K9 Bellator International

21/08/2025

Why You Should Never Get a Pointer for Detection

Because they’ll take over your whole life. At work, they’ll drag you through searches, call you out on every mistake, and make sure you know who’s really running the show. At home, they’ll worm their way under blankets, win over your kids, and somehow become more important to your family than you are. They’ll drive you mad, wear you out, and make you question your own handling skills on a daily basis.

And yet, you’ll still find yourself wondering how you ever managed detection without one.

https://ilseduineveld.blog/2025/08/21/why-you-should-never-get-a-pointer-for-detection/

16/08/2025

📅 20–21 September 2025
📍 Barrack Heights, NSW
💰 $450 (incl. GST)
📧 [email protected]

A focused two days of detection training aimed at strengthening odour recognition testing, improving consistency, and collecting meaningful performance data across known target odours.

Delivered in a controlled environment, these training days provide the structure and support to run high volumes of clean, focused repetitions.

Training includes blank runs, distractors (interferents), and blind/double-blind setups, following best-practice protocols aligned with CPNI detection dog guidance.

We’ll also apply the data collection system developed by Simon Prins used with his full permission to document every repetition in a consistent, structured format.

Learning this system was a turning point for me; it showed that proper data collection is more than a training diary it’s a tool to recognise performance patterns, identify weaknesses, and back up your dog’s capability with evidence.

Each dog’s repetitions are documented across the two days to support training plan development, track odour generalisation, and provide a clear record of performance for future review.

📌 Limited spots — email [email protected] to secure your place.

31/07/2025

For the trainers, detection dog handlers, instructors and anyone developing working dogs.

I’ve put together an email list specifically for handlers, trainers, and those developing working dogs.

It’s an easy way to stay in the loop without relying on the algorithm or finding out too late. I also want to avoid relying on social media.

You’ll get updates on:
- Operational detection training days
- Short courses on key detection skills
- Specialist workshops, troubleshooting, and handler development
- Future seminars and guest instructors

It’s a way to plan ahead, get early access, and stay connected to what’s happening and train together.

If you’d like to be added, send me a quick message with your email.

30/07/2025

Clicker training is so much more than just clicking and treating.

When I did the Karen Pryor Professional Dog Trainer course, it completely changed the way I saw training. It gave me real tools for teaching complex behaviours and applying them in the detection world. That course was one of the most valuable parts of my learning journey and a reminder to stay open-minded and keep evolving.

This 5-week Clicker Training Foundations Group Class is exactly that: foundational. We’ll cover how to create a clean, strong marker, tidy up your mechanical skills, teach your dog how to learn, and even build confidence in dogs who need help adjusting to the world around them.

It’s a great starting point for:
• Timid or unsure dogs
• Reactive dogs needing a task and direction
• High-drive or working breeds who need a mental outlet
• Handlers wanting to get their foundations right.

It’s not just about the dog it starts with you.

🗓 Starts Sunday 10th of August
🕗 Every Sunday 8AM–9AM for 5 weeks
💰 $285
📍 Barrack Heights, NSW

If you have any questions please just email me [email protected]

We don’t run group classes often due to our schedule so please pass this on to anyone who needs it. This is the one to jump into.

None

17/07/2025

We need to normalise the messy middle.

Especially for those working dogs in unpredictable environments.

You don’t finish a course, get a new dog, and step into real work with everything looking the same as it did in training where you had structure, control, and support. Where you could shape the environment and things were predictable.

You’ll struggle for a while and that’s okay.

The behaviours won’t look the same.
The environment will throw curveballs.
Your dog will be still adjusting.
You’ll question yourself.

You might even think:
“Is my dog broken?”

Even if you developed the dog yourself
prepared it for a specific job
and it all goes to s**t when it matters

That doesn’t make you a bad trainer.
And it doesn’t mean the dog is broken.

These moments where everything feels like it’s falling apart
you’ll never forget them.

And with your next dog?
That same situation that once felt like the end of the world
will be a piece of cake.

That’s not because it’s easier.
It’s because you grew.

You thought it through.
You trained your way through it.
You coached your dog through the hard parts.
And now you’re better for it.

This is where the magic happens.
Not in tidy setups or clean reps but in the messy, unpredictable middle where real learning and team building happens.

Let’s normalise that part.
Let’s support each other through it.

And keep showing up especially when it’s not easy.

05/07/2025

Day 2 of Puppy Cognition — and the pups are giving us exactly what we came for: honest reps, messy moments, and plenty of learning (plus snack breaks and just enough time to throw side-eye at the handlers like “being held back is what’s holding me back.”)

This week’s crew:
➤ Rory the Jagd Terrier in full send mode
➤ Mason the GSD testing the system
➤ Maybe the Labrador that’s 100% food drive
➤ And Pooh — from Shoalhaven Animal Shelter — tossed into the deep end and figuring it out one rep at a time.

Natalie Morris is guiding the sessions and breaking things down in a way that actually matters — frustration tolerance, memory, recovery, how pups process pressure.

It’s not about making them look perfect — it’s about seeing who they really are and how to bring out the best in them.

Pooh’s getting more confident with every round. He’s social, thoughtful, and trying hard to figure it all out.

💛 Kind, social, and shaped like a baby deer learning how to walk — Pooh is all limbs, big heart, and snack ambition.

He’s still looking for his forever home, and someone’s going to be pretty lucky to have him.

Halfway through and already learning a lot — from the dogs, the process, and each other.

03/07/2025

We wrapped the Odour Recognition & Handler Skills seminar and are finishing the final day of the Trainers Course.

The rain, wind, and mud didn’t stop anyone—every team showed up and put in the work. Grateful for the honest conversations, solid dog work, and the incredible training location that made it all possible.

Even the three-legged dog showed up and got it done.
No excuses. Let’s go.

01/07/2025

One week down.

Thank you to everyone who showed up — not just for your dogs, but for yourselves. It takes something to step into a space like this, especially when you’re still figuring things out.

Last week was about development and the start of our trainer education course. We looked at how to build real working foundations — from environmental exposure and play to shaping hunt drive, introducing odour, and writing training plans that actually go somewhere.

What stood out most was the mix of people in the room — different backgrounds, different experiences, but the same goal: do better for the dogs in front of us.

Appreciate everyone who came willing to train, ask questions, and share the messy middle.
We’ve got more to come.

30/06/2025

Puppy Cognition Seminar – This Weekend

Before we ask our puppies to learn tasks or perform under pressure, we need to understand how they think.

This seminar gives you real tools to see how your puppy processes the world — how they solve problems, how they handle new things, how they bounce back from stress, and how they naturally engage with you.

We’re not trying to label dogs. We’re giving you a better starting point to raise and train them with purpose.

Perfect for anyone raising a future working, therapy, detection, or sport dog — or anyone who wants to do right by their pup from the start.

What we’ll do:
- Test 7 key areas of puppy cognition
- Watch how pups learn, explore, and respond
- Learn simple games to build confidence and focus
- Walk away with a clearer plan for your training

🗓 This weekend
📍 8C Parma Rd, Falls Creek
🎟 Sign up here: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/1358114580269?aff=oddtdtcreator

28/06/2025

Everyone else is still in the learning phase.
Roo’s in the reminder phase.
She’s not here to train —
she’s here to show you how it’s done.

27/06/2025

“The face you make before you ditch the entire operation and pretend you were never briefed.”

– Mies, Cocker Spaniel, Master of Ghosting

11/10/2024

New school for 2025 in Australia 🇦🇺

🐾☀️ ®