03/15/2026
Excellent blog post for teams new to trialing or an old hand trialing with a new dog. From Lori Timberlake via Scent Work University.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1DmqvuQeFz/
NEW BLOG POST FROM LORI TIMBERLAKE OF DO OVER DOG TRAINING
Beyond the Title: Setting Realistic Goals for Your Next Nose Work Trial
When you think about your next Nose Work trial, what are your goals?
For many teams, the first answer is simple: find all the hides and earn the title. And thatās certainly a great goal. But if thatās the only thing youāre measuring, you might miss a lot of valuable information about your team.
As I prepare to enter my first Nose Work trials in over five yearsāwith a brand new dogāIāve been thinking a lot about what success really looks like.
My young dog is a one-year-old, three-legged Malinois, which means she brings her own unique personality, quirks, and challenges to the game. Her trial experience will likely look very different from another dogās. Because of that, Iām trying to approach these first trials less as a pass/fail event and more as an opportunity to gather information about our team.
Every team is different, which is why I think itās helpful to break a trial day down into pieces and ask yourself:
- What could happen?
- How will my dog handle it?
- What will I learn that I can train for later?
My long-term goal is to have a well-mannered, confident searching dog. Of course, Iād love for her to find all the hides and earn titles along the wayābut if we have any hiccups, I want to notice them, log them, and address them in training before we enter more trials.
And sometimes that training may happen outside of Nose Work.
Here are some of the things Iām paying attention to on trial day.
THE VEHICLE
Trial days involve a lot of waiting in and around the car, so I want to observe how she handles that downtime.
- How does she wait in the vehicle?
- Does she settle or does she get restless?
- Does she bark at other dogs?
- How does she handle getting in and out of the vehicle?
- Does she seem physically tired as the day goes on?
These little pieces of the day can affect performance just as much as the search itself.
THE POTTY AREA
Potty areas can be busy and sometimes chaotic.
- How does she behave around other dogs there?
- Can she potty even if sheās excited?
- Can she move to and from the potty area with good manners?
These are small life skills, but they make a big difference in how smoothly a trial day goes.
PARKING LOTS AND STAGING AREAS
Parking lots and staging areas are full of distractions: people, dogs, volunteers, movement, noise.
I want to see:
- Can she walk through these areas under control?
- How does she behave while waiting?
- What happens if she sees another dog?
- How does she respond to volunteers or unfamiliar people?
- What is my plan for managing her while we wait in staging?
Good handling in these areas helps keep everyone safe and calm.
THE START LINE
Before each search, I want to make sure weāre starting in the right mindset.
- Can I get her focused before the search begins?
- Is she ready to work when we step to the line?
That moment before the search often sets the tone for everything that follows.
THE SEARCH ITSELF
Of course, the search matters tooābut thereās more to evaluate than simply whether she finds the hide.
During the search Iām watching:
- Is she focused on the task?
- Is her alert clear?
- How quickly does she locate the hides?
- How long does it take her to source odor?
- Is she distracted by trial staff, a videographer, or photographer?
- Does anything in the search environment spook her or cause hesitation?
Each search gives me information about her strengths and the areas we need to develop.
For example, during a recent training search she encountered something we had never run into beforeāa treat on the floor near a hide. She noticed it, picked it up, and then kept going before telling me about that hide. While she did go back, it was a good reminder that trial environments can present surprises you didnāt plan for.
You can bet that before our next trial weāll be doing some training with treats on the floor near hides ā Training Dirty! Moments like this are incredibly valuable because they reveal little gaps in training that you might not even realize exist until you see them happen.
These are exactly the kinds of small details I want to notice now, so we can work through them before stepping into the trial environment.
AFTER THE SEARCH
What happens after the search matters just as much.
- Did I remember to celebrate with her?
- Did we leave the search area having a little party?
I want her to walk away from every search thinking:
āThat was the best game ever.ā
TRIAL DAY LOGISITICS
Iām also thinking about some practical pieces of the day.
- We are entered in a half-day trial that I am also hosting. Should I bring her in the morning and have her wait, or have my husband bring her later for the afternoon trial?
- How does she handle different weather conditionsāheat, cold, rain, or snow?
Sometimes logistics can make a big difference in how a dog performs.
THE RESULTS
And finallyā¦ the results.
- Did she title?
- How did we compare to other teams?
Those things can be fun and motivatingābut for me, the most important question is:
What did I learn, and what will we train before the next trial
MEASURING SUCCESS
Success at a trial doesnāt always show up on the score sheet.
If my dog stays confident, handles the environment well, and leaves the day thinking Nose Work is the greatest game ever, thatās a win.
Titles will come.
But building a confident, capable team is the real goal.
And every trial is simply another step in that journey.
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What are some of the ways that you are setting realistic goals for your next upcoming trial?
Lori Timberlake has been amazingly generous offering several online courses, seminars and webinars through Scent Work University and our Pet Dog U program. Check out her entire catalog here:
https://www.scentworku.com/collections/meet-lori-timberlake
READ THE FULL BLOG POST HERE:
https://www.scentworku.com/blog-beyond-the-title
Happy Training!
