K9 NOSE WORK®

K9 Nose Work Feature: Canine Landis and Handler Barbara Schwerdt

Not Your Typical K9

By Jeff McMahon

If you participate in or follow the sport of Nose Work, then you’ve heard of Landis the German Shepherd and his handler and Certified Nose Work Instructor, Barbara Schwerdt.  You’ve maybe even seen them in action, be it earning a first place finish, a Nose Work 1 title, and the prestigious Harry Award at the January 2009 National Association of Canine Scent Work inaugural trial, or demonstrating search techniques for students in K9 Nose Work classes.  In little more than a year, Barbara and Landis have set the standard for excellence in K9 Nose Work.  What you haven’t heard of is how little more than a year ago, Barbara was desperately searching for a way to save her relationship with Landis.

My first encounter with Landis was at the end of my very first K9 Nose Work class in September of 2008.  After an hour of learning the foundation for K9 Nose Work called a ‘box drill” with my dog, Muriel, using boxes and her favorite treats, I had the experience of watching Barbara and Landis work the big training room at the Pasadena Humane Society.  Barbara entered through the green metal doors with Landis sauntering alongside her, a lean, confident figure.  With a simple command she set Landis loose to search the oversized room.  In less than a minute, Landis located his target, a small cotton swab scented with Anise oil (smells like licorice) hidden in a wooden podium, and sat patiently awaiting his toy reward from Barbara.  I remember thinking to myself, “what a nice trick.”  Only after a few sessions of class with my own dog, seeing her progress, and learning more as a handler, was I able to fully appreciate what I’d seen on that first day of class.  I had witnessed Landis – still a puppy, and only in the sport of K9 Nose Work for less than a year - perform a perfect search; exemplifying what is referred to as “odor obedience”. 

In the months following my newfound appreciation for Landis’ talents I watched him and Barbara excel in competition with such precision and consistency, that I quite confidently surmised Landis must be a natural; that he was born with a button on his side that said “Press Here for Excellence in K9 Nose Work”.  After all, he’s a German Shepherd, the most widely used breed in scent work , both in law enforcement and the private sector.  I found myself expecting Landis to always be the best search dog and Barbara to be doing little more than diligently pushing that magic button.  Then I got to know Barbara and Landis on a more personal level.  I was immediately reminded of one of life’s valuable lessons: Expect the unexpected.  Barbara’s journey with Landis from illness stricken rescue puppy to champion K9 Nose Work team proves it takes much more than breed to succeed, it takes the uncommon traits of patience, sacrifice, unconditional love, and a special bond between canine and handler.

I recently had the pleasure of asking Barbara to share some of Landis’ story.  I hope you find it as insightful and inspirational as I do, and the next time you’re in K9 Nose Work class or at a competition take the time to find out the story behind the dog/handler teams around you, it’s never what you’d expect. 

Jeff McMahon:  What were/are just a few of the obstacles Landis has faced since you rescued him and how have you helped him overcome these obstacles?

JM:  What compelled you to start K9 Nose Work?

BS:  I believe Nose Work has literally saved my relationship with Landis.  He has been quite a challenging puppy!  When I got him, I was strongly encouraged by a training mentor to put a title on him. I assumed she meant an obedience title, so we pursued that for 7 months. It was silly, actually, because Landis and I both hated it. I didn’t know what I was doing, which made me really uncomfortable in class, and that in turn made him nervous. We had an incident in class where he was quite reactive toward another dog, so the instructor asked us to work on that issue before allowing us to return to class. It was a blessing for both of us!  We both decided not to return and to try a different activity. A spot opened up in an Introduction to Nose Work class and we got in. What a difference! He loved it, I loved that he loved it, and the rest, as they say, is history.

JM:  What were Landis’ abilities when he first started K9 Nose Work, and what skills, if any, did you have to work hardest at developing?

BS:  I think he was born ball-crazy, so I didn’t need to spend much time building his drive, and he got the “game” quickly. I’d have to say the majority of the learning was on my part (as the handler) in teaching him how to communicate to me that he had found the odor. We did have to work on teaching him to stay at the odor instead of coming to me to get the reward. We also had to work on him not blowing right past the odor, especially if it was just inside the threshold. But other than that, it’s really just been about him getting more experience. He’s also a whole year older than he was when he started at 10 months, so that has definitely helped.

JM:  What is your favorite search type to do with Landis and why? (Box drill, indoor, outdoor, vehicle, etc.).

BS:  At this stage of our training I would have to say I enjoy two types of searches the most: the vehicle search, and what we call “clearing” a room. I like the vehicle search because it feels the most like real detection work – now that he’s as experienced as he is, he really details a vehicle while looking for odor.  I also like clearing rooms because it gives me the best opportunity to closely observe him working.

JM:  What kind of toy is Landis’ reward for searches? Is it special or does he change/get new toys?

BS:  He is absolutely ball-crazy, so I started out tossing him a ball when he found the odor.  Then I learned that he was rewarded just as much, if not more, by tossing him something more interactive such as a ball on a rope, or a rope toy. So now I use a number of different toy rewards. I rotate them so he’s always surprised.  It seems to work great!

JM:  How often do you practice K9 Nose Work with Landis?

BS:  Officially I have him in two classes a week. In addition to that, I usually work him each morning before I go to work, or some time during the day. I learned early on that it’s important to practice in a number of different locations, so I try to vary locations as well as the length of the training sessions. Sometimes we do just one hide and we’re done. At other times we’re out for much longer.

JM:  What keeps you and Landis involved in K9 Nose Work as competitors? 

BS:  If you had a dog like him, you too would be grateful that there is an outlet for his talent and energy. I didn’t have the time to commit to a career with him in detection or search and rescue work, and I wasn’t willing to give him to someone else who would pursue those goals. So for us, Nose Work was the perfect sport!  I’d never done any kind of competition sports before, so when he placed second at the practice match in August 2008, I was really inspired to continue.  And we certainly had our day at the January 2009 trial! Not only did he take first place, but he earned his NW1 title, I earned a “pronounced” title for it, and he won the prestigious “Harry Award”! It really doesn’t get much better than that!

Editor’s Note: Since the publication of this article, it has gotten much better for Barb and Landis, who earned an NW2 and a first place finish at the June 2009 NACSW trial.