The Secret Weapon: Why Volunteering is the Best (Free) Scentwork Training You Can Get

I wish I knew where my dog was in the running order. I sure wish I knew what the judge was thinking when they placed those hides. I wonder how other scentwork teams would handle this search. Scentwork trials are becoming so expensive, I wish there was a way it could be cheaper!

Do any of those thoughts sound familiar?

Here is the truth: Scentwork and nosework trials simply couldn’t happen without volunteers. Whether it’s acting as a timekeeper, gate steward, parking assistant, or assisting with setup, successful trials rely on volunteers.

Perhaps you are new and worried you won’t know what to do, or you’re afraid you’ll mess something up. Or, perhaps you’re intimidated because the volunteers you see look like experts. You may just not see the value in giving up your time.

I’m here to tell you that volunteering is not a sacrifice—it’s one of the best training decisions you can make. The rewards are not just an appreciation from the hosting club, they are priceless knowledge that will immediately transform your success in scentwork.

From Novice Fear to Priceless Knowledge

When I first began scentwork with Kaja, there was an announcement about an NACSW ORT (Odor Recognition Test) trial needing volunteers. I was painfully insecure about scentwork, but curiosity won out. I knew what the rulebook said, but I had never seen an actual ORT trial. So I volunteered, and I am so glad I did!

I was allowed to be the timekeeper for one search and witnessed wonderful teams. My lightbulb moment was seeing the variety: some dogs were extremely fast, some extremely slow, and some dogs did a beautiful sit or down at the box (unlike Kaja!). I realized (as I am prone to do) that I was over-complicating things. Seeing other teams put my mind at ease about what to expect when Kaja and I would do our own ORT.

At a later time, Kaja and I were entered in an NACSW NW1. I was a nervous wreck. While waiting in line, the Gate Steward motioned us forward. The first thing she did was compliment Kaja and asked if I had any questions. I likely asked a ton, but this friendly volunteer helped put my mind at ease, reminded me this was time to spend with my dog, and that pass or fail, the important thing was for the experience to be fun. Those kind and supportive words, from a volunteer I didn’t even know, had a dramatic difference in my mindset.

My final breakthrough came when I was a timekeeper at an NACSW NW3/Elite trial. My mind was absolutely blown! I saw handlers—my gosh, were they amazing—they could read their dogs to find hides when they didn’t even know how many were present, even with the wind blowing like crazy. It gave me a goal to strive for, and I became hooked on volunteering just because it gave me the opportunity to watch these amazing teams work together.

I learn best when watching others. I can be given suggestions verbally, such as quit talking while your dog is searching, and sometimes it will stick in my brain when doing a search, and unfortunately, sometimes not. As a volunteer, when I am able to watch some truly great teams, seeing how the handler fully sports their dog, it sticks with me and it becomes something I want to emulate. Conversely, when I see teams where the handler is constantly talking while their dog is searching (something I used to do ALL the time), it really makes an impression on me about how disruptive that can be when the dog is searching. Having that visual experience of watching and learning as a volunteer is truly priceless!

The Real Value: Insider Training You Can’t Buy

The knowledge you gain in one trial day from volunteering can dramatically shift your entire training approach. This is the priceless information that matters:

1. Your Private Handling Coach (Judge’s Timekeeper)

The role of the judge’s timekeeper is one of the most sought after volunteer positions. One, you get to watch the different teams search, and more often than not, the judge will explain why they placed the hides the way they did, why they gave a “No” if it wasn’t immediately obvious, and their rationale if they asked a competitor “where” when they called alert. It’s really a unique opportunity to get inside the judge’s brain to understand hide placements.

Secondly, you get to watch actual teams search, and this experience can be priceless! I can think of two examples where I was able to watch a couple of teams where I learned some very powerful lessons in my own handling. In the first example, I was watching this team search for a hide, the dog did a quick head snap, then turned to the handler, indicating the dog believed it had found the hide. And the handler asked, “where?” The dog moves a tiny bit closer to where they believe they found the hide, and the handler asks, “where, show me?” The dog then uses their paw against the vehicle, and the handler calls “alert.” The judge says “yes” but I have to give you a fault for your dog pawing the vehicle. Seeing all of that, I thought oh no, that handler is just like me! I used to always ask Kaja “where” and “show me”, but I never realized until that moment how frustrating that can be for the dog. In another example, I witnessed a lower level team do a search, the handler following very close to the dog, and the dog gives an indication of an alert. The handler says “alert” and the judge says no. And the handler then says, my dog lied to me, why did you lie to me! Oh boy! Talk about saying something that will really get the ire of a judge, just tell them your dog lied. But this example taught me a very powerful lesson. All dogs will have false alerts, certainly Kaja and I had more than our fair share in containers and buried searches, but dogs don’t lie, and more often than not, it’s the handler that caused the false alert, not the dog trying to lie to their handler. In my early scentwork life, it was tough to acknowledge so many of the handling mistakes I was making. When you are unsuccessful in a search, especially in the beginning, it’s very tempting to blame the dog, the judge, the location of the hide, almost anything other than yourself. It’s tough medicine to swallow that our handling greatly impacts the dog when they are not accurate. Having the opportunity to volunteer and witness such a large variety of teams, you can learn to recognize your own weaknesses, and your strengths, by watching other teams compete.

2. Decoding the Judge’s Mind (Judge’s Steward)

This role is generally exclusive to Handler Discrimination (HD) searches, making the insight you gain extremely valuable. The role of the Judge’s Steward in Handler Discrimination means that you will be taking the competitor’s scented items, following the judge to the search area, and placing those scented items where the judge instructs you to do so. BUT, in this particular volunteer role, you often get to see unique perspectives among the different teams, both before and during the search. For example, if you were to observe me before a Handler Discrimination search, you’d see me with my baggie of cotton balls or a cotton glove, and I’m constantly blowing in that baggie to heat it up, hoping the scent of my breath provides an additional component for my dog to be able to identify my scented item during a search. With another handler, you may see them rolling the cotton balls or glove in their hand, or rubbing it along their body, before handing the item off to the judge’s steward. Additionally in this role, you get to watch the actual Handler Discrimination search. You’ll be able to witness a variety of start line routines that different handlers use. Some teams may start the search with a prompt like, “find me,” or “find momma”, while other teams may spend some time rubbing their hand across somewhere on their body, prompting their dog to remind them they are searching for the handler’s scent, not an essential oil. There is no one method that is 100% correct for every dog, but only by volunteering in this role do you get to see the variety of methods that teams use in Handler Discrimination, and some of the things you see just might help your team improve.

There is another element in this role that I feel deserves mentioning. In no other volunteer role will you become so aware of the importance of odor hygiene and minimizing odor contamination. Most handlers are very concerned about their scented items being contaminated with the scent of the Judge’s Steward, the judge, or anyone else. Most judges I have worked with make very clear that the Judge’s Steward wears clean gloves when taking the handler’s scented item, and if the scented items are placed in cardboard boxes, that no one touch any of the carboard boxes, without wearing gloves. You witness the meticulous protocol—the use of fresh gloves and the careful handling of scented articles. This knowledge forces you to dramatically improve your own hygiene when preparing your scent articles at home, truly learning the importance of minimizing odor contamination.

3. The Anxiety Regulator (Gate Steward)

The Gate Steward is one of the most crucial roles, one of the most underappreciated roles, in any scentwork trial. The role of the Gate Steward helps ensure that the trial runs efficiently, remains organized, and doesn’t lead to competitor confusion. Additionally, the demeanor of the Gate Steward can make a world of difference in the success of the trial. I gave the example earlier where that particular Gate Steward I encountered in one of my early trials was so friendly, and was so calm, it really helped ease my nerves and make a dramatic difference in how Kaja and I performed. Conversely, I have been at scentwork trials where there was not a Gate Steward, or the Gate Steward was really stressed, and you could just feel that stress being sent out to other competitors waiting in line. Let me explain a bit more about the Gate Steward role and the value you get from being in this role. Generally speaking, the Gate Steward is monitoring the flow of dogs lining up to search, checking dogs off the list when they have completed their search, and answering questions from competitors about where a particular search is located, when a particular search may begin, finding out if a competitor is absent or needs to prepare to search, helping competitors who may have conflicts with other searches, or just reminding competitors of what to expect in their search. It truly is not an easy role, but if you are in this role, and competitors come up to you at the end of the day and tell you that they really appreciated what you did in this role, and helping guide them to where they needed to be, it makes everything worthwhile and it’s always nice to be appreciated.

4. Securing Assets and Spreading Joy (Vehicle Wrangler)

In NACSW, USCSS, and UKC trials, vehicle searches are one of the elements. In these trials, the clubs need to find users who are willing to donate their vehicle to be used in the searches, and more often than not, somebody has to move and remove all of those donated vehicles used during the searches. I’ve been to a few trials over the years where it is announced during the morning briefing that if people aren’t willing to donate their vehicles for searches, then the searches cannot occur. You may be asking, so how does the role of Vehicle Wrangler tie into the success of vehicle searches and folks being willing to donate their vehicles used in searches? I’ll be completely honest and say I’m biased about this volunteer role, because I’ve tried to develop it into something that is unique. In Houston area trials, I am often asked to be the Vehicle Wrangler, which I am more than happy to do. But I tried to think of something that I could do, where competitors who donated their vehicles for searches would be shown appreciation, and to make it a little fun as well.

For vehicles that have been used in a search and had odor placed on them, when the search is complete, I use a chalk marker to write on one of the vehicle windows, “You’re Hot!” Or, sometimes I use these little stencils I bought to make a little image on one of the windows showing that the vehicle was used during a search. It’s really such a simple thing, but people get a little excited when they come out to their vehicle at the end of a trial and see “You’re Hot!” written on one of the windows, and there’s some dog related image that has been drawn on their window. I’ve had people tell me they didn’t wash their vehicle for a week just because they would come out to their vehicle in the morning and seeing that just made them smile. In your role as a volunteer, at least for me, if you can make someone smile because of something you have done, that is more valuable than anything financially, and it just makes you feel good on the inside.

I neglected to mention what the role of Vehicle Wrangler actually does, so I will do that now. The Vehicle Wrangler position the vehicles exactly as the judge requests, often learning why that specific position or vehicle was chosen for the hide. This gives you insider knowledge on how to practice vehicle elements at home.

The Ultimate Takeaway: The Comprehensive Payoff

When you volunteer, you receive a comprehensive payoff that combines both the immediate, strategic benefits and the hosting club advertised perks. You gain profound insight that accelerates your training, receive genuine appreciation from the trial hosting club, and play a crucial role in the overall success and smooth running of the trial.

And yes, you get those highly-promoted, tangible benefits too:

• Discounts on future trials
• Preferred parking or crating space
• Complimentary lunch and snacks

Volunteering is a total win: you walk away a better, smarter handler, and you leave the trial a more positive place for having been there. This is the ultimate form of paying it forward to the sport that has given us so much.

Ready to Unlock Your Potential?

Volunteering is the most direct way to gain confidence, internalize essential handling skills, and acquire the insider knowledge that will truly level up your partnership with your dog.

If you have any questions about what it’s like to volunteer, what roles are available, or how to get started, please reach out to me directly using the contact form on my website. I’m happy to help guide you on your volunteer journey!