“The online courses I’ve taken have been a great addition to the in-person training Mindy and I have done. I was skeptical at first; I wasn’t confident that we’d be able to learn Nosework remotely, but I found that we were able to succeed at learning new skills and honing old ones. Each week we’d cover a different skill. Nancy would send instructions on how to set the hides, we’d video our at-home searches, and share them with everyone to watch and critique.

Having to set my own hides was my biggest challenge, but over time (and with a lot of trial and error) I’ve gotten more confident (and, I hope, better). I’ve also been able to train with people from all over the country that I otherwise would never have met. I highly recommend the FYK9 Academy as adjunct or exclusive Nosework training- it’s a unique and highly rewarding experience”.

“I just finished Nancy’s Elite Online Academy with my dog Blue. It is a great Zoom training alternative. But Online Academy provided us much more than just training while social distancing. It added at least three additional tools to our training bag, skills we don’t get during in-person classes.

First, I was able to learn, practice and improve my skills at hide placement. During in-person classes, you get the benefit of the instructor setting the hides, and the peace of mind that they are set appropriately. But in the Online Academy you have to set the hides yourself. This allowed me the benefit of Nancy’s input not only on executing the searches, but also on improving my hide placements to maximize our training. Overall, this improves my at-home training with my dog. Second, I felt the Online Academy gave me the benefit of a broader community of people and dogs to train with. I got to observe how other teams worked the exercise for the week, and just as importantly, I got the benefit of comments and input from my colleagues. I felt like I gained a broader community of “training buddies. Finally, the Online Academy gave me the chance to watch the videos of my dog and me work each week. I got to see things I didn’t realize I was doing, or things I didn’t remember doing.”