WEBINAR DESCRIPTION: 

The sport of K9 Nose Work® is fabulously unique in its ability to allow dogs of all abilities to participate. Come join me for a discussion about training, playing, and competing with dogs that have physical and emotional challenges such as vision loss, hearing loss, orthopedic constraints, and sound and environmental sensitivities. We will also discuss age related changes and how to adapt the game so dogs can still enjoy playing.

Instructor Certification Program

***Registration now open***

K9 Nose Work® Instructor Certification Course

Segment One: 7/24/2026 – 7/27/2026 (Fri-Mon)

Segment Two: 12/4/2026 – 12/7/2026 (Fri-Mon)

MORE WEBINARS

Webinar: Screen to search-Teaching Nose Work Online

INSTRUCTOR: 

Natalie McManus and Michael McManus

DATE/TIME:  Tuesday June 9, 2026 /

1:00-2:30pm Pacific Time

This webinar is available to active NACSW instructors only.

Teaching nose work online presents unique challenges and excellent opportunities. In this webinar, Michael and Natalie will share practical, proven strategies for successfully teaching nose work in a virtual environment.



Webinar: Confident Communication: Public Speaking Skills for Nose Work Instructors

INSTRUCTOR:

Heather Sumlin

DATE/TIME:  

Tuesday July 7, 2026

10:00 – 10:30 am Pacific Time

This webinar is available to active NACSW instructors only.

If you’ve ever:

– Felt nervous or “on the spot” when teaching a seminar

– Wondered if your students were really getting what you were saying

– Struggled to manage different expectations, learning styles, or personalities in the room

– Known you had the knowledge, but didn’t always feel confident delivering it

What You’ll Learn

This session focuses on practical, usable skills and—most importantly—the mindset that supports them.

Webinar: Air vs. Odor Movement: What Every Handler Needs to Know

INSTRUCTOR:Lindsay Waldrop, PhD

DATE/TIME:  Thursday August 20, 2026

10:00 am – 11:30 am Pacific Time

WEBINAR DESCRIPTION: 

Understanding how odor moves is essential for handlers who want to accurately interpret their dog’s behavior during a search. While air movement plays a role, it is not the same as odor movement—and confusing the two can lead to misreads in the field. This webinar breaks down the fundamentals of odor behavior, including plume formation and odor availability, and explores how air movement influences—but does not define—odor movement. Handlers will also learn practical ways to visualize airflow so you can better predict and understand how odor is actually traveling in your search environment.

Webinar: Short Sniffs – The Amazing Benefits of Quick Easy Searches that You Can Fit into Your Busy Life

INSTRUCTOR: Chris Mason CNWI

DATE/TIME:  Saturday, September 12, 2026 / 10:00 am – 11:30 am Pacific Time

WEBINAR DESCRIPTION: 

Ready to level up your hide-setting game? In this webinar, Chris Mason will guide you through the art of setting hides with purpose—from foundational setups to advanced challenges that prep your team for the highest levels of competition. Bring your questions! You’ll learn not just how to set hides, but why certain choices build specific skills, confidence, and problem-solving ability in your dog. Best of all, Chris will introduce you to her powerful “Short Sniffs” concept: fast, focused searches in familiar spaces that reinforce everything from first indications to Summit-level sourcing. Whether you’re training alone or with a group, this approach helps you get the most out of every hide.

Webinar: Implementing Double Blind exercises for your Detection Dog

This webinar is available to active NACSW instructors only.

INSTRUCTOR: Fred Helfers CNWI

DATE/TIME:  Wednesday October 28, 2026 / 7:00 – 8:30 pm Pacific Time

WEBINAR DESCRIPTION: 

The webinar will utilize videos and powerpoint to:

• Define what a double blind detection dog exercise is.

• The protocols necessary to successfully incorporate double exercises into detection dog training.

• The benefits for the detection dog and handler of double blind exercises.

• Pitfalls to avoid when setting up double blind exercises.

• Logistics needed for implementing a double blind exercise for detection canines.

PREVIOUSLY RECORDED WEBINARS - available to the General Public

Webinar: Motivation, Behaviour and the Brain

INSTRUCTOR: Simon Gadbois, PhD

Length: 90 Minutes

WEBINAR DESCRIPTION:

A great experimental psychologist, Woodworth (from the beginning of the last century), argued that psychology should be the science of motivation, and even suggested to call this new science “motivology.” Although the concept of motivation was frowned upon by the early Behaviourists, because, after all, it is a mentalistic concept, some quickly made an exception (Hull, Tolman, etc) to incorporate drive and incentive theories of motivation. The modern theory, in both neuroscience and psychology, is the incentive theory of motivation. It explains a broad range of phenomena, from the foundations of learning itself, to specific processes, such as intrinsic motivation, auto-shaping, intermittent reinforcement, sign-tracking, and even pathologies. We will discuss the contribution of a few contemporary scientists on this issue, specifically Anselme, Berridge, Panksepp and a few more. We will also quickly link this literature to scent processing, specifically “exploratory sniffing” as the ultimate “seeking” behaviour in many mammals.