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See Education PathSTARTS NOVEMBER 1, 2026 · SIX-WEEK ONLINE COURSE · AUDITOR US$139 · PREMIUM US$299
Turn a trained indication into a clearer, more independent search chain.
Finding source is only one part of a nosework search. The learner must enter the area, work through an environment, locate accessible target odor, indicate, and remain clear enough for the handler to make a decision. The handler must arrange the hide, aging time, odor strength, start line, movement, and reinforcement without quietly solving the problem for the dog.
Nosework Stage 2 is a six-week system for planning accessible single-hide searches, observing change of behavior, and analysing how scent conditions and handler behavior influence the chain.
- Prerequisite:
- a usable indication and basic odor-discrimination foundation
- Format:
- independent online study
- Access:
- one year from purchase
Plan the scent problem and the handler’s route before the learner enters the search.
Design a search that answers one question
- Plan the scent picture
- Use accessibility, airflow, surfaces, odor strength, aging, and start location as deliberate variables.
- Read the whole chain
- Observe the start line, movement, change of behavior, source, indication, reinforcement, and end of search.
- Audit the handler
- Separate what the learner detects from the information added by line handling, body position, path, and timing.
Harder hides do not automatically produce better training
A difficult search can be exciting and still answer no useful question. If hide accessibility, odor strength, aging, search duration, airflow, visual information, and handler behavior all change together, success and failure are equally difficult to interpret.
Stage 2 begins with a baseline. You will decide what each search is meant to teach, hold the other features as stable as the environment permits, and record the first point where behavior differs from your expectation. That difference becomes the starting point for the next plan—not an invitation to add another hide or give more directional help.
The search-design method
- State the training question. Decide which part of the chain or scent picture the setup is meant to develop.
- Plan the environment. Record location, surfaces, airflow or ventilation, hide accessibility, strength, aging, and start line.
- Plan the handler. Decide on line handling, movement, access, observation position, and the end-of-search routine.
- Run and record. Observe the first meaningful change in behavior rather than summarizing the search as good or bad.
- Choose the next exercise. Distinguish a scent-physics question, a missing learned link, handler influence, physical difficulty, or missing information.
Your six-week learning map
Week 1 · Define the search chain
Establish a baseline, map the behavior chain, use ABC relations, build a start-line routine, plan aging, introduce the search, and begin measuring search duration.
Week 2 · Add scent theory and exterior foundations
Examine odor movement and accessibility, then introduce controlled exterior searches with boxes and a single accessible hide.
Week 3 · Develop the handler’s role
Analyse line handling, movement, access, and observation; introduce vehicle-search foundations; and reduce dependence on visual information.
Week 4 · Clarify vehicles and cues
Work with a cold vehicle and examine the cues that enter the routine. Treat vehicle work as a safety-sensitive arrangement rather than simply another object to circle.
Week 5 · Extend the search without losing the chain
Develop search duration, vary handler behavior deliberately, and add complexity while monitoring independence and indication clarity.
Week 6 · Change odor conditions and plan the next search
Reduce odor strength, increase aging time, complete the duration progression, write training plans, and troubleshoot cases without changing every variable at once.
Tools for every search plan
- a baseline and repetition-boundary record;
- a start-line and end-of-search plan;
- hide accessibility, odor strength, and aging fields;
- environment and airflow hypotheses;
- line-handling and handler-movement notes;
- observable change-of-behavior records;
- reinforcement placement; and
- a before-and-after comparison that identifies the earliest observable change.
See a search in motion
Watch the full sequence rather than only the moment at source. Follow the start, search path, changes in behavior, handler movement, indication, and the end of the repetition.
Readiness and scope
Before beginning, the learner should have a usable indication on target odor, basic hot-versus-cold discrimination, experience with more than one holder or location, and a simple search cue or routine. Equivalent prior training is suitable when those components are already established. If you need that foundation, begin with Introduction to Nosework.
Stage 2 develops accessible single-hide exterior and vehicle foundations. It provides trial foundations, not universal trial readiness. Multiple-hide strategy, every inaccessible-hide problem, all interior scenarios, distractor rules, and organization-specific test requirements are outside its scope. Weather, surfaces, odor materials, vehicles, local rules, and the learner’s health require individual safety decisions.
What students from earlier editions say
Earlier editions included different participation and support routes. These comments describe students’ experience with the course.
“Another super course focusing on important foundations to build motivation, confidence and understanding.”
— Jennifer Will
Your instructor
Agnieszka Janarek is the founder of Tromplo and an animal trainer with a background in Applied Behavior Analysis. Her nosework teaching connects scent physics with learning history, careful observation, and the trainer’s own behavior inside the search.
I do not want you to collect harder hides. I want you to design a search, state the question it should answer, and identify the first point where the learner’s behavior tells you something different.
Build the complete search chain
Auditor US$139 · Premium US$299 · six weeks · one year of access.
You receive written lessons, video demonstrations, practical exercises, and a reusable route for planning, running, recording, and revising accessible single-hide searches.
Questions before you enrol
Can I begin without Stage 1?
Yes, if the learner already has an equivalent foundation: a usable indication, basic odor discrimination, variation across holders or locations, and a simple search cue or routine.
Will this make us trial-ready?
The course develops trial foundations for accessible single-hide exterior and vehicle searches. Readiness must still be evaluated against the rules and conditions of the organization and venue where you plan to work.
Does the course cover vehicle searches?
It introduces vehicle-search foundations and a cold-vehicle exercise with explicit attention to safety, cue clarity, access, and handler movement.
Does this offer include individual review?
Yes if you chose Premium spot. The Auditor / self-study route. It includes the complete materials, demonstrations, exercises, and one year of access the Premium gives you daily feedback
Choose November Premium · US$299
Course Testimonials
I love this course! It was fantastic continuation of stage 1, where we learn basic behaviours and concepts. On this course, I understood the nosework much better, as well as my dog. It was very packed with knowledge and very inspiring for practise developement. We gain new skills so we can play nosework much more widely and be more creative. Agnieszka gave us tools how to solve problems, progress and make searches more interesting, challenging or just more fun. I learn how to progress and regress exercises, on what aspects I need pay more attencion and how to solve problems. We were working on observation skills, but also on my behaviour, that influence all process of searching and communication. It was awesome to observe that Fredzio is gaining new skills, become more and more confident and all this brings him good fun <3 After this course, I think me and Fredzio are much better nosework team…on the other hand, I see many more aspects and skills that we should work on…I want more 😀 After taking this course for shure I will continue nosework learning jurney with my dog 🙂
Thank You very much Agnieszka!
April 15, 2024
Another super course focusing on important foundations to build motivation, confidence and understanding. Just perfect for my cocker who has improved dramatically over the 6 weeks. We’ve both loved it and will be eager to do more scentwork courses when they pop up. Thanks so much Aga!
June 30, 2023