# Dianna Santos | Odor Will Humble You

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/alert-scent-work-7421909/dianna-santos-odor-will-humble-you
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/alert-scent-work-7421909/dianna-santos-odor-will-humble-you.md
Podcast: [Alert! Scent Work](https://stenobird.com/podcast/alert-scent-work-7421909)
Published: 2026-06-04T12:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://www.alertscentwork.com
Audio file: https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/364358d9-70e3-4f4f-90da-d4fab66788fb.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/alert-scent-work-7421909/episodes/dianna-santos-odor-will-humble-you
Duration seconds: 2942

## Resource

Dianna Santos came to scent work through a dog-aggressive Doberman who needed a reason to be a dog. Zeus couldn't go for walks. He couldn't be around other dogs. His world was shrinking, and so was hers. What happened when he started searching changed him. It also changed how she thinks about this activity: who it's for, what it can do, and why she believes every dog with a nose deserves to play it. She went on to build Scent Work University and produce over 140 episodes of the All About Scent Work podcast. When I asked her to distill all of those conversations down to some themes that keep coming up, she landed on odor will humble you and focus on the dog. What she said about the first one felt like she'd been following me around with a notebook. The second is a good paradigm for all of us to remember. We also get into something many competitors wrestle with: how much involvement the handler should have, and what that balance actually looks like in a search. And if you have a reactive or dog-aggressive dog, Dianna has a lot worth hearing that might help you. What we talk about: The two themes Dianna keeps hearing from the best in the sport and what they mean for the rest of us The universal handler journey, why it looks the same for almost everyone, and why understanding it helps you push through the hard parts What focus on the dog really means when something is going wrong in a search How much involvement should a handler have, and what finding that equilibrium actually looks like Zeus, a dog-aggressive Doberman, and what scent work gave him that nothing else could The choice point, what it means for any dog to choose the work over whatever else is pulling at them What scent work surfaces about your dog during training and how to address it outside of a search so it…

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## Transcript

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