Peer-reviewed research on olfaction has been building for decades. Nobel Prizes have been awarded for it. And yet claims circulate in our community — at seminars, in social media groups, from well-meaning colleagues — that directly contradict what the science actually shows. They spread not because people are careless, but because the research isn't always making it to the field in a usable form. That's a problem. Because bad science in our field doesn't just look embarrassing in court or a...

Progress in your training rarely comes from having a stronger opinion. It comes from seeing more clearly. What we observe in front of us will always matter more than the story we’re tempted to about it. When we slow down enough to really watch a dog, we start collecting information instead of assumptions. A hesitation before a cue, a subtle shift in weight, a change in breathing, a slight drop of the tail. None of it is good or bad. None of it is failure. It’s simply data. That data gives us...

Belle and Raven remind me often that behavior never happens in a vacuum. Belle is 9 months and Raven is 6 months. Both dogs know how to engage, search, think, and how to do a nice trained final response. And yet, put them in a busy environment, a new surface, unfamiliar sounds, stacked smells, people movement, and suddenly the picture changes. Not because they’re being difficult or our training is “failing.” But because the environment is asking more than they can currently give me. Belle...