A founding member of NACSW™ and one of the original 7 Certified Nose Work Instructors, NACSW trial judge and Certifying Official, Kimberly Buchanan has been training since 2007, competing in K9 Nose Work® since its inception and teaching since 2008.
Kim & Emmy, first Elite in the country!
Kimberly and her Belgian Tervuren Oscar were one of the first few teams to title to an NW1 and NW2. She and her Terv Emmy were the very first team to have earned the challenging NW3 title as well as the first to have earned the NW3 Elite title (= NW3 x 3) in 2011.
Kim and Emmy successfully competed in the 2013, 2014 and 2015 National Invitational events. Kim and Emmy earned a 2nd place in the first Elite trial in 2015. Kim qualified both Emmy and her male Tervuren, Zen, for the 2017 National Invitational in West Springfield, MA. Kim ran Zen in 2017 and placed in individual searches as well as 4th place overall. Zen achieved his ELT-CH in 2021 and is now retired, Cartoon is working towards his ELT-CH and Tricks & Story are working towards their NW3 & NW3-Elite titles!
Kim and her dogs have also trained and competed in Herding, Tracking, Obedience, Schutzhund, French Ring, Dock Diving, and Agility. They have competed nationally as part of the Purina Incredible Dog Challenge, AKC and USDAA Agility and internationally in the 2011 & 2012 FMBB World Championships of Belgian Shepherds in Belgium & Italy. Story is now retired from competing in the sport of French Ring and Agility and Cartoon is still pursuing French Ring.
Kim is a K9 Nose Work® Trial Judge and Certifying Official (NW1 – Elite). She is currently teaching K9 Nose Work® classes, running on-line education for NW enthusiasts, Continuing Education for other CNWI instructors and hosting other K9NW activities in Southern California through her company, Joyride K9 Dog Training. She is enthusiastically helping to bring the sport of K9NW to other regions of the US and internationally as Senior Faculty with the National Association of Canine Scent Work, LLC®.
Kim also partners with Amy Herot in the Products division of All Good Dogs LLC.
A Note From Kimberly:
I began this “Education” site because I saw a demand for greater access to instruction from folks who do not have a K9 Nose Work® instructor near them and from many whose schedules just don’t allow weekly classes. It’s a risk to try any type of dog training remotely. I know from experience that there are many things we do as instructors “in the moment” so I sincerely hope that I am able to capture those moments for you to help you to understand what your dog is doing or saying so everyone has good learning.
I believe strongly in the methods of K9 Nose Work® as I’ve seen wondrous things happen for dogs and their owners when we stop telling the dog what to do and start listening to what he is saying. It’s not about competition. It’s about learning to appreciate all of our dogs for their talents and abilities. Competition is just the icing on the cake for those who enjoy that sort of thing and I take great pleasure in helping my students achieve their best.
I love meeting and working with students in person and encourage everyone to seek out qualified instruction if you have it available near you. If not, I’m happy to step in and give you my best. Thank you for taking the risk and trusting me with your training!
Happy Sniffing!
Kim