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Welcome to the exciting world of HeRo Canine Consulting – where K9 Nose Work® and Mental Management® meet.

Simple, effective, flexible and proven solutions for you and your dog!

We provide the following:

  • Coaching provided by experienced Certified Nose Work Instructor (CNWISM), NACSW-approved Supervising Certifying Official and Trial Judge, Mental Management Certified Coach (level II)
  • K9 Nose Work® skill building for you and your dog
  • “Improve your mental game” with Mental Management®
  • Flexible service schedule to meet your goals
  • Methods that are easy to implement and highly effective
  • Solution-based approach
  • In-person or online support

At HeRo, we are all about you and your dog!

WHY CHOOSE HeRo?
Do you want the highest-quality and most up-to-date coaching for you and your dog? Do you want to work with an experienced and qualified professional instructor, presenter and high-in-trial competitor?  Find out more about Silke here. Click here to read more.

Do you have any questions about our services?

Testimonials

Hi! My name is Sophie! The lady-who-loves-me-and-feeds-me (you humans call her Betsy) is always looking for things to do and ways to keep me busy. A year ago someone suggested this thing called K9 Nose Work®. We found a place in Bloomsburg called HeRo Canine Consulting run by a very nice lady named Silke! She convinced Betsy to just let me be a dog and use my nose the way it was intended to be used!! How much fun is this!!! I get to sniff out food and odor, and Silke is teaching Betsy how to stay out of my way – until I might need her! It’s the BEST!! You should really give it a try. Your dog will thank you and you’ll have a great time – Betsy and I sure do!!

Betsy Thompson and Sophie, Muncy PA

As my introduction to Canine NoseWork, Silke has been marvelous! She is able to combine a wealth of knowledge about dogs, an understanding of canine scenting skills, and a natural ability to teach humans with an approachable, friendly manner to create classes that are both enjoyable (for dogs AND humans) and productive.

Edy and I look forward to every class–I only wish we lived closer than over an hour away!

Betsy Howell, CNWI and Eddy, Harrisburg, PA
More Client Testimonials
HeRo Canine Consulting LLC

HeRo Canine Consulting LLC
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K9 Nose Work® privates, group classes, small group coaching clinics, seminars/webinars and video review by Certified Nose Work Instructor (CNWI)
COing and Judging for NACSW trials
Mental Management Coaching by Certified Mental Management Coach

HeRo Canine Consulting LLC

2 weeks ago

HeRo Canine Consulting LLC
I didn’t think I’d spend my career fighting for dogs to be allowed to play fetch. But here we are. Four years ago, I noticed little hints of pet parents being warned about playing fetch. I had clients whose working dogs got no exercise. “We used to play fetch, but the previous trainer told us to stop so he wouldn’t become a super athlete,” one Aussie owner told me. “The arch of the ball in the air causes adrenaline spikes,” one trainer wrote. “It causes compulsive disorder” is a common theme. “They are addicted”. The list goes on and on. At that time, I warned that it would spread like wildfire, and indeed it did. Now, the concept that fetch is bad is in most pet households. Why do I care? Because many dogs are underenriched. Most dogs are underexercised. Taking away the one joyful thing they do is terrible. Especially when the claims are false. Yesterday, I was tagged on a post about fetch. My followers know I’m pro-fetch (because I’m pro-happy and excited dogs). Heck, I wrote a chapter in my book about fetch. When I saw the post, my heart sank. The post, with the click-bait “HERE’S THE SCIENTIFIC TRUTH NO ONE TALKS ABOUT,” had 900 shares. Then 1000. Now 2.1k. I’ve tried so hard to stay out of these debates. I just want dogs to be happy, but the world is on fire, everyone is stressed, and we’re all focused elsewhere. But this morning, someone shared it with a cattle dog group. One commenter said, “I play fetch with my dog once a week, and now I’ll rethink that.” And just like that, my heart snapped in half. In 2.1k shares, there are countless guardians who will stop playing with their dogs because of that post. So, I woke up this Sunday morning and found myself here, making this post, attempting to put a bandaid on the gushing chest wound of the assault on happy, excited dogs. The first claim of the viral post is that fetch mimics the predatory sequence. This is the pattern that all predators use to hunt. They find the prey, then they stalk it. Next, they chase, then grab, bite, kill and consume. The poster says that fetch is bad because “the kill bite never comes” and reports that “the dog is neurologically left in a state of arousal.” I get it. When paired with words like “dopamine,” “adrenaline,” “and cortisol,” it sounds potentially bad. If we are concerned about completing the sequence, we can rest easy knowing the dog does, in fact, “capture” its ball “prey.” If they want to shake it, they do. They can if they want to hold it with their paws and rip it apart with their incisors, instinctively acting out the “consume” part of the sequence. But fetch isn’t a broken predatory loop. It’s a modified, learned behaviour that is naturally rewarding, fun to do, and often reinforced with positive feedback and the ball being thrown again. Not every dog must complete the full sequence to experience satisfaction or neurological "closure." Many have been selectively bred not to complete it (e.g., gun dogs retrieving without damaging prey and herders bred for various tasks). You might see some of your breed’s version come out during fetch, like when a border collie stalks his ball. There’s no evidence that fetch causes chronic stress. Cortisol spikes during activity, including play, but this is not pathological. It’s a normal response. Studies do not support the idea that fetch causes chronic arousal or leaves a dog dysregulated. Chronic stress is caused by uncontrollable, unpredictable stressors, not voluntary play. Studies show that predictable, rewarding exercises like fetch can reduce stress when balanced with rest. The claim that “dopamine is not the reward chemical—it’s the pursuit chemical” is a half-truth. Dopamine is involved in wanting AND liking. If dopamine release from play were inherently harmful, food training, nose work, and toy rewards would also be "dangerous" because they rely on the same reward circuitry. But there’s no evidence that normal play dysregulates the brain.A meta-analysis on canine behaviour problems (Tiira & Lohi, 2015) found that lack of activity is associated with increased problem behaviours, including anxiety and destructiveness. Dogs, especially high-energy breeds, need both mental and physical outlets. Fetch can absolutely be part of that. It’s not "coffee for a child with ADHD”. It’s more like recess for a kid who’s been sitting all day.While play can resemble predatory behaviours (chasing, biting, shaking), which is why we have stuffy squeaky toys, tug toys, balls, herding balls and candy-coated ways to let our dogs kill things, it’s functionally and emotionally distinct. Play triggers positive affective states in the brain and is associated with dopamine, endorphin, and oxytocin release—not just adrenaline and cortisol. Studies in dogs and other mammals show that play is self-rewarding and contributes to stress regulation, not dysregulation.We also know dogs can distinguish between real predation, acts of aggression, and sexual behaviour vs play. That’s the whole point of play. It’s like humans playing house when we’re kids. Dogs are acting out the real-life version of what they might need to do, from fighting to hunting prey. Again, no peer-reviewed studies show that playing fetch daily creates “chronic sympathetic dominance,” weakens immune systems, or causes behavioural burnout. These claims rely on theoretical ideas, not research. In fact, routine play, when balanced with sleep, training, enrichment, and calm time, contributes to emotional regulation and well-being.On top of all of the fake scientific-washed bullshit, the concept that it makes dogs less focused on their handler is where I really want to pull my hair out. Our dogs are literally focused on us for survival. They are captive animals, rarely getting more freedom than a zoo animal. They rely on us for everything from potty breaks to feeding, and these days, they can’t even sleep where they choose. I’ve never met a dog who is less apt to focus on his handler because of fetch, but if I do, I’ll congratulate him for having some agency in his day, some ability to not care what the human is doing. In fact, the very act of fetching and retrieving IS directly tied to the “level of synchrony between human and companion animal.” Delgado MM, Stella JL, Croney CC, Serpell JA. Making fetch happen: Prevalence and characteristics of fetching behaviour in owned domestic cats (Felis catus) and dogs (Canis familiaris). The very concept of fetch is believed to be tied back to days when it was helpful for us to have dogs bringing back animals killed with projectiles, something we still use the behaviour for to this day in hunting breeds. If you ARE worried your dog is compuslive or “addicted”, know this. NO TRAINER IS QUALIFIED TO MAKE THIS DIAGNOSIS. Especially when the diagnosis is coming because a dog is focused on the ball, jumpy, potentially a lot to manage, Barky, “pushy,” or otherwise doing what excited dogs do. Including not wanting to stop. Imagine, as a kid, if you were running into a playground, excitedly yelling and begging your mom for five more minutes when it’s time to go home, and someone said you were “addicted.” Compulsive disorder in dogs still needs a lot of studying, but it is likely genetic is often made worse by underlying conditions, like pain. Stress and anxiety usually contribute along with a lack of exercise and enrichment. Your dog enjoying playing with a ball is not a diagnostic criterion. In fact, I use play, including fetch, to help my compulsive disorder clients. All that to say, the original post will be shared. It will be shared a lot because it sounds real, because it’s clickbaity because it makes people feel like they might be harming their dog. And, as a result, well-meaning people are going to stop playing with their dog. The last line, “He deserves you—not just the ball”, is what REALLY makes me mad. This gaslighty concept that guardians using fetch are somehow not giving their dogs a relationship, love or connection. If you don’t want to play fetch with your dog, don’t. If you’re worried about joints or arthritis, I’m not going to tell you to do something that doesn’t feel right. But if you’re like me, and your dogs love games, play and fun, don’t let some post stop you from having fun with your dog.Update: thank you to everyone who has interacted with and shared this post! To find out more about your working dog, read my book, Urban Sheepdog: amzn.to/4g0o6VT ... See MoreSee Less

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HeRo Canine Consulting LLC

2 weeks ago

HeRo Canine Consulting LLC
Why do trainers seem to have the wrong of the telescope on so many issues? Let's take the once again issue being raised of how bad it is for dogs to play fetch, or get excited and run and jump and play hard. This concept has been around for ages, and it drives me batty.Long ago, I grew weary of the argument that running and jumping and fetching etc were bad for dogs, caused blood cortisol levels to spike, created stress, etc. It's been around a long, long time. Calm walks only, no chasing, etc. What's the grain of truth at the heart of such advice?Do some dogs have problems self-regulating? Yep. Will some dogs play till they keel over? Yep. Do some dogs have a tendency towards compulsive behavior? Yep. Do some dogs have physical limitations that mean long-term certain activities will cost them dearly? Yep. But *they* don't know that and so delight in a game is not a matter of informed consent - hell yes that's true for so many dogs.You know, dogs are just like people in so many ways. Like us, and for so many reasons including human interference and selective breeding and appalling raising practices and unnatural lifestyles and god awful structure and obesity and poor conditioning and crazy expectations, dogs can struggle with making healthy choices that support adaptive and functional behavior.Imagine if the whole discussion was reframed in terms of functionality - can the dog self-regulate even in the presence of exciting stimuli? is the dog physically capable of doing X at that level of intensity? how does this affect relationships with others?My GSDs are strong and sound. While they love their games, they can also stop when asked. They can adjust themselves to take a break as needed. The same activities they enjoy were inappropriate for my Lab/Chow cross with crappy structure and bad hocks. One of my dogs long ago did not have the sense to know she needed to rest when playing fetch. Thankfully, she had 2 black spots on her tongue that were perfect markers whatever the temp -- first spot showing meant she was nearing her healthy max; second spot showing meant STOP. Wish all dogs came with such clues. Oh wait - all dogs DO have such clues! It's called behavior. It's called movement. Always available for us to see, if we have developed the observation skills that let us see what dogs are telling us. Perhaps most critical in this "no fetch" or "fetch is fine" discussion: does the *handler* know how to make those assessments? Can the handler recognize the shifts in fine motor control or balance or cadence or gait or recovery? Further, does the handler know what to do with the information gained from those assessments? Do they know how to take care of a dog so to promote healthy interactions, play, and activities that support the dog's mental, emotional and physical well being. That's our job: to be caretakers, which includes quite literally taking care when a dog is not able to be self-protective or self-regulate or when the dog's lack of understanding about long-term consequences means fun in the moment may create harm further down the line. We have to take care that our encouragement or requests or expectations are within healthy limits for that dog, and that means getting our egos out of the way, always seeking more understanding of the dog as a whole being, developing greater observation skills.When we start to understand self-regulation its importance for any being to function well, we can make recommendations that are appropriate for each individual dog instead of stupid blanket rules. Being disregulated is good for no one, that much is true. But what healthy arousal and fun looks like varies for each animal. While I was teaching in Warsaw at a conference, there was a pretty hot argument about horses, racing and jumping. One person claimed horses only ran or jumped because they were forced to, and it was awful for the poor beasts and so stressful. "No horse would jump just for fun." The knowledgeable horse people were outraged by the stupidity of this statement, as their lived experience with horses echoed mine and was utterly counter to the dumb remark. Likewise, my lived experience with dogs has shown me that some dogs self-regulate beautifully, others do not, and still others have clueless handlers. What matters is the individual dog. SEE THE DOG.I've watched handlers who bought into the no fetch advice - and you know what? Some had major problems in their relationship with their dog because they listened to stupid humans rather than their dog. Ditto for handlers who listened to trainers telling them to exercise their dog for hours or pack weights or ... fill in the blank of exercise of choice. They had problems too.What is almost always a problem for the human-dog relationship is this: opinions of humans vs the facts straight from the dog. Blanket statements automatically exclude listening to the dog.KNOW HOW TO ASSESS your dog mentally, physically and emotionally so you can support them and enjoy what is good and healthy for them! SEE THE DOG. Always. First. Forever. ... See MoreSee Less

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HeRo Canine Consulting LLC

2 weeks ago

HeRo Canine Consulting LLC
Do you have any questions about animal behavior? Now’s your chance to ask a renowned Veterinary Behaviorist & international speaker!📅 March 31, 2025 | ⏰ 1 PM PST | 💻 Virtual Event - FREEOpen to pet owners, trainers, behavior consultants, dog walkers, sitters, vets—anyone curious! Join this FREE, 45-minute live Q&A and get expert insights on training, behavior challenges & more. Bring your questions & join us! 🔥🐾Save your spot here!! instinctportland.as.me/?appointmentType=74971450 ... See MoreSee Less

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