For some, scent work is more than a sport and ribbons. It's a shared process that can change both dog and handler in ways you never saw coming.

Lisa Quibell is a competitor, trainer, and judge with CWAGS and UKC. She shares how scent work challenged her not just as a handler and trainer, but as a human — and how working with very different dogs has shaped the way she competes and judges.

We talk about scent work as a confidence builder for dogs who struggle in the world and for handlers who are still finding their footing. Lisa explores what it really means to let the dog lead, how to recognize when not to interrupt, and why giving dogs real decision-making power changes the search for both dog and handler.

We also dig into something most competitors wrestle with — how to celebrate and reward after a search that didn't go your way. And Lisa said something I'm still thinking about: the marker tells them when they did the right thing. The reward is about the relationship.

What we talk about:

• Lisa's origin story — how a friend named Toni kept bugging her about scent work, and why Luna changed everything once she finally said yes
• I train because of Luna, but I train the way I do because of Stark — what a difficult cattle dog taught Lisa about confidence, calm conversations, and choice
• Why confidence and scent work are more similar than people realize — and why the people who need one often resist the other
• What overconfidence actually is — and why it's not confidence at all
• Scent work as a safe space — why dogs who struggle in the world often thrive at a trial, and what that does for them over time
• The delicate dance of letting your dog lead — when to follow, when to step in, and how different dogs need completely different things from the same handler
• How having four very different dogs has shaped the way Lisa judges — and why judges who've only run one breed can develop blind spots
• Luna's master title — what that ribbon on the wall means, why Lisa has never watched the video, and why she wishes she hadn't been so focused on the goal
• What it means that scent work is a gift to us as handlers — not just to our dogs
• The reward sequence after a search that didn't go your way — and why the reward is about the relationship, not the result
• Why the best parties Lisa has ever seen as a judge were for dogs that didn't qualify
• Seven questions with Lisa — including the advice she'd give her beginner self, what her dogs would say about her as a handler, and why her business is called Quibbles and Bits

Find Lisa: quibblesandbits.com

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.co

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