What Sport and Professional Detection Teams Can Learn from Each Other with Bob Deeds
- Jan 27
- 2 min read
What to listen for:
“Trust your dog, but trust your training first.”
Our hosts, Robin Greubel and Stacy Barnett, welcome back veteran USAR handler Bob Deeds to talk about the artificial divide between working dog and sport detection communities, and why both sides desperately need each other!
Bob shares his journey from FEMA disaster work into nose work, leading into his innovative "geo-scenting" protocol. This hybrid sport combines geocaching with scent detection using clove oil, specifically chosen to avoid the venue-hopping confusion he observed in sport handlers who switched between organizations.
Sport handlers often remain clique-ish, loyal to single venues (K9 Nose Work vs. NACSW) despite identical underlying science. Bob advocates aggressively for cross-training, noting how watching elite sport handlers transformed his leash skills after a Belgian trainer bluntly told him they "sucked."
Meanwhile, working dog handlers can learn environmental assessment and body language reading from sport competitors operating under time pressure. Bob describes sport handlers' eyes "scanning like machines" upon room entry.
He also considers puzzle work as the great equalizer. He recounts how a struggling student's reactive Standard Poodle transformed after two weeks of pure puzzle training.
All this and more in this episode of K9 Detection Collaborative!
Key Topics:
● Geo-Scenting Origins and Clove Oil Selection (08:04)
● Building Confidence Through Scent Work in Reactive Dogs (16:00)
● Environmental Assessment Skills in Sport vs. Working Dogs (17:56)
● Leash Handling Skills and Learning from Sport Handlers (19:34)
● Final Response Debate and Reading Body Language (21:02)
● The Clique Problem in Sport Detection Communities (26:13)
● Puzzle Training Philosophy and Adapting on the Fly (35:58)
● Takeaways (41:15)
Resources:
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I liked how this article explains how sport detection teams and professional working dog teams can learn from each other, especially in building better teamwork and training mindset. It shows how both sides improve by sharing ideas and experiences. I remember during a busy semester, I once used do my computer assignment so I could manage deadlines and still focus on understanding topics like problem solving and discipline. It made me realize that learning and performance both grow when we stay open to different methods and cooperation.
I was listening to the podcast from jan 27 - with Bob Deeds and you were all talking about working dogs on puzzles and am interested in where I might find ideas for these puzzles (I'm assuming they aren't the food puzzle things). I am in Australia doing nosework with my three dogs (ANKC).