KPA CTP, CNWI

NACSW Certifying Official
NACSW Trial and ORT Judge
NACSW Trial and ORT Host
Certified Nose Work Instructor (CNWI)
Active Competitor

Why work with Sarah Becker

Sarah brings extensive first-hand experience observing, evaluating, and training dogs of all ages, sizes, breeds, temperaments, and backgrounds. During nearly two decades working in and with Humane Society facilities, she served in roles including animal control clerk (7 years), behavior technician (4 years), employee, and volunteer, working alongside shelter dogs, veterinarians, trained dogs, and other volunteers.

Sarah was certified in the ASPCA SAFER behavior assessment and spent thousands of hours observing and evaluating canine behavior. She also implemented the Open Paw Shelter Training Program, training dogs to be calm and learn adoptable behaviors through training. She has fostered and socialized numerous litters of puppies and dogs over the years. Western Washington Rescues requested Sarah to assess and train foster dogs and provide long term training with a guardian.

Her rescue work has included dogs arriving from Asia and transports from across the United States. In 2015 she partnered with Dove House Advocacy Services to implement the SAF-T program to shelter animals and families together. In 2018 Sarah was invited to give a bite prevention workshop to a county health department. 

This breadth of experience continues to inform Sarah's work in scent sports, where careful observation, patience, and an understanding of each dog as an individual are central to her approach.

Sarah’s Story

Sarah discovered K9 Nose Work® in 2012 while searching for an appropriate outlet for her dog Little Debbie and for dogs in the shelter where she worked. Over the years, she has trained and competed with four very different dogs. Little Debbie spun and screeched. Mr. Pickles came from a hoarding situation afraid of the world and competed even after becoming blind and deaf. Pee Wee navigated health and behavior challenges, and Pono was afraid of floors for years. Nose Work gave each of them greater confidence and joy in navigating the world.

Before focusing exclusively on K9 Nose Work, Sarah spent 12 years working and volunteering in animal shelters, including four years as a behavior assessment team leader. She worked closely with fearful, reactive, and unsocialized dogs, gaining thousands of hours of experience observing canine behavior and learning from both successful and challenging adoption outcomes. Working with dogs of all ages, sizes, breeds, temperaments, and backgrounds reinforced an approach centered on meeting each dog as an individual. 

After becoming a Karen Pryor Academy Certified Training Partner in 2013 and a Tellington TTouch® Practitioner in 2014, she transitioned to teaching people to train their dogs full time. Her work has included puppy and adolescent training, tricks, behavior modification, and K9 Nose Work.

In 2023, Sarah retired from general dog training to focus on K9 Nose Work, teaching more than 85 students each week. Her approach centers on creating skill-building lessons and shaping behaviors that help dogs learn to make successful decisions. Many of her students have trained with her for six to ten years, often returning with multiple dogs as both competitors and companion dog teams.

Sarah’s teaching career actually began much earlier—as a student and competitor in Hunters and Jumpers. She trained and showed horses, earning multiple championships, and also taught young students. She later earned a BFA and spent two decades working in the arts, film, and floral industries, including managing exhibitions and events of all sizes. That background in teaching, observation, organization, and event coordination continues to inform her work in the scent-work community.

Outside of Nose Work, Sarah is an active gardener, music lover, piano student, and forever student of canine behavior and training. Spider, the Chihuahua, recently joined the household and will start sniffing soon.