Hide and go Sniff

• Would you like to build a stronger relationship with your dog?

• Do you have a young dog who just doesn’t get tired no matter how far you walk, or an older dog who struggles with physical exercise but still needs some mental stimulation?

• Would you like to build your dogs confidence or give them focus in the face of distractions?

As a certified instructor for both 'Scentwork UK' and 'Mantrailing UK', we teach pet dogs to use their greatest asset, their nose. These activities are great for our canine companions, and the benefits cross over into their daily lives. They are a fantastic way to utilise your dogs natural hunting instincts to creat a fun and engaging relationship between you and your dog.

As a training activity, scentwork is fun, very rewarding and at the same time mentally tiring for your dog. It will improve the relationship between you and your dog and is a great confidence builder especially for the shy dog. You can participate whether it is just for fun, or go on and enter trials and gain qualifications. Once they've learnt the basics (the same basic skills taught to police and customs dogs) they love searching for their target odour, in the knowledge that it will earn them their favourite reward.

As a recognised trainer for Scentwork UK I will teach you everything you need to know to enjoy scentwork as a fun activity, but if you wish to take it further, as a certified judge and trials manager I can prepare you for trialling too.

If that's not your cup of tea, then perhaps you would like to try mantrailing? We use a tried and tested method, based around positive reinforcement to quickly teach your dog to take human scent from an article (perhaps an item of clothing or a tea cup) and then follow that person's scent to discover their location. It's another great way to build a solid relationship with your dog whilst allowing them to do what they love to do, sniff!

Again you can enjoy this activity as an enjoyable way to spend time with your dog, or you can train to test your skills at assessment to work through the levels the choice is yours.