Scent Detection for pet dogs
Dogs have been utilised all over the world for years for their scent abilities and for good reason. You can also enjoy scent detection activities with your pet dog through simple but effective training exercises. The benefits of teaching your dog scent detection are countless! But my personal top 3 are: it's an incredibly powerful sport to build connection and strengthen your relationship, ANY dog can do it no matter the age or breed, and it's extremely tiring even more so than a long physical walk.
Megan is an accredited instructor through the WSDA (World Scent Dog Association), UKSD (UK Sniffer Dogs) and UKSS (UK Scent Sport). Megan uses a mix of knowledge from the above organisations to give the best personailised experience for each team.
Introduction to Kong (passive)
This is your beginners scent detection course where I recommend everyone starts. You will be teaching your dog: Scent ID (recognising the scent they are looking for), how to search for it using different objects and areas, and then indicate that they have found it using a passive indication. You do not need any prior experience for this course.
The odor I use is Kong, and you will get a starters scent kit to keep.
Introduction to Active Search
This is your introduction to teach your dog an active search. Your dog is will learn how to search for a scented article and bring it back to you. You will learn the foundations of how to teach your dog to recognise and search for the odor and how to retrieve. You can do this at anytime with or without having done the introduction to Kong.
The odor I use is catnip, and you will get a started kit to keep.
UK Scent Sport
+ Sniff On Club
UK Scent Sport is comprised of four different scent sport components: Kong, Catnip retrieve, Scent Match, and Trail ID. You can work towards different level of assessments or just come for fun. More information on booking page.
Sniff On Club gives you the opportunity to come along to any progression session and work on different challenges and components to keep it fun and varied for you and your dog.
I was looking for a fun activity to help increase my 6 year old Labrador's confidence and was recommended the course by a previous participant. Run professionally by Megan, the sessions are fun, well organised and provide lots of mental stimulation. Each task is explained clearly and Megan is on hand to answer questions and provide advice where necessary. We have attended the workshops and my dog has blossomed, becoming more confident and independent. I highly recommend the workshops to anyone wanting an activity to do with their dog that builds on their relationship.