About Alert K9, LLC

Alert K9 is a specialist rather than a general obedience trainer: it teaches K9 Nose Work, the scent-detection sport, from a Port Chester base.

What the sport is

The site explains that K9 Nose Work was developed in 2006 by three professional trainers and detection-dog handlers, and that its whole design is to make scent detection accessible to any dog regardless of age, breed, temperament or training history. The claimed benefits are focus, confidence, independence and problem-solving, plus the handler-dog teamwork that comes from working a search together.

How classes run

Classes run both indoors and outdoors on the same procedure. Dogs are crated in class or work from their cars so that only one dog works at a time – which is the reason nose work suits reactive and anxious dogs that cannot cope with a group obedience class. Beyond the regular series, the club runs pop-up classes and mini-workshops as field trips to novel locations including farms, shopping centers and parks, because a scent-detection dog has to generalize to unfamiliar environments.

Where to start

The published entry point is Introduction to Nose Work. If your dog cannot be in a room with other dogs, this is the format in the metro that is built for exactly that.