Jeff was lucky enough to be in Southern California in the 2000s, joining an early nose work class taught by Amy Herot (NACSW co-founder) in 2008 with his rescue dog, Muriel.
By 2009, Jeff was assisting NACSW Founding Instructor Penny Scott-Fox with classes and by 2012, Jeff was learning the ropes of Certifying NACSW nose work trials (the CO determines search layout, hide placement, time limits, etc.).
A 2013 move to Minnesota resulted in Jeff shifting all of his focus to nose work. 2013 was also the year of the first NACSW National Competition in which Jeff & Muriel competed, and Jeff & Penny’s student took first place overall.
Jeff has a depth of experience coaching dogs & people in nose work: instructing at numerous Dogs of Course/NACSW nose work camps, presenting seminars and workshops all over the country and in Canada, co-crafting special events such as the Turner Trials, the Scott-Fox Scent Camp, The Sniffover and Sniffathlon, and teaching 20+ nose work group classes a week.
Over the years, Jeff’s students have earned high accolades in competition, including at the national level. While titles and ribbons are sometimes measures of achievement, the truest measure of achievement is growth in teamwork, and that can happen independent of ribbons. As the sport of scent work becomes more popular, Jeff is dedicated to honoring Ron Gaunt (NACSW co-founder) and his steadfast message to all scent work handlers: “It’s about communication.” Ron created search environments where handlers had to bring a deeper understanding of their dogs to the partnership in order to succeed. He laid out a path for growth, not a path for ribbons.
Today, Jeff is primarily dedicated to private and small group coaching sessions where the goal is to experience joy through learning your dog’s scent work language and becoming a supportive and skilled teammate for your dog.
Jeff’s other passion is adventuring with his family and dogs. You can share in the whole crew’s journey by following WheelSpin Adventures on Instagram and Facebook.
Contact Jeff at coachjeffmac@gmail.com
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