Pet Detective Training Kit and Book

Everything you need to train your dog to to find lost pets Included is the Training Your Dog To Find Lost Pets book

6 marker flags
1/2 ounce animal scent
10 foot paracord orange
25 foot paracord blue
3 Marker Spots
4 Scent gathering squares
8 one-gallon freezer bags for storing scent
1 Carry Bag
Training Log Book


You might need a few more items in your training journey like boxes and small tables, more zip lock bags, marker pens and labels, but they are cheap and easily found.

Please allow up to 2 weeks for the kit and book to arrive.

Course curriculum

  • 01

    Introduction

    • Training The Pet Detective

    • Training

    • Consistency is the Key to Dog Training

    • Shaping a Behavior

    • Training Plans

    • Be a splitter, not a lumper!

    • Reading Your Dog

    • Leash Handling Skills

    • Training Yourself to Follow
  • 02

    Human Training Games

  • 03

    Odor Descrimination

    • Introduction

    • Should I be able to smell the odor?

    • 5 Dog Nose Facts You Probably Didn't Know

    • Scent and The Working Dog

    • What You Don't Know About Your Dog's Nostrils

    • Odor Span Tasks In Dogs

    • Why Do Dogs Have Such a Strong Sense of Smell?

    • Target The Sock

    • The Stinky Sock Shell Game

    • Search for the Stinky Sock
  • 04

    Collecting Samples of Odor

    • Tools of the Trade

    • Materials for The Scents Themselves

    • Preparation for Training

    • The Client’s Preparation

    • Odor Hygiene

  • 05

    Engagement, Focus and Attention

    • Introduction

    • The Power of Full Engagement, Managing Energy, Not Time

    • Behavior Observations of YOUR Dog

    • Sources of Motivation

    • Moving Towards Mastery: Seek Many Paths

    • Expectancy Theory of Motivation

    • Focusing Toy Motivation: Create intense desire for a favorite training toy

    • Who’s Your Daddy - Finding Bacon

    • Focusing Food Motivation

    • Reinforcement VS Motivation

    • Choice

    • Making Decisions and Choices

    • Rehabilitating the Power of Choice

    • Choice Rehab

    • Target Training

    • Target This Scent

    • What's That Smell

    • Search

    • Tugging Fool
  • 06

    Are You Ready?

    • Are You Ready?

    • Rudiments – Before the Basics

    • Games for Prediction and Confidence and Focus

    • Creating Attention

    • Do You Want to Work?

    • The Bucket Game

    • Start Buttons

    • Which Way?

    • Show Me The Money

    • Ten Treat

    • Scent Free Area

    • You Pick!
  • 07

    Simple Scent Games for Starting a Search Dog

    • Introduction

    • Rags and Muffins

    • The Shell Game

    • Pyramid Cups

    • Snuffle Garden

    • There`s A Smell!

    • It's This One Silly

    • Target This Scent

    • What's That Smell

    • Find The One

    • Find It

    • Track It

    • Scavenger Hunt

    • Chasing Food

    • It's In Your Hand

    • Getting pushy

    • A zillion ways to say please

    • Show Me

    • Can I Tell You Something?

    • I Can’t See, It’s Dark

    • Oh My, Where Did It Go?

    • Drop and Find It

    • Splash and Find It

    • Scatter Find It

    • Quarry Quest

    • Find Your Toy

    • Name That

    • Find My Kitty
  • 08

    Components of Scent Detection Searches

    • Introduction

    • Track Laying

    • All About Turns

    • Matching to sample

    • Go, no-go paradigm

    • Two-choice paradigm
  • 09

    Puppy Tracking Training

    • Treat path

    • Track It

    • Gravy Trail

    • Tuna Tracking

    • Find Me

    • Find My Kitty
  • 10

    A Simple 8 Week Curriculum

    • Introduction

    • Week 1

    • Week 2

    • Week 3

    • Week 4

    • Week 5

    • Week 6

    • Week 7

    • Week 8

    • Follow Up - More Training May Be Needed
  • 11

    I Found It!

    • Getting a Persistent Alert

    • Different Alert Behaviors - I See Spots

    • Different Alert Behaviors - Nose Target

    • Different Alert Behaviors - Push Me Pull Me

    • Different Alert Behaviors - Put Your Paw On My Shoulder

    • Different Alert Behaviors - Paw Target

    • Different Alert Behaviors - Smack It
  • 12

    Creating A Persistent Alert Behavior

    • Its Moving

    • Are You A Gambler

    • Are You Sure I Said “Break?”

    • Follow That Masked Man

    • I Missed It

    • Bite It

    • Focus Forward

    • Bop!

    • Hold For Calm

    • Hold It Still

    • It's All In The Wrist

    • Hold The Wall
  • 13

    Full Alert: Show Me Where

    • Full Alert: Show Me Where
  • 14

    Not All Lost Pets are in the Open

    • Introduction

    • Body Movement and Environmental Cues Are Natural to Dogs

    • AROUND THE BLOCK

    • AROUND AND THROUGH

    • AROUND AND UP

    • BALANCE BEAM

    • DOG IN A BASKET

    • WORK THE WALK

    • BALANCE & COORDINATION

    • TWIST AND SHOUT

    • INCREASING YOUR DOG'S STRENGTH
  • 15

    Life Without A Leash

    • Emergency Recall

    • Whiplash Turn

    • Whip It, Whip It Good

    • I Heard You the First Time

    • I Only Have Eyes For You

    • Go! On Cue

    • Drive It

    • Whistlin’ Dixie
  • 16

    Committing to the Scent

    • Obedience to Odor

    • Breathe

    • Smell That Smell

    • There`s A Smell!

    • Presenting the Odor

    • It's This One Silly

    • Box On The Floor

    • Fool Me Once

    • Fool Me Twice

    • Scent One - Food Zero

    • Box Quest

    • Go for A Sniff

    • Head In A Bucket

    • It's In Your Hand With Scent

    • Getting pushy With Scent

    • A zillion ways to say please With Scent

    • Find It

    • Clue Test

    • Tennis Ball Scent

    • Scent Can Be Anywhere

    • Search

    • What's That in Motion

    • Search in Motion

    • Don’t Move

    • Stand

    • Stand In Motion

    • Push Me Over

    • DECOY

    • LONE CONTAINER
  • 17

    Searching

    • Fetch-Tug

    • Go Over There

    • You Can’t Catch Me

    • Find Me

    • Body Movement and Environmental Cues Are Natural to Dogs

    • Blindfolded

    • Next to the Dog Park

    • At A Mall
  • 18

    Match To Sample Core Games

    • Similarities and Differences

    • Teaching Yes and No

    • Teaching an “All Clear” in Scent Detection

    • I Couldn’t Find It

    • Pick It Up, Put It Down

    • Put Your Toys Away

    • Goal!

    • Manicure
  • 19

    Match To Sample Searches

    • Shell Bucket Match

    • Pyramid Bucket Match

    • Bucket Match Line Up

    • I Couldn’t Find It

    • Tennis Ball Match Up

    • Tennis Ball Yes and No Searches
  • 20

    Room to Room Searches

    • SideKick

    • Daily Life SideKick Training

    • Scent and the SideKick

    • Back and Forth

    • Four Hands Sitting

    • Four Hands Standing

    • Around a Barrier Search

    • Walk in Patterns

    • Run to Me

    • Adding Rooms

    • Around a Barrier Match to Sample Search

    • Walk in Patterns With Scent

    • Run to Me Match Up

    • Run to Me Yes and No

    • Adding Rooms To Matching and Yes/No
  • 21

    Adding Distance To The Search

    • Chase My Hand

    • Follow My Fingers

    • Back and Forth (For refreshing)

    • Treat Toss Basketball

    • Four Hands

    • Four Hands Standing

    • Toss and Turn

    • Toss and Turn Twins

    • Toss and Turn Corners

    • Toss and Turn Party

    • Toss and Turn Return

    • Toss and Turn Search
  • 22

    Canine Game Theory

    • Play Training

    • What Is a Game

    • Structured Games

    • How To Play These Games

    • Play As Reinforcement