AKc Scent work Judge, International clinician, top competitor, and FDSA Instructor
Stacy BarnettLearn with Stacy
Online Classes through Fenzi Dog Sports Academy
Classes are geared towards all levels of competitors, regardless of your venue of choice! Come see why Stacy’s FDSA classes receive consistent accolades.
Webinars for hobbyists and competitors
Tuesday is webinar day! Topics run the gamut and are a popular augment to every Nosework handler’s education. See also for special events!
International Seminars and Special Events
Stacy is a popular clinician and travels across the US and abroad teaching Nosework! Currently booking 2019 engagements.
Learn about Nosework on the blog and podcast
Want access to free educational resources? Read Stacy’s blog and listen to her podcast.
What is Nosework?
Nosework is one of the fastest growing dog sports in the world. It’s modeled after real world detection.
In Nosework, your dog searches for essential oils, usually on cotton swab. You may search inside buildings, out in the open, boxes and luggage, on vehicles and even buried in the ground! Every search is different and exciting. This is a timed sport where the dog’s skill and handling come together.
Nosework is a sport that every dog and handler can do. It’s a great way to focus hyper dogs and calm nervous dogs. You will be surprised how Nosework can build confidence. Plus it’s FUN!
What can it do for your dog?
Engage his brain
Build Confidence
Build Your Bond
Upcoming Webinars
Nose vs Eyes: Challenging the Nosework Dog’s Assumptions
July 2nd, 2019 @ 9:30pm ET
Did you know that the Nosework dog searches with a lot more than his Nose? In fact every dog with the cability of sight will search with their nose AND their eyes! Depending on the dog and his preferences within the Prey Sequence, this tendency may fall along a pretty wide spectrum! Dogs search with both because it WORKS… However, in some dogs this can really cause some training challenges including object obsession and fringe alerts. Learn how to challenge your dog’s assumptions!
The Use of Pressure in Handling the Nosework Dog Effectively
July 9th, 2019 @ 9:30pm ET
In Nosework, we are taught to “give the dog space” and “don’t crowd the dog”. Do you know why that is? Sure, the dog can source more effectively, but why? The answer is in how our dogs react to proximal pressure, applied either by the handler OR by the environment. As Nosework handlers, very often the key to a successful search is in not only being able to read the dog, but to also read the search area and handle in such a way that we enable our dogs to be as effective as possible. This is achieved by the understanding and judicial use of pressure. Learn handling techniques aimed at taking the “push” out of handling so that the dog can work effectively. Learn to spot pitfalls in handling or in search areas that might lend themselves to missed hides, or “Finely Tuned False Alerts”. The magic is in PRESSURE!
Latest Blog Posts
The REAL Secret to Training a Nosework Dog
Do you want to know the REAL secret to training a Nosework dog? It's rather simple and easy to do. The secret is in prioritization. It's in picking long-term goals over short-term goals. What does this mean? It means that we need to think about how our training...
read moreStarting the Sensitive Dog in Nosework
Does it really matter HOW you start your dog in Nosework? Well, it depends. I'm the first one to always say that all methods work as long as you are respecting the dog and his emotions and needs. I truly believe that. Do I have my preferences? Sure! Don't we all? Are...
read moreWhen you have “That Dog”
Some of us finding ourselves on our second or third Nosework dog may have one of "Those Dogs"... you know what I mean... the Rocket Ship. "That Dog" might be a super talented and YOUNG! A nose with four legs! It can be so tempting to just rush these dogs along to see...
read more
Training Philosophy
Stacy structures everything around her Pyramid: The Four Cornerstones of Trial Preparation. Confidence and Motivation are sacred. Emotions can be trained. Arousal is a habit. These are core concepts of what she teaches.
