What to listen for:

In the second half of the conversation with Dr. Jennifer Essler, our hosts, Robin Greubel and Stacy Barnett, discuss her current research and future goals bridging academic science with real-world handler expertise!

At SUNY Cobleskill, Dr. Essler's conservation work demonstrates how detection dogs fill practical niches. Her Round Goby project (tracking invasive fish from the Black and Caspian Seas) uses dogs for water sampling rather than locating individual fish.

This mirrors eDNA methodology but delivers immediate field results instead of days of laboratory processing. Dogs trade some sensitivity for real-time assessment, making them viable alternatives when speed matters. The project's success has attracted government conservation agencies interested in applying dogs to other invasive species like hydrilla plants and certain crawfish.

Her Penn Vet ovarian cancer research revealed the limitations of lab-based detection. While dogs successfully identified cancer in blood plasma, clinical deployment was never the goal. Instead, the objective was helping develop electronic detection systems.

The fundamental problem is that even superstar dogs have off days without visible behavioral indicators explaining poor performance. Unlike field work, where handlers notice changes, lab settings offer no safety net for medical diagnosis. Repetitive scent wheel searches also eventually bored excellent performers into retirement.

That shows all the difference between detection work and examination work.

Dr. Essler's future priorities center on quantifying practitioner expertise. That’s documenting how experienced trainers accurately assess young dogs through seemingly instinctive judgments.

Key Topics:

• Conservation Detection Research Projects (01:11)
• Round Goby Invasive Species Work (02:20)
• eDNA vs. Dogs: Trade-offs and Applications (11:32)
• Ovarian Cancer Detection Research Insights (20:51)
• Why Dogs Can't Replace Medical Testing (24:02)
• Future Research on Quantifying Handler Expertise (29:15)
• Puppy Selection Science and Practitioner Knowledge (35:07)
• Quarterly Research Review Plans (42:44)
• Understanding Research Sample Size Constraints (44:04)

Resources:

• Dr. Essler's Website
• SUNY Cobleskill Canine Science Program

We want to hear from you:

• Check out the K9 Detection Collaborative FB page and comment on the episode post!
• K9Sensus Detection Dog Trainer Academy
• K9Sensus 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!

What to listen for:

Our hosts, Robin Greubel and Stacy Barnett, sit down with canine cognition researcher Dr. Jennifer Essler. She unpacks her journey from coding Capuchin monkey videos in a windowless lab to studying fairness in wolves and dogs.

Starting with music studies before discovering comparative psychology, Essler's academic trajectory took her from Georgia State's primate labs to hand-raised wolf packs in Vienna's Wolf Science Center.

It’s a unique research environment that controls for lifestyle differences between wolves and dogs by raising both species identically in packs. As a result, you can isolate domestication effects from environmental variables. The wolves, however, proved far more challenging subjects than primates, requiring complete experimental apparatus redesigns after initial safety failures.

Her inequity aversion research uncovered pretty interesting species differences: wolves, like primates, showed quality sensitivity by refusing to work when partners received superior rewards.

Dogs, conversely, accepted any reward as long as they received something, possibly reflecting their domestication-driven tolerance for human-directed work, or their reduced attention to partner outcomes.

Robin, Stacy, and Dr. Essler discuss the practical implications this finding has for multi-dog training scenarios and reinforcement strategies.

Essler's transition to Penn Vet Working Dog Center brought her expertise to practical applications: ovarian cancer detection, COVID-19 screening, and spotted lanternfly detection. All while developing behavioral assessment batteries.

Key Topics:

• Academic Journey from Primates to Canines (03:04)
• Wolf Science Center Research Design (05:45)
• Pack Living Challenges: Dogs vs. Wolves (08:12)
• Impossible Task Apparatus and Behavioral Flexibility (16:14)
• SUNY Cobleskill Teaching and Detection Class (19:33)
• Glow Germ Contamination Training Exercise (27:13)
• 3D Printed Vessels and Odor Considerations (31:18)
• Inequity Aversion: Dogs vs. Wolves vs. Primates (41:39)

Resources:

• Dr. Essler's Website
• SUNY Cobleskill Canine Science Program

We want to hear from you:

• Check out the K9 Detection Collaborative FB page and comment on the episode post!
• K9Sensus Detection Dog Trainer Academy
• K9Sensus 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!

What to listen for:

“Trust your dog, but trust your training first.”

Our hosts, Robin Greubel and Stacy Barnett, welcome back veteran USAR handler Bob Deeds to talk about the artificial divide between working dog and sport detection communities, and why both sides desperately need each other!

Bob shares his journey from FEMA disaster work into nose work, leading into his innovative "geo-scenting" protocol. This hybrid sport combines geocaching with scent detection using clove oil, specifically chosen to avoid the venue-hopping confusion he observed in sport handlers who switched between organizations.

Sport handlers often remain clique-ish, loyal to single venues (K9 Nose Work vs. NACSW) despite identical underlying science. Bob advocates aggressively for cross-training, noting how watching elite sport handlers transformed his leash skills after a Belgian trainer bluntly told him they "sucked."

Meanwhile, working dog handlers can learn environmental assessment and body language reading from sport competitors operating under time pressure. Bob describes sport handlers' eyes "scanning like machines" upon room entry.

He also considers puzzle work as the great equalizer. He recounts how a struggling student's reactive Standard Poodle transformed after two weeks of pure puzzle training.

All this and more in this episode of K9 Detection Collaborative!

Key Topics:

• Geo-Scenting Origins and Clove Oil Selection (08:04)
• Building Confidence Through Scent Work in Reactive Dogs (16:00)
• Environmental Assessment Skills in Sport vs. Working Dogs (17:56)
• Leash Handling Skills and Learning from Sport Handlers (19:34)
• Final Response Debate and Reading Body Language (21:02)
• The Clique Problem in Sport Detection Communities (26:13)
• Puzzle Training Philosophy and Adapting on the Fly (35:58)
• Takeaways (41:15)

Resources:

• Dog Scouts of America: GeoScenting
• Canine Connection
• K9 Sensus: Using Chickens to Train Trainers
• Fenzi Dog Sports Academy: Schedule

We want to hear from you:

• Check out the K9 Detection Collaborative FB page and comment on the episode post!
• K9Sensus Detection Dog Trainer Academy
• K9Sensus 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!