#141 How To Reward On Blanks with Eric Stanbro

About this episode

Cameron Ford and Eric Stanbro discuss critical issues in detection dog training, focusing on the importance of proper reward systems and the implications for law enforcement.

Eric Stanbro (Working Dog Radio host, best-selling author, former Canton PD K9 handler) and Cameron Ford have the conversation detection dog handlers need to hear. This isn't polished—it's two veterans with decades of experience discussing the real problems, failures, and solutions in detection dog training. What We Cover: Why rewarding every find creates pattern dogs (and court problems) The "all done" command stolen from European trainers that changes blank search training Court record analysis: why 100% training success rates destroy credibility Why dogs skip the first hide and go for their "favorite" odor The magnet shell game for vehicle searches (stop starting from headlights) Edmonton PD airflow study: where vehicle odor ACTUALLY escapes (not door handles) Cameron's admission: 90% false alert rate at blank traffic stops—even for handlers who know better The vehicle door handle myth vs. touch transfer reality Why detection training needs more "monkey wrenches" like NSW does Balancing training records: 50% blanks, 50% finds for court credibility Eric walks through his evolution from "four hot, one blank" to incorporating proper blank searches, distractors, and variable…

People in this episode

Host: Cameron Ford

Guest: Eric Stanbro

Topics covered

• detection dog training
• rewarding techniques
• court credibility
• blank search training
• training failures
• real-world solutions

Keywords

• detection dogs
• reward systems
• blank searches
• court credibility
• training failures
• law enforcement
• K9 handlers

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Working Dog Radio, Edmonton PD

Places: Canton, NSW

More episodes of K9s Talking Scents

• #142 Narcotics Interdiction with Jeremy Bedingfield · June 4, 2026 · 1h 26m
• #140.5 Are Kong's Really Addictive? | Dr. Paola Tiedemann Explains · May 15, 2026 · 14 min
• #140 Firearms Detection Data and KONGs with Dr. Paola Tiedemann (Part 1) · May 7, 2026 · 45 min
• #139 Firearm Detection LAPD Metro K9 Tom Onyshko · April 23, 2026 · 1h 30m
• #138 Fire Investigation Dogs: Why One Odor Works Better Than Thirteen | Jared Harms · April 9, 2026 · 1h 25m
• #137 From Puppy to MWD with Jason Dill · March 26, 2026 · 1h 22m