Of course, field safety skills and dog training require on-the-ground practice and mentorship. But it's totally untrue that you can't start learning many of the necessary skills to be a conservation detection dog handler online.
There are 13 sections of course material, which comes out to 140 lessons and 24 hours of video content. This includes recorded lectures from expert guest instructors, reading material, bonus learning suggestions, quizzes and homework.
Guest Instructors:
Qualifies for CEUs:
With lifetime access to the course, you will enjoy curated pre-work including scientific papers, podcast episodes, videos, and articles from a variety of subject matter experts. Practice your skills with homework that includes preference tests, mock search setups, canine conditioning exercises, seeking games, ORTs and more. Test your learning with an optional Final Exam earning you a Certificate of Completion.
How learning theory, cognition, and dog behavior relates to detection dog success
How to train your detection dog, including selection, troubleshooting, and operational searches
Why sample storage and collection is so important and how to do it well
How to assess terrain, vegetation, and odor movement for search success
How to conduct field searches safely, assess risk, and advocate for your K9 partner on-site
Why welfare, ethics, and husbandry are SO important to detection dog program success
How to find jobs and assist in study design
“This course was way more comprehensive than I expected! I learned not only about how to train my dog for conservation specific scent work and how to collect and store scent samples, but also how to design a study and find work in this field. I enjoyed learning about how to choose a dog for this line of work, and how to keep them fit and healthy throughout their career as a working dog. The real bonus was learning to navigate unfamiliar terrain while keeping my dog and I safe, and in-depth discussions of odor dynamics, the role of terrain and weather in those dynamics. This course was rewarding and engaging on a lot of levels, and I definitely recommend it for anyone interested in environmental detection work.”
Windy A McKinney
“The Conservationists Handler Course is a fantastic way to meet and learn directly from some of the best names in this field! From homework training challenges to in-depth discussions with experts, I can't recommend this course enough for people who want to take their conservation detection skills to the next level. Kayla, Rachel and Heather have created a course so packed with information that I find myself going back to the study materials again and again! ”
Caitlin Winters
“The K9 Conservationist Handler Course was an excellent way to learn new things about the field while expanding the base knowledge I already had. This course also allowed me to learn from my fellow students through the networking in the Facebook group and the class discussions. ”
Tayllor Pittman
“This class was an awesome experience and I highly recommend it to anyone potentially interested in making a career out of conservation detection work. This class was super informational, and it built an awesome community, ranging from beginners to those currently working as professional handlers. As a beginner it was really interesting to hear about experiences and issues professionals in the field are facing with training their own working dogs. Kayla, Rachel, and Heather are all super positive, passionate, and knowledgeable and made this class very interesting and fun to learn about. I absolutely LOVE that we will have access to all of the recorded lectures and readings for future use as well. I am excited to continue building my own dog's search skills with what I have learned in this class.”
Cora
“A wonderful overview of the human and dog skills needed to get started in canine conservation work. ”
Kat Camplin
“Big shout out to the K9 Conservationists team, Kayla, Heather, and Rachel, and all the fabulous guest lecturers, who so generously shared their knowledge and experiences. This thorough course is science-based and yet full of practical advice. It helped me expand my knowledge purposefully and further develop my practical skills. It answered questions I didn't even know I had. My dogs hugely enjoyed the course, too, as they got some extra training sessions as part of the homework. So for us this course was totally worth our while.”
Carolin Butler Manning
“The K9 Conservationists Handler Course was an unbelievable experience. It was an honour to meet Kayla, Rachel, and Heather, they have so much knowledge to give and was not scared to learn from the other students and guest lecturers. The lectures were well-planned and informative, and I enjoyed every single one. The guest lecturers threw a little bit of spice in the mix, and it was refreshing learning from so many people. This is a very comprehensive course and I strongly recommend it to anyone pursuing conservation detection. ”
Chani Brits
Welcome
1: Handler and Dog Selection
2: Sample Acquisition and Storage
Quiz 1
3: Introduction to Scentwork Training
4: Applied Scentwork and Search Development
5: Alerts, Trained Final Response, and Troubleshooting
Quiz 2
Bonus: Scientific Literacy
6: Odor Movement: Terrain, Vegetation and Weather
7: Odor Recognition, Discrimination and Generalization
8: Hide Placement
Quiz 3
9: Field Safety
10: Dog Field Skills
11: Working Dog Welfare, Fitness and Nutrition
Quiz 4
12: Study Design and Planning
13: Finding Work for Conservation Dogs
Optional: Study Hall & Course Wrap-up
Final Exam and Course Survey
Check out the full syllabus above, but topics include: dog selection, job expectations, field safety, odor dynamics, search strategies, marketing and networking, sample acquisition and storage, odor imprinting, training an alert, hide placement, working dog welfare, training techniques, study planning, and more.
The course will take place over 13 weeks, starting on August 23, 2026 through November 15, 2026. There will be weekly virtual discussion calls to go over each section - these will be recorded and uploaded to view later if you're not able to attend. Live discussion calls will be held weekly at 10:00 AM Mountain Time. Approximate local times: Pacific Time (US/Canada): 9:00 AM Mountain Time (US/Canada): 10:00 AM Central Time (US/Canada): 11:00 AM Eastern Time (US/Canada): 12:00 PM (Noon) United Kingdom: 5:00 PM Central Europe (Germany, France, Netherlands, etc.): 6:00 PM Eastern Europe: 7:00 PM South Africa: 6:00 PM
NO! We have designed this course so that you can work through it with any dog, or no dog at all. You have lifetime access to this course, so you can take it now and revisit exercises and homework with your dog down the line.
The course is approved for the following CEUs: 25 IAABC, 30 CCPDT, and 25 KPA.
Yes! The course is mostly downloadable. You have unlimited lifetime access, so our students around the world have been able to complete even with busy schedules or unreliable WiFi.
YES! We have designed this course to help novices, veteran SAR handlers, and experienced ecologists understand the nuances of working with conservation dogs.
Unfortunately, the answer here is no. We are not hiring at this time, although when we do hire we always post within our student groups first. We share job postings and help with applications, but there are no guarantees in such a tiny, competitive field.
With the expert mentoring of the some of the world's best conservation detection dog handlers and trainers.
