Outer Bounds K9

10/12/2026

10/10/2026

A very interesting overlay of Murphy’s first night search.

The training for the SAR team was to find a series of lost items, record and report their coordinates back to base, practicing navigation and radio skills along the way.

The search was set in a heavily wooded area at night with no land marks. Searchers relied on gps, radios, flashlights and headlamps to navigate and work together to cover the search area.

A grid search was set up and Murphy and I (and our flanker - the person responsible for navigation aka: keeping us from getting lost 😏) were sent in 15-20 minutes ahead of the team to give Murphy a chance to work the track laid when the dropped items were placed.

My goal for Murphy was mostly exposure. The task was not designed specifically with him in mind and, though he was unaware, I knew there was no lost person waiting for us.

What I was wanted to test, was his ability to:

a) work in the dark
b) work for an extended period of time without reward or any real measure of success (over 2 hours)
c) pick up an aged, potentially highly contaminated, track.

It’s easy to question his ability when at the end of the night he had only led us to one lost item (out of a collection of nearly 20)…but when you look at the map overlay it shows you how on task he really was and how incredibly skilled he is to source out a person’s scent and take the most direct route to their last known location.

Remember, his job is to find the person, not follow their direct route or even find their belongings. IF he happens upon lost items that belong to the lost person, he is to show interest and move on quickly. They are more like reminders and hints, not final destinations at which to get stuck.

In the map overlay you can see very clearly where multiple dropped articles form a circle and create a converging odour puzzle that spun him around several times before he was able to pick up the direction of travel and carry on (correctly I might add).

Fascinating stuff and another reminder to trust your dog 😊

10/08/2026

Griffin’s excellent exterior search from an SDDA trial a couple of weeks.

Can you tell when he’s working odour and when he’s simply checking the area/items?

How many times do you notice him check his work before he commits to odour and alerts?
I have to admit that I am endlessly fascinated watching him work!

10/06/2026

A great evening of trailing with some super dogs and their humans 😊

10/05/2026

🐾 Your dog’s search behaviour is one of your greatest training tools.

When we’re new to nose work, it’s easy to focus on teaching a trained alert such as a nose freeze or sit and then wait for that perfect picture before making the call and rewarding the dog for a successful find.

But remember, novice dogs are still learning too! And a novice dog under stress often won’t give a clean trained alert.

Instead, they might:

👃 Check the odour more than once
🔄 Circle the source
🐾 Paw at it
👀 Look back at you for guidance

If you don’t call it because you’re waiting for the trained alert, your dog can become confused. They start thinking, “Well... that wasn’t right,” leave the odour, and may end up giving a false alert somewhere else—or become so stressed they stop working. Over time, your dog may refuse to even play the game with you if it’s always stressful.

Rather than looking for one specific behaviour, start learning to read your dog’s entire search.

Notice the changes in:

✔️ Posture
✔️ Energy
✔️ Breathing
✔️ Focus and commitment

These natural changes often tell you your dog is in odour long before a polished trained alert develops.

And don’t forget that head snap! This instinctive behaviour is the most reliable indication your dog has caught odour and helps you read the behaviour that follows more accurately.

A reliable trained alert takes time to build, but your dog’s natural search behaviour is there from day one. The more you learn to recognize it, the more confident both you and your dog will become.

Every search is an opportunity to learn together.

Trust the process, celebrate the small wins,and enjoy watching your dog’s nose do what it was born to do!

10/03/2026

Cooking up some spooky treats for the upcoming Halloween themed CKC sanctioned scent match being hosted by Fort Garry Kennel Club! Get your entries in soon. It’s almost full! Go to Dogshow.ca to register!

09/24/2026

Murphy is now fully verified by the Office of the Fire Commissioner and cleared for active deployment!

I am so proud of this boy! He tackled absolutely everything I put in front of him over the last two years and he worked through my errors and missteps with tenacity and resilience.

We have learned A LOT!

Thanks to Jay Palmer for believing in us and giving us the chance to prove ourselves.

Now the real work and training begins!

09/22/2026

Students! Check your emails for a pop up drop in day of fun next week!

09/18/2026

Murphy sharing his success at a very difficult track in a busy unfamiliar location.

Some interesting moments where I nearly second guessed him but managed to keep my opinions to myself and let him work.

I had an idea of where the track had been laid but not specifics.

This was unintentionally made very difficult because, like all well laid plans, there were surprises (traffic, bunnies, hidden parking lots) that had to be adjusted for.

Part way through setting the track, Paili discovered she had to cross a parking lot behind the building and find a way back to grass to hide his ball.

This led to some split second decisions on her part that I was unaware of and a change of mind in picking the drop location that made his approach look “wrong” to me. But he did it!

Sped up so you don’t get bored 😏 Enjoy!