 |
K9 Detection CollaborativeAuthor: Stacy Barnett, Robin Greubel, Crystal Wing
Candid conversations about the reality of training, deploying, or competing with a canine partner. Each episode is a cross pollination from the professional and sport canine camps, exploring how we all want the same thing: A great relationship with our dog.With humor, and a big dose of theory, we talk practical training advice and includes interviews with top trainers and scientists. We keep it fun, honest, and rated PG 13ish. Language: en-us Genres: Education, Kids & Family, Pets & Animals Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it Trailer: |
Listen Now...
Dealing with Dog Training Beer Goggles
Episode 162
Monday, 20 April, 2026
What to listen for:Our hosts, Robin Greubel and Stacy Barnett, chat about a peculiar kind of self-deception. The kind that costs years of training, thousands of dollars, and sometimes the well-being of both dog and handler. They call it beer goggles: the tendency to see the dog we want rather than the dog standing in front of us.Robin talks about Flash, her Lab who simply doesn't bark. Selectively bred for quiet patience in a hunting blind, Flash is temperamentally ill-suited for the alert-dependent demands of FEMA disaster work.It's a genetic reality rather than a training gap, and knowing the difference is the whole game.Beer goggles run in every direction. A handler can overestimate a dog's capacity, grinding for years toward a certification the animal was never built to earn. But the distortion runs the other way too. It’s easy to mistake a sensitive dog who has gained real confidence for one who still needs to be handled with kid gloves, and failing to update that mental image.Robin's young Raven is a sharp example. written off as food-averse and agility-reluctant, she turned explosive once Robin stopped pushing food and started throwing toys for her to hunt.Stacy’s current dog was acquired in 2020 as a sport prospect, redirected to wilderness search and rescue, and is now being painstakingly rebuilt for urban USAR work. The genetics were always there, but the USAR-specific foundations needed filling in.As a trainer, you need to be asking, honestly, whether you're doing this for the dog or for yourself, and whether the gap you're looking at is closeable. A starter dog, like a starter home, is nothing to be ashamed of! Key Topics:Beer Goggles Defined (06:20)Genetic Holes vs. Training Holes (07:29)Dash Hiding Under the Livestock Trough for 12 Hours (08:47)Raven and the Wrong Drive: Food vs. Toy Hunt (20:03)Stacy Repurposing Her USAR Dog from Sport Dog to Wilderness to Urban (25:18)Trainer Beer Goggles: When Critical Thinking Disappears (29:30)Does Your System Work Across Breeds and Dogs? (35:42)The Starter Dog: Knowing When to Recalibrate (45:47) Resources:Upcoming Events!: https://www.k9detectioncollaborative.com/eventsK9 Sensus Training and Courses: https://www.k9sensus.org/training-coursesLiz Joyce: https://caninehandlerfitness.com/meet-liz/We want to hear from you:Check out the K9 Detection Collaborative FB page and comment on the episode post!K9Sensus Detection Dog Trainer AcademyK9Sensus Foundation can be found on Facebook and Instagram. We have a Trainer’s Group on Facebook!Scentsabilities Nosework is also on Facebook. Here is a Facebook group you should join!You can follow us for notifications of upcoming episodes, find us at k9detectioncollaborative.com to enjoy the freebies, and tell your friends so you can keep the conversations going.And don’t forget to check out the YouTube Channel!
