Clever Hans Effect in Detection Dog Training

Discover the famous story of Clever Hans, the early-1900s horse who amazed crowds by “answering” math questions—until researchers uncovered the truth: Hans wasn’t doing calculations at all. He was reading subtle, unintentional cues from his handler. In this video, we break down what really happened with Clever Hans and explain why this lesson is crucial in detection dog training today. From cueing risks to handler influence and the importance of blind testing, you’ll learn how trainers ensure dogs are responding to odor—not people. Perfect for anyone interested in scent work, detection sports, and the science behind reliable canine training.

K-9 Detector Dog Training

Foundations of Detection: Coming Soon! 

=========================

When people have specific training questions we recommend that they go to our website and post those questions in the ASK CINDY on the front page of leerburg.com. Cindy has been training dogs since she was a teenager and has competed in several dog sports at a regional and national level. She was also a vet tech and owned a boarding/training and grooming business for many years as well as breeding working Dobermans and Belgian Malinois under the kennel name Kaiserhaus.

Questions posted to ASK CINDY are answered almost every day. They are also recorded in our systems if a dog owner has additional questions Cindy will review the previous Q&As and this helps her give better feedback and assistance.