Beyond the Title: Setting Realistic Goals for Your Next Nose Work Trial

Author: Lori Timberlake

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 that’s certainly a great goal. But if that’s the only thing you’re 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 years—with a brand new dog—I’ve 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 dog’s. Because of that, I’m 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 it’s 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, I’d love for her to find all the hides and earn titles along the way—but 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 I’m 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 she’s 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 we’re 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 too—but there’s more to evaluate than simply whether she finds the hide.

During the search I’m 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 before—a 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 didn’t plan for.

You can bet that before our next trial we’ll be doing some training with treats on the floor near hides – 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:

“That was the best game ever.”

Trial Day Logistics

I’m 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 conditions—heat, cold, rain, or snow?

Sometimes logistics can make a big difference in how a dog performs.

The Results

And finally… the results.

Did she title?

How did we compare to other teams?

Those things can be fun and motivating—but 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 doesn’t 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, that’s 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.

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.

Lori Timberlake is passionate about strengthening the bond between dogs and their owners. She loves helping handlers and their dogs grow together through K9 Nose Work® and Dog Parkour, offering classes both in person and virtually.

Dedicated to expanding these sports in Western New York, Lori is actively involved with the National Association of Canine Scent Work™ (NACSW) and the International Dog Parkour Association (IDPKA), striving to make Dog Parkour as popular and accessible in the community as Nose Work.

Lori’s expertise is backed by extensive certifications and leadership roles, including:

• Certified Professional Dog Trainer (CPDT-KA)
• Certified Nose Work Instructor (CNWI)
• Certified Family Dog Mediator (FDM)
• Certified International Dog Parkour Instructor
• Certified Drink With Your Dog™ Instructor
• NACSW Certifying Official & Judge
• USCSS Trial Official
• AKC Judge
• C-WAGS Obedience, Rally, Games & Scent Judge
• Scent Work University Instructor and Presenter
• Cyber Scent Work In-person Evaluator
• IDPKA In-person Evaluator
• Trial & Seminar Host, Workshop Presenter
• Staff Member, NACSW Trial Division
• Owner of Do Over Dog Training

Through her classes, workshops, and events, Lori combines her knowledge, experience, and enthusiasm to help dogs and handlers succeed with confidence while deepening their connection.