K9 Academy: k9sensusacademy.thinkific.com
• “Book a Weekend with Us!”: https://www.k9detectioncollaborative.com/coa

We want to hear from you:

• Check out the K9 Detection Collaborative FB page and comment on the episode post!
• K9Sensus Detection Dog Trainer Academy
• K9Sensus Foundation can be found on Facebook and Instagram. We have a Trainer’s Group on Facebook!
• Scentsabilities Nosework is also on Facebook. Here is a Facebook group you should join!
• You can follow us for notifications of upcoming episodes, find us at k9detectioncollaborative.com to enjoy the freebies, and tell your friends so you can keep the conversations going.
• And don’t forget to check out the YouTube Channel!

Audio editing & other podcast services by: www.thepodcastman.com Instagram: @the_podcast_man

“Don't trust your dog. Trust your training.”

Our hosts, Robin Greubel and Stacy Barnett, sit down with Paul Bunker of Chiron K9. His path from an English farm to British military explosives work eventually led him into conservation detection projects around the globe.

Deemed too short for the London police, Paul joined the British military in 1982 and was later tasked, after a fatal minefield accident, with training dogs to clear a safe path to stranded casualties.

It was thanks to that project that he coined the “donut effect”, where buried mines leak odor sideways through rainwater rather than straight up. This means dogs must be taught to fringe-sit at the edge of that ring rather than push toward the source.

Decades later, that same science shaped his work locating buried Anegada rock iguana nests. Reconnaissance showed the eggs sit in a chamber up to a meter underground, meaning the dog could never be trained on the eggs themselves. Instead, they can learn to detect the filtered headspace odor that actually reaches the surface, built using island sand that Paul smuggled home in Ziploc bags (which nearly got him detained at customs!).

Paul illustrates the physics behind the donut effect. Using the example of a coffee filter, he shows that crude oil, once diluted into water, still smells like oil even though it looks crystal clear.

That principle underlies nearly everything he trains for, from truffles to human remains, and demands dogs that hunt with intense, ground-level sniffing rather than casual air-scenting.

Trusting a dog, Paul argues, starts with trusting the training built behind it.

Key Topics:

• From English Farm Boy to British Army Dog Handler (02:55)
• A Fatal Minefield Accident and the Birth of a Rescue-Dog Program (11:14)
• The "Donut Effect": How Buried Mines Leak Odor (15:08)
• Beyond Landmines: Truffles, Oil, Tobacco, and Water Leaks (22:09)
• Training Pena for Anegada's Iguana Nests (23:56)
• The Coffee-Filter Trick: Understanding Diluted Molecules (38:19)
• Ground Sniffing vs. Air Scenting for Historical Remains (44:31)
• Liberal vs. Conservative Dogs and Clicker Training (51:12)

Resources:

• Chiron K9: https://chiron-k9.com/
• The Detection Dog Lab Skool: https://www.skool.com/the-detection-dog-lab-7184/about
• The Detection of Buried Targets by Canines (book): https://books.by/chiron-k9s-bookstore/the-detection-of-buried-targ
• Publications: https://chiron-k9.com/publications/
• Texas Tech Canine Olfaction Lab: https://www.depts.ttu.edu/afs/people/nathan-hall/CanineOlfactionLab/index.php
• Joint Symposium for Working K9s: https://www.jswk9.com/

We want to hear from you:

• Check out the K9 Detection Collaborative FB page and comment on the episode post!
• K9Sensus Detection Dog Trainer Academy
• K9Sensus Foundation can be found on Facebook and Instagram. We have a Trainer’s Group on Facebook!
• Scentsabilities Nosework is also on Facebook. Here is a Facebook group you should join!
• You can follow us for notifications of upcoming episodes, find us at k9detectioncollaborative.com to enjoy the freebies, and tell your friends so you can keep the conversations going.
• And don’t forget to check out the YouTube Channel!

Audio editing & other podcast services by: www.thepodcastman.com Instagram: @the_podcast_man