Tell a Tail Dog Training

08/06/2025

Element having fun doing nose work!

08/01/2025

🚨🐾 Pet CPR & First Aid Training - Save a Life When Every Second Counts! 🐾🚨

Would you know what to do if your dog stopped breathing? What if your cat was choking or injured?

Join us for a Pet CPR & First Aid Certification Class and gain the skills and confidence to act quickly in an emergency. This hands-on training covers:
✔️ CPR techniques
✔️ Rescue breathing
✔️ Bleeding protocols
✔️ Heatstroke, seizures & more
✔️ How to build a pet first aid kit

📅 Date: 8/2/2025
📍 Location: Dodger’s Paws Large Classroom #305
🕘 Time: 8-1:30pm
💻 Register now: https://www.protrainings.com/classrooms/316746/signup

This is a must for pet parents, dog trainers, pet sitters, and animal lovers of all kinds. 🐶🐱 Don’t miss the chance to be your pet’s hero!

06/20/2025

Excited to offer this webinar on using toy rewards in nose work with Clean Run!

This webinar will take you through the fundamental components of teaching nose work as it looks in detail at how to use toy rewards in this process. Wendy will also address how you might integrate toy rewards with dogs already trained on odor to help build drive, excitement, and handler/dog connecti...

02/17/2025

Virtual Camp starts tomorrow! Come join me as we look at ways to create a sense of urgency with your dog in Nose Work! I'm also looking forward to learning from all the other fabulous presenters.

Two days to go! If you've already registered be sure to join the Virtual Nose Work Camp 2025 Facebook group!

01/10/2025

Michelle is doing another round of "continuing" Urban Locating and another Intro workshop on Saturday Jan 18th for those who missed the first ones.

Sign up and more details available at:

12/04/2024

I'll be doing some training days in Chowchilla in January. Great new location with lots of interior spaces. And there is the option to camp on site in your RV or trailer. Dog friendly hotel nearby too

https://form.jotform.com/242625301181143?fbclid=IwY2xjawG8hehleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHUt54E0epc4vmDbOf20OzX7fwM1gNZFnvWCOhoqs0nql5Ylw9k6tju5WAw_aem_-vysT04HJVlaRaqQB2YJ1A

11/21/2024

Element is enjoying searching for her toy. She cracked me up with her commitment to where she had found the hide the time before. For a minute I thought she had switched to our agility training and was wrapping the box :-) she also worked the problem nicely from the coffee table to the shelves. For those who do nose work it was her first "look behind you" problem :-)

09/22/2024

Michelle Largent will be teaching another Introductory to NASDA Urban locating workshop at Tell a Tail on Sun, Nov 10. For more details and to sign up:

https://forms.gle/cqF1QYNAEuGHd8Jw9

Come learn about a new engaging and dynamite sport that is fantastic fun for all dogs young and old. This workshop will teach you about the organization, the sport of Urban locating and the dogs will be safely introduced to the stars of the sport, the rats. The safety of our rats is top priority, as they are first and foremost pets. In Urban locating the dogs learn to search out rats in their Quarry cages hidden in man made objects. It doesn’t matter if your dog is a born ratter, this is a sport where all dogs can enjoy using their noses in a slightly different way. It is a wonderful outlet and provides great mental stimulation.
You can find more information about the sport at https://nasda.dog/

If you attended her previous workshop or have prior NASDA experience you are welcome to attend, just be aware the focus will be on the introductory aspects of this sport.

Every dog owner knows that dogs are able to pick up scents that don’t catch the attention of their handlers. One study estimated that dogs can pick up odours up to 100 000 times better than humans can. Historically these abilities were embraced and many breeds of dogs were developed to assist peop...

09/18/2024

Sharing this for my students... (Note: if you haven't had class at TAT yet this week, wait to watch the video until after class)

Most of us have some type of word/phrase we use when our dogs go back to a hide they already found that acknowledges them but lets them know they aren't getting rewarded again. I say "good", other versions I've heard include "you got that one", "find another", "Move on", etc.

Most dogs probably view this phrase as information that they should leave the current scent problem.

Often, people use this when they "think" their dog is going back to a hide. I would suggest that you only should use it when they go back and show expectation of payment.

If there is a converging odor problem, the dog may need to use the information available near or at the hide they already found to solve the problem. Or they may need to "reference" the already found hide to sort out the problem.

This video of Carbon shows a great example of this. It very much looks like he's going back to the chair hide, but he clearly is just using the information.

06/20/2024

I will be teaching some short workshops at power paws in San Jose on July 6th and August 3rd. There are a few spaces left in the more advanced drive building workshops. If you are interested in signing up please contact Nancy gyes at [email protected].

Drive Building for Nose Work
1 PM till 3:30 PM both July 6 and August 3
Cost $85/working space, $50/auditing. You can you sign up for one, the other, or both.

The focus of these workshops will be for dogs already competing in nose work who have toy or food drive. We will work with your dog to explore how to use food or toys for reinforcement in nose work to help build additional drive and enthusiasm. We will also utilize the environment to continue to build the dog’s problem solving skills. This would be a great class to audit if you are just getting started and want to see the next steps to building drive in nosework.

Minimum ORT or Novice title required..
12 working spaces, unlimited auditing
Cost $85/working space, $50/auditing

04/04/2024

I had previously advertised that we are doing an intro to NASDA workshop at tell a tail in Livermore. The workshop will be taught by Michelle largent. We have now had to reschedule a few times due to the 680 road closure. The updated date is Sunday May 5th and I still have a few spaces left in the 10.45am session. Sign up is available at

There are a few spaces remaining in the 10:45 a.m. session.

03/25/2024

Thanks to everyone who came out to play at the NW2/3 interior searches at tell a tail today. So much fun having so many new dogs get new experiences. So fun to see old friends and meet new people