Caroline Oldham | Make the Journey the Priority

If the journey with your dog in this sport is the priority, success can fall into place for any team. And Caroline Oldham puts a lot of effort into focusing on the journey. And doing so helps both the dog and handler achieve their goals.

She also talks about her crate-to-crate ritual and why she does it, what your dog's breed group tells you about how they search, building handler grit, and a start line tip she thinks will make a difference for most teams.

What We Talk AboutCaroline's pack, Timber the Welsh Springer, Kate the Malinois who made her a planner, and Rebarre the yellow lab she planned a year before she got herWhat training a Malinois teaches you that no other breed willBreed groups and what they tell you about how your dog searchesThe dog is always learning whether or not you're teaching, and what Caroline did with that idea the first hour she had RebarreYour dog is perceiving odor, not just smelling it, and why that reframe changes how you handleThe toy basket mistake and why all good things should come from youClarity, no gray days, black and white rules that hold even when you don't feel like trainingThe one treat that is only for the discovery of odorCrate to crate, what the ritual looks like from the hotel to the search area to the car ride homeWhat success looked like with the first dog and what it looks like nowTwo stories about what it looks like to drive home from a trial and call it a success even when you don't do as well as you wantedHandler grit and what it takes to keep your rituals in place when everything is falling apartThe self-care coach on her training team and why the handler is half the partnershipSeven questions with Caroline, including her signature distractor, the start line tip she thinks will make a difference for most teams, and what her dog would say about her in one word

Links and ResourcesFind Caroline:

Facebook: Caroline Oldham

Facebook group: Scent Work Texas

Southern DFW Scent Training seminars: ckoldham@att.net

Alert! Scent Work is a podcast for competitors, the parking lot conversations you'd never get to have at a trial, with the judges and community members you wish you had more time with.

Listen to the podcast and find everything here: https://www.AlertScentWork.com

Follow along: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlertScentWork

Subscribe to the newsletter: https://www.alertscentwork.com/newsletter/